Good choices for target 9mm and 22lr rounds?

T

tobnpr

New member
Hey guys (and gals?);

All of you were very helpful helping me make a couple of handgun picks a few days back. Now, I gotta get some ammo...

9mm CZ-75B and Ruger 22/45.
For the .22, ammo is so cheap anyway it's still probably affordable to buy good match ammo for everyday use. Recommendations?

For the 9mm, as costs as more significant, some decent "middle of the road", everyday plinking ammo that'll give good accuracy for target shooting.
Also, this will probably serve dual duty as a self-defense weapon, so suggestions for that- maybe Hornady TAP?

A lot to ask in one thread... but since we reload for our long guns... is it practical to reload for the 9mm? Any suggestions for that would be greatly appreciated as well.

There's just so many choices out there I feel like I should just stick the catalog pages on the wall and throw a dart :confused:

Thanks!
 
I own a CZ 75B and I've come to a few conclusions about what it likes and what it likes more. I've gotten so-so results with 115gr. 9mm. Groups are good but not outstanding and the gun definitely shoots high with this ammo. 124 gr. is better. The groups are much tighter, although the gun still shoots slightly high. Currently, I'm shooting Sellier and Bellot 124gr. FMJ on the theory that a Czech made gun would like Czech made ammo. It seems to be a good theory, I get consistently tight groups with this ammo and I can shoot out the bullseye if I take a 6:00 hold.

But, what the gun REALLY LOVES is Winchester 124gr. "Nato" FMJ. This is a somewhat hotter round than the standard 124gr. stuff, probably the equivalent of a +P round. With Nato, the gun produces truly tiny groups and shoots right to point of aim. At ten yards multiple rounds of this ammo will give me one quarter-sized hole right in the center of the target.

I haven't fired a lot of the stuff because I have a small concern that it may be too hot for the gun. I've tried to research the issue but have found nothing one way or the other. The Cabellas website says that it is about 10% hotter than standard 124gr. 9mm and I can't imagine that such a small increment would damage the gun. But, and as I've said, I don't have any definitive information about that.

I should add that I've been able to find the Nato stuff at Walmart for about $15 a box. The Sellier and Bellot is, maybe, a buck cheaper from an online site, but of course, you have to pay for shipping.
 
Regarding .22LR ammo, most of the good target loads are standard-velocity, but some newer .22LR semi-autos are picky about what standard-velocity loads they will reliably cycle. If the pistol is new, and it sounds like it is, I would recommend breaking it in with a few hundred rounds of high-velocity ammo before switching to standard-velocity. You will also need to keep the action and chamber clean.

That said, my personal favorite is SK Standard Plus aka Wolf Match Target; it's the same ammo, just in different boxes, buy whichever is cheaper. :) This is very clean-burning ammo that comes with a slippery wax coating that seems to help it chamber better in semi-autos. CCI Green Tag and regular CCI Standard Velocity are also excellent. Any of these choices will probably shoot better than you can hold. IMHO target ammo more expensive than this becomes a case of the law of diminishing returns; you pay more and more for incrementally smaller increases in accuracy. It's usually not worth it unless you're engaged in formal target competition.

If you want some cheaper plinking ammo, or your gun won't cycle standard-velocity reliably, try CCI Mini-Mags, Aguila High Velocity, or Federal Auto-Match from Walmart.

Keep in mind that all .22s are picky about ammo. Expect to test several different kinds before determining what your pistol likes.
 
Every .22 pistol will have a preference for the ammo it likes. You just have to try to see what yours likes. Depending on the pistol and what I want to hit I have gone through lots of Blazer, Federal Auto Match, Mini-mags, Federal bulk 550 and CCI SV. I found most pistols that did well with CCI Green Tag did just about the same with CCI SV at half the cost per box. You will get more rounds that need a second strike, rotating the round for the second strike or even a dud with the cheapest ammo compared to what Mini-mag and higher priced ammo does.

I start by first checking if the round will drop into the chamber with only gravity and will fall out as well. Since .22 ammo varies in width from one manufacture to another it is good to check this to prevent feed and extraction problems on a semi-auto pistol. I do this while the pistol is field stripped. If the ammo is under sized too much you will find the barrel will lead up pretty fast and possibly have ejection problems. This is because the hot gases are going past the bullet melting the sides of the bullet and loosing pressure to eject the round. It comes down to finding the right size, shape and speed of the round that matches you pistol more then anything else from what I understand.

I have had great luck shooting Federal Champion, Blazer, S&B and WWB in my CZ and CZ clone pistols. They group pretty good for me. I'm not a competitive shooter. For SD, I like Hornady XTP and Custom ammo. No matter what ammo you use for SD, make sure it shoots and feeds well.
 
No matter what ammo you use for SD, make sure it shoots and feeds well.
Click to expand...

Sage advice. My CZ 75BD had bad FTE issues until I started doing a taper crimp on everything, including storebought ammo. Otherwise it gets hung up on the case rim as it's extracting.

CZ's are notoriously undersprung...on everything. Might want to consider a stronger recoil spring if you plan to shoot hotter ammo. Get a lighter hammer spring while you're at it, around 16# works well.
 
.22 AMMO ----------
I have 2 Ruger MKIIs and 2 Browning Buckmarks that I shoot regularly.
I shoot the cheapest Federal ammo (550 bulk, #510, #714).

1. 550 36 grain bulk ($18/550)- cheap and easy to find. Reliable in my pistols. Accurate enough for shotgun shells at 25 yards.
2. #510 HV 40 grain ($19/500)- fairly easy to find (walmart, gander mountain). more consistent than the 550 bulk.
3. #714 SV 40 grain ($21+/500)- groups best of the cheap ammo but have not seen any in the past year. I used this on all my .22 including CZ rifles and S&W 41 when they were easy to find.

