New Shooter Ammo Questions

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Pwnyride

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So i just bought my first firearm and could not be more excited.

My question though is what kind of ammo? Ive been to the range a bunch with my friends guns and generally just buy whatever they can sell me at a good price for range use. I just bought a Springfield 1911 mil spec 45, and ive never had to buy ammo for a 45.

A.) what decent inexpensive ammo should i get that wont corrode my gun

B.) what ammunition should i consider for home defense

C.) What other advise on ammo, or interesting ammo i should look into.:confused:
 
You'll get as many answers as ammo types.

Start with what's inexpensive, and see how it shoots. If you aren't satisfied, move up from there.

As far as defensive ammo, about any of the big maker's choices of JHP's will work fine. Gold Dot, Golden Sabre, HST, Hydra-Shok, and so forth are all good ammo. Heck, you can go with cheaper hollow points and still have decent ammo for SD.

Daryl
 
RE:A) For the range, Winchester "white box" FMJ's in 100-count boxes from your local WalMart are about as cheap, decent, and easily obtainable as any unless/until you start reloading.
 
Yes, buy cheap stuff for the range. I really like Remington Golden sabers .45 +P 185 JHP for defensive use. Also, remember to shoot some of the defense ammo at the range to be sure it works in your gun and to get accustomed to how it performs.
 
Pwnyride said:
So i just bought my first firearm and could not be more excited.

My question though is what kind of ammo? Ive been to the range a bunch with my friends guns and generally just buy whatever they can sell me at a good price for range use. I just bought a Springfield 1911 mil spec 45, and ive never had to buy ammo for a 45.
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Get thee to a Wal-Mart and buy Winchester USA in the 100-round value packs, or Blazer Brass in the 50-round boxes. Both are good practice ammo and abut as affordable as you'll find unless you want to buy on-line in quantities large enough to offset the hefty shipping charges. (Typically you'll need to buy anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 rounds at a time to beat the Wally World pricing.)

For self defense, you will have to experiment. 1911s can by finicky about feeding hollow-point ammo. Personally, I like Golden Saber and it seems to work in all my pistols. Gold Dot is also good, if it'll feed, along with Hornaday TAP, Winchester Ranger SXT, and a few others. Wilson Combat (who make top flight 1911s) recently started selling ammunition -- it's excellent.

And you should go to www.m1911.org and sign up for the forum.
 
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As others have said, Speer Gold Dot in 230g is a great defense round .45ACP.

Remington Golden Saber is also a fairly good round and have a good reputation for feeding reliably in most guns.

Whatever you buy, don't just buy one box of it. This is your life we're talking about here, right? I think you're worth more than the $80 it'll cost to run a few boxes of it through your gun to make sure it feeds properly.
 
As for cheap range ammo I probably shoot 10 to 1 russian steel cased ammo in ALL my guns. There it's lots of quality SD ammo out there, take your pick.
 
.45acp loads for target/defense/carry etc...

Depending on how or when you use the new 1911a1 .45acp, you'll have a few solid choices.
For carry/protection uses, I'd look at a few of these brands:
Ranger T 230gr JHP +P, Remington Golden Saber 230gr JHP +P, Speer Gold Dot 230gr JHP +P, Corbon DPX, Glaser Safety Slug, PowRball, Federal EFMJ, Hornady TAP or Critical Defense .45acp.
I suggest buying milspec FMJ 230gr .45acp rounds then carrying/using the same weight/type in a factory JHP.
Frangibles or "exotic" loads are useful but only for home/office protection or in places that have large crowds(apt buildings, medical centers, jails, ships-docks, malls, etc).
Check www.SGammo.com or www.ShopCorbon.com .

Stay safe & enjoy your new 1911a1 pistol.
Clyde
 
When I go fancy, I get Remington 230 grain JHP (white/green box) at Walmart.
When trying to cut cost, I use Winchester White Box 230 grain FMJ or cheaper brass cased ammo.
My 1911 when CC or loaded for HD has the Remington HPs + spare mag loaded with FMJs.
Whatever ammo you decide to use, just make sure your pistol is RELIABLE with it.
 
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