Practice Ammunition and Accuracy

[JohnKSa]

UPDATE ADDED on 1 September 2012! Scroll down to Post # 10 for update.

I took a Ruger P95 to the range today. I like the P95, it's a good solid pistol, but it's not impressively accurate in my experience.

I also took several different kinds of 9mm practice ammunition with me. A recent thread got me to thinking about practice ammunition accuracy and so I decided to repeat a test that I had done some years ago.

I loaded the magazine with a mix of 5 different kinds of practice ammunition. 115gr FMJ Blazer Aluminum, 115gr Winchester SXZ9, 115gr FMJ Remington UMC, 115gr American Eagle & 115gr FMJ Sellier & Bellot.

Below are the results.

7 Yards, 10 Shot group using 5 different kinds of ammunition. 1.25"

15 yards, 10 Shot group using 5 different kinds of ammunition. 4.25"

15 yards, 15 Shot group using 5 different kinds of ammunition. 4 3/8"

To be clear, I'm not claiming that this is spectacular accuracy, it's not. But it is reasonable. I'm sure that these groups could be improved on with a more accurate gun, and/or a more accurate shooter and/or shooting from the bench instead of offhand.

The point is that even budget practice ammo is pretty accurate and, as long as you don't mix bullet weights, will shoot to more or less the same point of aim.

P.S. In my opinion, the high right flier in both 15 yard groups is a shooter problem I need to get lined out. I was getting one or two of those each group regardless of what ammunition I used during the range session. It got worse towards the end of the session as I began to tire a bit.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Thanks for the data/insights.

 

[KyJim]

A "real world" test, for sure. I often fire a mixed bag of rounds when I'm paper punching. Sadly, in my case, it's usually the shooter who contributes more to inaccuracy than the ammo.

 

[Creeper]

The Ruger P95 is not a target pistol by any stretch of the imagination. If this is your carry gun... then you got nothing to worry about, 'cause 15 yards is about the max (beyond the max?) of most real gunfight scenarios.

Sure, it's nice to have the intrinsic accuracy of a target grade pistol in your carry piece, but if it shoots 4" or less at 15 yds offhand with just about any ammo, and goes bang every time you pull the trigger, then you're good to go.

Under the stress of an actual gunfight, you're "groups" will open up considerably, so in many cases, practice and training will be more valuable than a 2" at 25 yds gun... 'cause folks that don't train and practice will be shooting 8" "groups" with them 2" guns... if they're really lucky.

I have a Series 80 Gold Cup NM that will shoot sub 2" at 50 yds with Fed match and selected handloads... but I carry an old Series 70 Commander, 'cause it's not ammo finicky, goes bang every time... and is no more accurate than your Ruger.

The learning never ends - Cheers,
C

 

[warningshot]

My hat is off to anybody whom can hold 24 shots inside the area the size of the ten ring on a NRA B27 Targe,t at 25 yards, using steel case combloc pistol ammo. I havn't seen it done yet, but there is always a, 'May-Bee'.

Stock M9s, Glock 17s & 22s, Sig 226s & 229s, HKs with Wiincherster White Box or Federal American Eagle do it every day.

At 25 yards and on signal, draw and fire 12 shots standing unsupported in 60 seconds or less. Re-load and Holster. Repeat one more time at the buzzer. Wait for the all clear and go forward & score your target.

Pictures. Send pictures.

 

[JohnKSa]

I don't own any steel-cased 9mm ammo any more. In my experience, the Chinese steel-cased 9mm I used to shoot was adequately accurate, but maybe not as accurate as the domestically produced practice ammo.

I'm not going to go so far as to claim that there's no difference across the entire range of practice ammunition that's currently available on the market--but I do think a lot more is made of the supposed differences between the generic and practice ammo offerings from the big name domestic producers than is really warranted.

 

[Mobuck]

I carry a KP95DC and I've found it's not picky about what it's fed. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have a preference accuracy wise for any ammo I've tried. I use 124 grain GoldDots as carry ammo because they seem to combine a good level of accuracy with terminal performance I expect.
This pistol has killed 3-4 coyotes including one at about 30 yards(unlucky yote), several vehicle injured deer, and numerous coons, skunks, and groundhogs.
Like one guy explained to me regarding why he couldn't shoot small groups on target but hit small targets regularly. "The way I shoot, some bullet dispersion makes my hit probability better."

 

[Redhawk5.5+P+]

Are you left handed?

 

[JohnKSa]

Nope. I'm a righty.

The groups in the pictures are oriented as they were when shot. I was using a 6 O'Clock hold on the colored portion of the targets, so it appears that perhaps this gun shoots a bit high. I'll reserve judgement until I can do some more shooting with it.

 

[JohnKSa]

Update

Here's a 10 shot group with 6 different kinds of budget practice ammunition. It was shot at 15 yards using a Gen3 Glock 17. All the bullet weights used were 115gr.

Specific ammunition used is:

• Winchester SXZ9 Practice
• Remington JHP, Walmart 100Pack.
• WWB
• Federal Champion
• Sellier & Bellot
• Federal American Eagle

The group measures 2 inches. For reference, the blue target dot is 3" in diameter.

Again, I'm not claiming this is outstanding accuracy. The point is that agonizing over the differences in practice ammunition is pretty pointless--at least if you're discussing the 6 different kinds used in this test. Not only are all of them adequately accurate, they all shoot to the same point of aim at 15 yards.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

So, but you really need to benchrest...

...oh, never mind.

 

[JohnKSa]

Where have I heard THAT before?

 

[Marquezj16]

When I pick up practice ammo for my 9mm or 45 I buy what is cheapest at Wally World or Academy. They seem to have the same results at the range. However, when it comes to my SD/carry ammo, I buy different kinds and shoot them for groups. I then chose which ever brand or weight groups best for each particular pistol.