Opinions on "budget/target" 9mm ammo ?

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At this point, anything I can buy at a decent price is fine.

The "Box of Truth" web site did some "tests" on cheap 9mm ammo and declared Wolf the winner (most accurate). YMMV.
 
I buy whatever is on sale. Can't say that I've had issues with anything I've purchased so far, WWB, Lawman, Blazer, Freedom, Federal, etc. Some pistols are more finicky than others, so YMMV.
 
My Sig 226 shoots anything I feed it with no issues. I buy the cheapest I can find for range practice, and then keep Hornady Critical Defense in it the rest of the time. I keep hearing you need to practice with the same ammo you use for protection so every few months I'll shoot a mag of the Hornady; you'd have to be a far better shot than me to tell the difference!
 
xjsnake, thanks for posting. Now that I know it didn't expand, I'll feel even better about carrying it, as I have my doubts with the .380's penetration when it does expand.
When I carried the Thunder 380 primarily, I use dot switch to the same maker's 95-grain FNEB when weather cooled down and clothing got thicker.
But, I almost never carry a .380 anymore since I have the PF9.
 
For practice and target shooting, I like Speer Lawman TMJ in 147 gr., since it is loaded to the same velocity as Speer Gold Dot 147 gr., which is what I keep loaded in both of my 9mm's. Shooting the two rounds back to back, I can't tell a difference between the two in recoil, reliability, or accuracy.
 
So I'm talking Win. white box, Fed. American Eagle, Rem. UMC, Blazer, etc. Looking at reviews it seems for every 3 people who think a brand is the best there are 2 who say it's junk. Is it really that inconsistant ?
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No it's not.

If you read through the posts so far it seems that often expectations are different. So a fella who buys a box of S&B 124 gr. ball ammo with the intent of running drills with it and practicing some shooting for accuracy out to 25 yards will be pleased. The fella who expects it to shoot bullseye or match levels of accuracy with it will likely be disappointed. Same for Mag-Tech, Federal etc.

Some guns will shoot a bit better with some ammo than others. The difference will vary gun to gun.

The ammo from major manufacturers is in general reliable. Buy and use it.

The only problems with any of it that I've found are from the inconsistencies of the Chinese made ammo. You can physically see the differences round to round.

Winchester ammo in the 50 round white boxes is generally good. But the 100 or 200 round "Value-Paks" can be problematic. Examine the ammo by hand and eye and you'll see the difference.

That you ask the question indicates that you are a new shooter. Just buy a few boxes and try it and learn.

tipoc
 
Practice fodder? Mixed cases, CCI 500 SP primer, Lee 124 grain RNL or TCL over 5.5 grains of Alliant Power Pistol. In our guns, an absolutely fantastic round. YMMV.
 
kyron4 said:
So I'm talking Win. white box, Fed. American Eagle, Rem. UMC, Blazer, etc. Looking at reviews it seems for every 3 people who think a brand is the best there are 2 who say it's junk. Is it really that inconsistant ? I've got a case of 124 FMJ American Eagle on backorder, but after reading some reviews it seems hit or miss, but so do all the others. One guy said his CZ shoots one hole groups at 7 yds. but shot 7" groups with the AE 9mm, and yet another said it was the best ammo he ever shot in his CZ. Any thoughts ?
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Whatever 9x19 "full patch" you can find at reasonable price should be a blessing.
 
Chinese?
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Yep that large nation to the east of Japan, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean from the U.S. They sell under the name Norinco.

One guy said his CZ shoots one hole groups at 7 yds. but shot 7" groups with the AE 9mm, and yet another said it was the best ammo he ever shot in his CZ. Any thoughts ?
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The difference was either the gun or the shooter. At such close range differences between brands are pretty small. If I remember right American Eagle is made by Federal. Good stuff.

Again, go buy this stuff for yourself and learn with your guns in your hands. Make notes and learn. That's the fun part.

Really if you ain't sure and some ammo in stock is $9. a box of 50, and it comes from Serbia, open the box and look at 5 rounds at random...are they all the same length? do they have the same cases? does the ammo look the same? are the bullets dinged up? The first 3 should be yes and the last one no, try it and shoot it.

tipoc
 
Before I started reloading I bought a box of RWS Sport Line 124 gr ammo at Walmart for a bit over $11 per box of 50. I was so impressed with that I bought out Walmarts stock of a case of 1000 rounds. It never took off at Walmart in my area due to the fact it was foreign, Swiss made and few knew anything about herre. The brass is also great for reloading as well. Bud's sells it now for $14.99 per box. I've never seen it back in Walmart since I bought their stock up and they have replaced it with Russian made ammo that is about the same price but sells.
 
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joecil said:
Before I started reloading I bought a box of RWS Sport Line 124 gr ammo at Walmart for a bit over $11 per box of 50. I was so impressed with that I bought out Walmarts stock of a case of 1000 rounds. It never took off at Walmart in my area due to the fact it was foreign, Swiss made and few knew anything about herre. The brass is also great for reloading as well. Bud's sells it now for $14.99 per box. I've never seen it back in Walmart since I bought their stock up and they have replaced it with Russian made ammo that is about the same price but sells.
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The Swiss-made Ruag ammo was about the best 9x19 range ammo one could hope to buy. When Walmart was able to get it in there was some on shelf because most shoppers at that chain think Switzerland is just like China. They were ignorant enough to buy Federal 'Champion' and WWB instead.
 
Now for those that don't know this is a Swiss ammo
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RWS is good stuff, I use R50 for benchrest and their pellets for my air gun.
RWS is, as far as I know, actually manufactured in Germany.
 
RWS is owned by bigger entity. The black/orange .45, .38, 380, 9x18 was rolled in Hungary while 9x19 came from Solun Switzerland.
 
As previously mentioned, serious benchrest testing of different ammo will yield interesting results. Once upon a time tested Federal American Eagle, Federal Champion, WWB, and Remington UMC, all 115 FMJ. From a stock Glock 17, Five shot groups all under 1.5 inches at 50 feet, with the American Eagle shooting right around an inch. No malfunctions from any of the ammo. Any of those will work for serious practice or USPSA/IDPA as long as they make power factor.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
I like federal and winchester

I used WINCHESTER WHITE BOX as my 9 m.m. practice ammo up until the last OBAMASCARE. After that, I found 50 round boxes of FEDERAL fmj (not AMERICAN EAGLE) at WALMART for $10.00 a box and went with that. I find both are accurate, but the FEDERAL seems to be a little more accurate.

Jim
 
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