What ammo to break in VP9?

M

Maddnotez

New member
Well I've been getting antsy and ended up paying off my layaway a little early.

It should be here by the end of the week. I've been researching ammo types and thought that some kind of 124gr NATO would be best to use for the first few hundred rounds.

I don't mind paying a bit extra but keep in mind this is just range ammo.

What do you guys think would be best to use? I've heard bad things about the Winchester NATO in regards to lower specs and wasn't sure what would be best.

I understand there's no wrong way to eat a Reese's and don't plan on using reloads but I thought it may be better to break in the VP9 with something decent.
 
Does it need breaking in?
I haven't had to "break in", as in it doesn't work 100% right out of the box with only a good cleaning, any of my handguns. But they all get a 100 round "shake down" to prove to me they are 100% reliable before I carry them. For that I mostly use WWB, and have had no problems.
Maybe your HK is more finely machined, and finicky out of the box than my Ruger, Springer, Kahr, Beretta, and Glocks.
 
Maybe your HK is more finely machined, and finicky out of the box than my Ruger, Springer, Kahr, Beretta, and Glocks.
Click to expand...

Yeah...that's certainly a realistic assessment of the VP9...finicky...please...

I have approximately 2,000 rounds of mixed manufacturers and bullet weights through my VP9 without a problem - including ammunition that caused malfunctions with my P229.

There is nothing on a VP9 that needs to be "broken in." Shoot some average quality ammunition through it before you start trying the really cheap Russian ammo just to prove to yourself that it works without problems.

I've used: RWS Geco, Fiocchi, WWB, Herters, Federal, ARMSCORP, American Eagle, Prvi Partizan, and Speer Lawman. So far, they've all worked in the VP9.

The SIG P229 had repeated failure to extract problems with the ARMSCORP, but ran the remainder of the ammunition on the above list without a problem.
 
Maybe your HK is more finely machined, and finicky out of the box than my Ruger, Springer, Kahr, Beretta, and Glocks.
Click to expand...

People love to hate on HK. Makes them feel good for some reason. Not sure I'll ever get it.
 
Not trying to start an HK war lol.

I've heard the trigger gets better after a few rounds and that it's a good idea to run some decent ammo through it for the first few hundred. I wanted to get it working good before I carry. Plus I have a feeling I'm gonna burn through quite a bit of ammo this weekend so I wanted something reasonably priced but reliability over price.

I have been hesitant to get any reloads so idk about Freedomunitions but I see they're like new and to SAAMI specs.
 
There is nothing on a VP9 that needs to be "broken in."
Click to expand...

Most HKs have pretty stiff springs from the factory as they are designed as military duty guns and as such are designed to shoot 124gr NATO spec ammo. As a result, some o of the light weight 115gr target ammo that is available can be problematic when the recoil spring is new. This is a fault of the gun, but if underpowered ammo. After several hundred rounds of heavier weight or higher powered ammo, things generally loosen up and those lighter load work just fine.

I run pretty much 124gr exclusively anyways so I never had an issue, but it's not uncommon.

I have been hesitant to get any reloads so idk about Freedomunitions
Click to expand...

Freedom has both reloads and new ammo. I have used both, but primarily use their reloads. I have had no issues, but if it gives you peace of mind, get the new stuff.
 
Not hating on the HK. Nor did I mean finicky in a bad way. Like I said, maybe much more finely machined, with a lot tighter tolerances, making it need to be broken-in with hotter, better quality ammo.
I have heard the same about Sig, with something like 400 rounds being needed for break-in before the run right.
I may not personally care for the looks of HK's pistols, but there is no doubt as to their quality.
 
Freedom has both reloads and new ammo. I have used both, but primarily use their reloads. I have had no issues, but if it gives you peace of mind, get the new stuff.
Click to expand...

It was only a $4 difference on a box of 250 between new and remanufacturered.

Figured it would be a lot more. Anyhow I got a 250 count box of the 124gr RN new ammo for $52 very low cost and seems ok so why not right?

New customers get free shipping so I saved $13. Pretty awesome, just wish I had the money to buy 1,000 rounds with free shipping lol.
 
Anyhow I got a 250 count box of the 124gr RN new ammo for $52 very low cost and seems ok so why not right?
Click to expand...

FMJ right? You can shoot lead in a polygonal barrel, just be diligent about cleaning.
 
My VP9 eats anything I feed it. 115grain, 124 grain, it doesn't matter. I don't use reloads, or 147 grain ammo. With an HK just clean and lube it out of the box, grab some decent ammo and go shooting. Iv'e never found an HK that needed a break in period. I ran 300 rounds of 124 grain through mine as a reliability check and then put it in my Nightengale Raptor IWB and carried it. :eek:
 
I just checked the site and if I'm reading it right they sell one round that is labeled LRN for Lead Round Nose.

I can't find anything on their site that says what the regular RN is made of but I did email customer service asking them.

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm very new to shooting, only have one gun and it's and old revolver.

I really don't know much about anything in regards to firearm details.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    115.6 KB · Views: 63
Last edited:
That's what they said as well.

Here is the reply:

Dear Xxx,
The round nose bullets are lead core and fully encapsulated in copper plating.
Thank you
 
I think you are overthinking this a little bit. if you believe all the fanboy hype, HKs don't need a break in to begin with. if you aren't sure or intend to carry it and want to prove reliability, any off the shelf ammo will work. if you do intend to carry it, you should put at least 350 rounds through it first, some people recommend as much as 1000 rounds but I think 350 is reasonable. at least 100 rounds of that should be your chosen carry ammo to make sure it will cycle properly.

EDIT: I would not recommend freedom munitions(what my family grudgingly refers to as anarchy ammo). it is manufactured in my area and it floods the market quite bad. I bought 1000 rounds of 5.56 ammo and after 50 rounds I had 3 double charges which locked up my AR tighter than a crab's buttcrack, broke 2 cleaning rods extracting the brass. they took it back and refunded me only for the ammo I didn't shoot:eek:. other people are currently reporting blown primers. my experience with 38 special is that it is extremely inconsistent and very low velocity. there is much better reman out there than freedom munitions, Jack ross(if you can find it) or BVAC come to mind. personally with the price of ATK brands reaching as low as $9 a box, I would much rather just use blazer brass or american eagle over reman ammo.
 
Last edited:
I would not recommend freedom munitions(what my family grudgingly refers to as anarchy ammo).
Click to expand...

Suit yourself. I've shot about 10k rounds of Freedom(9mm and 45acp only) so far and have yet to have a single failure with it. The vast majority of it has been their reloads. They shoot cleaner AND are more accurate than Blazer or Federal out of all the guns I have tested with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top