I’ve looked but havent found any answers to my particular question, which is: What are you using for practice ammo and what do you find to be the most satisfactory and why? For instance, I shot a hodge podge of S&B, Rem UMC (plated), Win, and Federal 115gr FMJ and was all over the place. Do you find any particular brand, weight, etc to perform better than any other?
I am now exclusively shooting a PPQ M2. Since money is always an issue, I normally choose to practice with 115 FMJ. I felt that the Federal 115gr FMJ was giving the most consistent accuracy / groups.
Should I look at 124gr and / or JHP? Other brands? Or is this akin to hunting a unicorn?
Disclaimer: I used the search button and didn’t find anything that really covered what I was looking for. Also it seems the Reloading & Ammunition forum is more orientated towards 5.56. Having said that, if the mods feel that this should be moved or closed, it’s their board. If someones search-fu works better than mine, please post the links.
Reloading aside, for bulk plinking ammo I normally buy WWB or S&B based upon price and availability. Both shoot reasonably well and I have not had any problem with cycling or any failures with these two choices of ammo. As to whether or not they are dirtier than other options I have found most ammo to leave about the same amount of residue and haven’t had a problem cleaning it off. These days with prices being where they are I mostly reload, but that is a whole other conversation. I moved to reloading due to the cost of ammo. If you want to know more PM me and I will be happy to answer your questions.
I shoot Glock 9mm for semi-autos - the 26, 19 and 17. I have had very good luck with S&B 124-grain FMJ 9mm factory ammo. I bought a bunch last fall, and have been using it only for classes this year. Very accurate, and no ammo-related issues. I’m been shooting reloads for practice sessions, that has been Berry’s plated bullets with range scavenged brass.
The 642 eats .38 reloads like a starving college kid at a Chinese buffet. Anything and everything.
For anything out to 25 yards I have found that any good commercial brass cased ammunition shoots the same through my G23 with a Lone Wolf 9mm barrel. I have a match prepped Beretta 92f with a KKM match barrel. At 25 yards everything groups well. Reloading is cheaper, but you probably won’t see much of a difference at normal training distances no matter what you use.
Winchester 9mm 124 grain NATO…Good practice ammo… Velocity is very close to other Winchester 124 grain hollow points, PDX1, Ranger Bonded and if you use adjustable sights the grouping stays very close to the same without haveing to readjust the sights…
Bang for the buck; the most consistent ammunition that I have found to be both economical and accurate is CCI Blazer (brass and aluminum) the Speer loadings are good too but more expensive.
Lately, at least in my area finding any 9mm ball ammo of any brand isn’t easy. And if you do find some the prices are typically high $18-25 per box. I bought 250 rounds of PMC 9mm 115 fmj for $96.00 a few weeks ago. I shot a couple of boxes through my HK USP 9C and it was pretty accurate at 15 yards.
It may take some time to find the right load for your pistol. I second the suggestion of reloading if it is feasible for you. I don’t at the moment but if things stay how they are I will start myself. The most difficult component to source are the primers. Save your brass because it may come in handy later.
Mostly what I shoot ( glock 17 ) is American eagle 124 gr which I have in bulk and seems to have more availability in my area. It been pretty reliable for me. I also shoot a lot of Remington disintigrator 9mm +P at my local range only because that’s all my range offers and it beats from having to use my own. Its also more consistent as far as felt recoil with my carry ammo Winchester ranger +p . Downside is frangible ammo is $$$ and is hard to clean
Range/pinking/IDPA, ammo, what ever I can actually find at a price (almost) worth paying.
When I was shooting 1911s, I tended to be a bit more picky on ammo (always had good luck with Winchester white box, and spotty feeding with PMC for example) but after going to the M&P 9mm, it’s been a garbage eater since day one.
For range use (practice and IDPA) I have been shooting mostly Blazer Brass and Federal Champion for the last year or more.
They are not only the most readily available in my area but are also reasonably priced and have proven both reliable and sufficiently accurate in my Glocks.
A couple years back I tested a large amount of ammo in my glock 19 best group (25 yards) was Winchester NATO ball at 2.25 inches, worst was 147 American eagle at a hair under 3 inches with all the bargain 115 falling between these extremes. If your gun is all o er with various 115’s it is either a gun that hates 115’s ( unlikely) or it is you. I have found every 115 load in the bargain variety to be pretty close as far as power and accuracy. I will however say I prefer the aluminum blazers ( so I don’t have to feel bad about leaving behind a few cases on the ground) I do reload 9 and feel bad at a match where I can’t recover my brass to use again
I shoot whatever I can find. Mostly Rem UMC and Winchester WB.
Before the shortage hit I would try to buy 124-147gr ammo as those are the weights of the Gold Dots I like to use for carry. Academy used to have the best selection of the various bullet weights but not so much anymore, at least not in my area.
But I’m not shooting matches for dead nuts accuracy. I’m shooting to hone and improve my skills. So any inherent variances between ammo brands is probably gonna wash out with me.
I’m partial to the Speer Lawman line. I was very fortunate to pick up quite a bit of it at $200-215/case last year.
While I haven’t shot enough of it to give it a ringing endorsement, I’ve had very positive experiences with Independence. Federal bulk has worked well for me, too. I’ve never shot Magtech’s 9mm, but I’ve shot a lot of their 38 Special with good results; ditto for S&B.
Generally whatever I can find at somewhat reasonable prices. Anything over $14 and I leave it where it lies. Before the shit hit the fan when I could choose what I wanted I enjoyed S&B 115gr and 124gr, a little zippier and found it to be plenty accurate for my purposes. Other than that whatever is cheaper from Tula to WWB, UMC, or Federal.
Delayed ignition has steered me away from WWB. I had a WWB round go off in a delayed fashion, peppering me with burning gun powder. It merely made me leery at first, but when my buddy had two rounds do the same to him within the same month or so, I stopped buying it.
Same buddy also had a Tula round squib, and the next shot blew both rounds out the barrel. It ruined the barrel, and he’s lucky it didn’t blow up in his hand.
Beyond that, anything brass cased should work fine for practice. I’ve never had a bad day shooting that I could honestly blame the ammo on. I once won a match with my 45, and went back and reshot the course with my 9mm shooting a free box of Wolf ammo, and did slightly better, point wise.