Affordable hollowpoints

M

MH

New member
I have several pistols, and have two or more magazines for each pistol. To verify that each gun is reliable, and each magazine, and to actually practice with the carry ammo, requires purchasing a substantial amount of ammunition. This gets very expensive when paying $12 per box of 20 rounds. Cole Distributors has IMI 9mm plus P for $182 per thousand rounds ($9 per box of 50). Is this good ammo, does it have low flash? Is Fiocchi a good alternative? If so, where can it be purchased?
 
MH,
You might want to try Magtech Ammo stocked by MidwayUSA. www.midwayusa.com
They have 115gr JHP 50 for $14.49 and free shipping no matter if you buy one box or one hundred. I have shot their .380ACP JHP's with very good success. It's loaded in Brazil and burns clean and consistent.

Fiocchi is very good ammo...I just flipped through my Shotgun News real quick but didn't see any distibutors for Fiocchi right off.

One other company that has 115gr JHP is Houston Cartridge phone 800-776-6717. They list in their ad 9mm 115gr JHP quantity of 500/$64.95 or 1000/$126.95. I have put many of their rounds through my Glock 26 and Tanfoglio TA-90 over the past 4 years with zero problems! They are basically factory reloads but use Remington bullets. Very nice. Hope this helps you.
 
Have you ever tried the Federal 9bp also known as Classic Hi-Shok? It is a 115 jhp with 1160 at the muzzle and 345 ft. pounds of energy. This is a standard pressure load that feeds well, and is very accurate in most handguns. I have put 400 rounds of it through a Sig without a malfunction. Cheaperthandirt has it for $10 and some change for a box of 50. Good clean, accurate shooting round. According to all the research that I have done, the Federal 9bp is the standard that all others are judged by. Here is the link for the 9bp: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/product.asp?sku=0302590&thru=fr&mscssid=E5Q5K0JFJVAB8JWCEDPW7UP6PR8LCPKC
Sling Shot


[This message has been edited by Sling Shot (edited October 12, 2000).]
 
I just checked out Cheaper than Dirt, and they have Seller & Belliot, Fiocchi, and Federal. You are correct the 9bp is $10/box, and this has an excellent reputation. Thanks for the tips. I never see performance testing in the gun magazines of affordable hollowpoints. It would be interesting to know how IMI, S&B, and Fiocchi perform as self-defense rounds.
 
MH: I have also shot the S&B 115 jhp through my Sig. It was very dirty, but it was accurate as far as I could tell because I was only plinking and not printing paper. Shot a couple of milk jugs with the stuff, and it shredded them pretty good. For the price difference, I would buy the 9bp every time.
Sling Shot
 
I have purchased IMI ammo for .223 and found it to be top quality. Cole was a good supplier - delivered as they promised for the price promised. Apparently IMI is a supplier to the Israeli military.

As a reloader I strive to duplicate factory self defense rounds in order to shake out my guns without spending a fortune. If nothing else I can buy hollow point bullets, load to the same oal as factory loads, and get em a bit on the hot side. Then I can shake out a gun with my "cloned" ammo. Still, I run a couple of boxes of cor-bon or fed hydra-shok or whatever I've chosen. Just a way to get close and shake out the obvious problems before spending a lot of money.

JiminCA
 
I like the CCI Blazer 115 JHP. It is usually cheaper than premium stuff and is completely reliable in my guns. Because of the aluminum cases, they are also lighter than brass. I used it as my carry ammo for years but now have Triton's.

Mike
 
I second BB vote for the Georgia Arms. It is an excellent idea to regularly practice with your carry ammo. However, you should also try and carry the most effective ammo - not just "any old" JHP. The Georgia Arms is the most cost competitive Gold Dot JHP - and the Gold Dot is arguably one of the best JHP around.
 
$500 in reloading equipment will save you tons in just a year of shooting.

I load 9mm and 45 acp hollowpoints that shoot just like my HyrdaShoks and golden Sabres but I pay only $95/1000 of my home-rolled 185 grain JHPs.

------------------
The Seattle SharpShooter - TFL/GT/UGW/PCT/KTOG
 
I prefer the Fiocchi 115 HP's to Federal 9BP. whilke the federal load works great in most pistols, it's accuracy varies more form gun to gun than the Fiocchi, which does OK in anything I've tried it in.
 
I've been very satisfied with Fiocchi ammo in .357Mag and .40S&W. Reliable, accurate, not any dirtier than Fed, Rem, Winc, etc. Muzzle energy is among the highest commercially available. If you're buying a case, I have found low prices at Double Action Arms ( http://www.double-action.com/ ) and their service is good.


[This message has been edited by m3bullet (edited October 13, 2000).]
 
Georgia Arms makes an anfordable JHP that uses the Gold-Dot hollow point bullet.

also Federal Hi-shocks are good priced and work very well. ammoman has them and i've always had good service from him before.
 
I agree about the reloading investment. Most people wrongly compare handloads to inexpensive factory ammo like S&B.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BB:
Surely you don't use home-loaded ammo in your carry weapon. [/quote]

Not for actual use, but I can duplicate any factory load for a fraction of the cost, for most, with the emphasis on most, practice.

[This message has been edited by RAE (edited October 14, 2000).]
 
BB; are you serious about this(Surely you don't use home-loaded ammo in your carry weapon)I trust my reloads as much as
factory, I reload hollow points for the
9x18 that will expand,function and are
more accurate then "store bought" stuff.
Anyone reloading who dont trust his ammo
should not reload.
 
It's not trusting the ammo, it's what the opposing attorney will do to you on the stand if (God forbid) you ever had to shoot someone and you used "home made super killer bullets". RAE has a good idea, that you could carry factory ammo and handload practice ammo to match the factory stuff, but any gun lawyer will tell you that using handloads in a self-defense weapon is a very bad idea.
 
Sling Shot might have something. I was speaking with an armorer for the U.S. Park Service. They use the P7Mx and Federal 9BP. He told me that this round had stopped every BG over the last ten years. I assumed that he was talking about cases where the officer hit center of mass, or head.
 
If I ever have a doubt about a round cycling in one of my autos, I don't carry it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top