Pistol: Taurus 24/7 Pro, 9mm, 4" Barrel
Range: Heartland Public Shooting Park, Grand Island, NE
Ammo: Sellier & Bellot 9x19 115gr FMJ, CCI Blazer Aluminum 9x19 115gr FMJ, Remington Golden Saber 9x19 124gr JHP, Hornady TAP 9x19 124gr JHP
I went through 225 rounds today: 100 S&B, 50 CCI, 50 Remington, and 25 Hornady. What prompted me to write this was the performance of the S&B ammo. I am NOT an experienced shooter, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I've been shooting mostly CCI Aluminum since Natchez has it cheap and I convinced my local hardware store to order me a case on the cheap too. I usually shoot from 15-25 yards. Recently, I've been shooting more at 15yds since that is the distance I will probably have to shoot from (probably less) if someone ever breaks into the house. My groups have been getting better, but I'm not keeping them all in the 10 ring. After shooting CCI for weeks, I shot some S&B I picked up from Cheaperthandirt.com to go along with the Remington that was quite cheap.
For inexpensive (I won't call it cheap) eastern bloc ammo, I was impressed. Even compared to my shooting last week, the S&B was more accurate. I was also shooting in less favorable conditions this week, since temps were around 30 degrees, compared to 50 or so last week. I shot 100 rounds of it and had no problems. To make sure I wasn't nuts, I put up another target and shot a box of CCI. Sure enough, the Blazer stuff was not as tight as S&B. The S&B seemed a littler dirtier and smellier than CCI but less so than WWB I've shot.
As for the premium stuff I shot, these were too test how well they fed and how they felt. The Hornady cartridge was noticeably shorter than the Remington, and the bullet on the TAP was smaller and more triangular than the Golden Saber. This seemed odd because both were listed as 124gr bullets. I'm not an expert, so maybe there's a reason for that. Both loaded into the magazine with no problem and fired with no problems. The nickel case on the GS seemed a *little* easier to load than the TAP. The TAPhad a bit more 'snap' to it than the Remington. This is the Hornady stuff I purchased: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM410-41906-287.html. It is no longer listed on Hornady's website. The newer TAP ammo has a black case. I shot both JHPs on the same target, so I can't say which seemed to be more accurate but the spread looked a bit wider when I finished up with the TAPs. Note that the Hornady was the last box I shot today, so fatigue may have been the issue, not the round. Bonus: the nickel case on the GS are easier to find on the ground amongst the orphan brass!
I plan on switching range ammo to S&B since it's brass cased and if I decide to reload in the future, I can use the spent cases which I can't do with the CCI Aluminum. The increased accuracy is icing on the cake. I'll also be loading my nightstand mags with Golden Sabers because I shot well with them and because they cost less than the TAP. I have trouble paying $15-$20 per box for the expensive stuff from any manufacturer. Even on Cheaper Than Dirt, the Hornady is about $3 more per box than the Remington. I've also had no problems with 200 rounds of Rem UMC 115gr JHP I got from Wal-Mart.
Range: Heartland Public Shooting Park, Grand Island, NE
Ammo: Sellier & Bellot 9x19 115gr FMJ, CCI Blazer Aluminum 9x19 115gr FMJ, Remington Golden Saber 9x19 124gr JHP, Hornady TAP 9x19 124gr JHP
I went through 225 rounds today: 100 S&B, 50 CCI, 50 Remington, and 25 Hornady. What prompted me to write this was the performance of the S&B ammo. I am NOT an experienced shooter, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I've been shooting mostly CCI Aluminum since Natchez has it cheap and I convinced my local hardware store to order me a case on the cheap too. I usually shoot from 15-25 yards. Recently, I've been shooting more at 15yds since that is the distance I will probably have to shoot from (probably less) if someone ever breaks into the house. My groups have been getting better, but I'm not keeping them all in the 10 ring. After shooting CCI for weeks, I shot some S&B I picked up from Cheaperthandirt.com to go along with the Remington that was quite cheap.
For inexpensive (I won't call it cheap) eastern bloc ammo, I was impressed. Even compared to my shooting last week, the S&B was more accurate. I was also shooting in less favorable conditions this week, since temps were around 30 degrees, compared to 50 or so last week. I shot 100 rounds of it and had no problems. To make sure I wasn't nuts, I put up another target and shot a box of CCI. Sure enough, the Blazer stuff was not as tight as S&B. The S&B seemed a littler dirtier and smellier than CCI but less so than WWB I've shot.
As for the premium stuff I shot, these were too test how well they fed and how they felt. The Hornady cartridge was noticeably shorter than the Remington, and the bullet on the TAP was smaller and more triangular than the Golden Saber. This seemed odd because both were listed as 124gr bullets. I'm not an expert, so maybe there's a reason for that. Both loaded into the magazine with no problem and fired with no problems. The nickel case on the GS seemed a *little* easier to load than the TAP. The TAPhad a bit more 'snap' to it than the Remington. This is the Hornady stuff I purchased: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM410-41906-287.html. It is no longer listed on Hornady's website. The newer TAP ammo has a black case. I shot both JHPs on the same target, so I can't say which seemed to be more accurate but the spread looked a bit wider when I finished up with the TAPs. Note that the Hornady was the last box I shot today, so fatigue may have been the issue, not the round. Bonus: the nickel case on the GS are easier to find on the ground amongst the orphan brass!
I plan on switching range ammo to S&B since it's brass cased and if I decide to reload in the future, I can use the spent cases which I can't do with the CCI Aluminum. The increased accuracy is icing on the cake. I'll also be loading my nightstand mags with Golden Sabers because I shot well with them and because they cost less than the TAP. I have trouble paying $15-$20 per box for the expensive stuff from any manufacturer. Even on Cheaper Than Dirt, the Hornady is about $3 more per box than the Remington. I've also had no problems with 200 rounds of Rem UMC 115gr JHP I got from Wal-Mart.
