Advice on Ammo for 9mm

M

Matthews

Inactive
Finally purchased my first semi-auto, after holding a dozen or so. Beretta 92FS Infinite Justice ed., 2 - 15rnd mags and the case, get to pick it up this coming Sunday; I don't think I can wait till then. :D

I also picked up a box of Fiocchi FMJ rounds, and Sellier & Bellot FMJ to test out at the range once I pick it up. Anyone have any advice for a solid ammo that shoots clean but inexpensive for range practice? And what ammo should I look at for home defense? And are there any sites you would recommend buying bulk from? For future reference. :)

Any help is appreciated!
 
I have found Fiocchi to burn clean and is reliable. A bit on the hot side with a nice snap to it. The cheapest range ammo is probably going to be Wolf, Blazer, and Winchester white box. As far as self defense goes, hollow points and I have read and use Hornaday. Internet searches will help you find the best prices and you can also check locally maybe even at Wally World
 
I have been using Winchester White Box (WWB) and Federal Champion for range ammo. I get both at my local Wal-Mart. The Federal ammo is cheaper and works. For home defense I use Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr FTX or Hornady Custom 115 JHP/XTP. Both work well. I am not afraid to use my range ammo if that is all I have available. You do have to watch for over penetration with full metal jacket ammo. Since I don't live in an apartment and the neighbors house is not 10' from mine by any means I have less to worry about there. I also have some Gold Dot and Winchester Bonded both in 124 gr. to use as well. Generally speaking most major brand name hollow point ammo will work for HD. You do need to run some through the pistol you plan to use to make sure it feeds well before trusting your life to it.

I have shot a fair amount of the Hornady ammo in my 92FS to feel it works like it should. I still need to run a few more boxes of the Gold Dots and Winchester Bonded through it before I can say I happy with them. So far so good but not enough shot to be convinced yet.
 
I like Winchester White Box. As that has not been available for a while I have switched over to S&B. Both are good quality.

Remington UMC does not run right in my machinegun. If the uzi can't eat it, I won't buy it.
 
I use Remington UMC all the time at the range. American Eagle, Winchester White Box, Blazer..all of these are fine practice ammo. I use whichever I get the best deal on.
 
Fiocchi, Winchester White Box, Remington UMC, whatever, for target practice. You'll be less picky when it gets hard to find.

Defense: Federal HST, Winchester Ranger, Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dots, 147gr. standard pressure, 124-127gr. +p and +p+. They all kinda work. Go to SGammo.com and see what's in stock and order in a half case to test.
 
For practice, I would just stay away from the Russian ammo -- Wolf, Tula, Silver Bear, Brown Bear, etc.

I've used the following in 9mm and other calibers: Remington UMC, Privi Partizan, Winchester White Box, Federal Champion, (Federal) American Eagle, Fiocchi, Blazer, and just about anything else.

For self-defense, I would use the brands TBT mentioned in standard pressure 124 gr. or 115 gr. I personally don't like 147 gr. but opinions differ.
 
Winchester White Box, Remington UMC, and even some Olympic (Greek) that I bought at Knob Creek a few years ago. My 92fs, and Star B both like any of it. I just wouldn't want to shoot the Russian steel case stuff. Wolf, Silver Bear, Brown Bear, or the Herter's stuff that has shown up a Cabela's lately.
 
My favorite practice ammo is Blazer Brass. (I think it's made by CCI or Speer.) Unfortunately, I can't find it locally for decent price anymore. Lately, I've been shooting Federal from Wal-Mart for a dollar more a box and IMHO less accuracy. Admittedly, it could be in my mind regarding the accuracy.
 
I had been looking at the Winchester White Box and the Remington UMC, so I'll definitely be picking up a box of those some time.

As for home defense...I've seen a lot of mention of the Federal Hydra-Shok rounds. Any opinion on those?
 
Wally world Winchester White box for range use.

Federal 115gr +P+ loaded to 1300fps.
Order number: BPLE
It's the load NYPD used, I believe.
I'm not sure Federal makes it any more either.
 
Any FMJ is fine for the range. I find the Winchester White box and the Remington UMC to be the most accurate of the cheap FMJs.

For defense any good hollow point will do the job. I'm using Spear Gold Dots right now. Remington Golden Sabers have a good rep as well. Both are decently affordable. Golden sabers come 25 to a box though for the same price.
 
Range ammo: any good FMJ - WWB, factory reloads like Georgia Arms and Atlanta Arms, PMC, and a few others.

SD ammo: Corbon DPX - 'nuff said.
 
I'm with the others on this one, Winchester, Remington UMC, you can't go wrong with these. Presently I'm shooting Remington UMC 115 gr. FMJ. It's cheap, accurate, and clean. I also recently picked up a few boxes of Winchester 124 gr. NATO ammo from Walmart. That has considerably more pop than the Remington but is also cheap and quite accurate.
 
The 147 grain 9mm rounds got themselves a bad reputation with the older designed bullets because they sacrificed speed and didn’t expand properly. The newer designs (HST, Ranger, Gold Dot) seem to do really well in the heavy for caliber loading. The expansion and penetration are extremely comparable to the hotter, lighter, and faster rounds but with less recoil and wear on your gun. They all work. Just saying, don’t discount that bullet weight. It works well with the newer designs.
 
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