Now, I primarily shoot Federal #510 and use the 550 bulk as backup for all my .22s except the S&W41. I will try some CCI SV or Winchester T22 SV ammo (approx $24/500) soon for my S&W 41.

Avoid:
Federal #510B Lightning - Misfires.
Winchester Expert 22 - Lots of Misfires and FTE.
Remington Golden - Some misfires. Dirty. Less consistent grouping than any Federal I have tried.

Other ammo maybe better than the Federals listed above but you pay more.
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9mm AMMO.
For target/plinking -- I use any cheap 9mm 115 FMJ (Remington, Federal, WWB).
For SD -- I try to keep 124 HPs or FPs in my CCW -- Any good name brand. I do not worry too much about tight groups on paper as long as it is in 8" ring at 15 yards and RELIABLE. I have also carried with mixed loads (HP in chamber, RN, RN, HP, RN, RN ...)

If your pistol is not reliable with HPs, try an HP in the chamber and RNs in the magazine. From what I hear, the first shot is usually the most significant in SD shooting.
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Ruger 22/45 and federal Bulk Packs,,,

It's all I use because it's what's available around here,,,
I lost track after 12 bulk packs as to how many rounds I've actually fired.

It eats that cheap stuff like candy,,,
I can't remember the last time it failed for any reason.

In my CZ-75B I use Winchester White Box the most,,,
It's never failed to perform perfectly.

I recently bought a 250 round pack of UMC,,,
I ran 50 rounds of it with no problem.

Aarond
 
I bought a brick of PMC target 22 ammo as the cost was reasonable and with a Ruger Mk 2, shot one ragged hole. I was amazed with this stuff.
 
Thanks again- I really appreciate you guys taking the time to reply.
Far as the reloading, no one commented on that yet...
I got into reloading for our .223's because we have two of them, and with match-grade ammo being around a buck a shot, 200 rounds at the range would be an expensive day without doing it. Reloading for our long guns not only saves a lot of money, but I can load to the lands and get more accurate ammo than I can buy over the counter at any price.

But, for the 9mm, seems to be somewhere in the neighborhood of ten bucks or so for a box of 50 rounds FMJ). The numbers don't seem to justify reloading for the 9mm (unless maybe you're a competition shooter), and there's not much selection for components available from what I see anyway, so my guess is it's not worth reloading for the 9mm? Fine by me...less work :D
 
I am considering reloading 9 mm. Yes I can get ammo for about $10 per box. I go through a lot of it as well. I recently have been looking into this. To get a good press and everything else needed, it might take me a year to break even. I thought I would start with just picking up some of my brass for now. I only have about 75 boxes saved so far. I think I would only be saving about 30% per round at this point. It could be a little more or less.

I will start with a good tumbler and start cleaning the brass I have and will pick up in the near future. Once there is plenty it will be time to get the rest and start working on the load I want to use. I think by end of spring I should be ready to roll my own the way I want them to be.

I don't think the price of ammo will be going down much if at all and then it will just climb after that like it always has. Stocking up on supplies to reload will be nice insurance against a major shortage of ammo when it happens again. Reloading self defense ammo is one place where you can really save some money. Have you looked lately at the prices of a good SD round?
 
Good point, Dave.

I already have bitten the bullet on the equipment costs (ouch, it all adds up quick), but all I'd need now are dies and a shellplate. For SD rounds, and more serious target shooting where bullet quality and load precision would be important it might be worthwhile.

Still buy the cheaper $10 box FMJ's for plinking cause I doubt I could make them any cheaper than that. Given that I've just picked up a Savage .308 target rifle for my son, and a Mosin to try to trick out to a long range rifle for myself, I've now got three different rifle calibers and four guns to reload for.. phew...

I enjoy reloading, but at some point it could become a drudge- and I don't want that to happen to a hobby I enjoy so much.
 
When you buy in bulk, the best price I have located so far seems to be from Montana Gold. Getting 4000 or more bullets for the range (FMJ) seem not too bad. Some where in the neighborhood of 7 cents each. Add primer and powder by the keg along with the cases you may have and you can load for less than $10 per box. I think the only way to make it pay to buy in bulk. When I looked at only getting enough to load a couple a boxes it was cheaper to get factory ammo.

http://www.montanagoldbullet.com/pricelist.tpl
 
I have used CCI Blazer 115gr FMJ, Federal 115gt FMG with no issues in my MKIII BHP, many thousands of rounds. I use primarily Federal in my 22 Buckmaster with a healthy dose of Remington with no issues also.

Vince
 
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Excellent choices for both a .22 and a 9mm. As far as ammo for the guns go even with all the tight CNC spec'd guns out there each gun is still pretty unique in it's preference for ammo. My 22/45 will shoot about anything. But as far as if I want the absolute tightest groups it loves Federal Auto Match. But most of the bulk ammo packs are fine just for shooting cans, paper, or even bunnies. Just play with different brands and find out what your gun likes the best.
Pretty much the same with the CZ75. The only thing mine really doesn't like is Blazer aluminum rounds. As far as self defense rounds if you stick with Winchester Ranger, Federal HST, or Speer Gold Dots it doesn't get any better. Again feed quite a few mags through it to assure reliable feeding. As far as accurate these loads are all good. The distances at which you will might have to use a handgun to defend yourself 1.5 inches at 25 yards is not necessary. Most people can't shoot that well anyway. Ehjoy your guns. You've got two of the best.
 
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