What ammo do you guys recommend for training?
And do you change it up doing drills on your own vs a formal pistol course?
At this point: “Whatever you can get.”
since most of the defensive loads are over a buck a round, you sure as shit dont want to do a whole lot of training with it.
johnwayne pretty much hit the nail on the head… all ive been able to find locally- in ANY load- is ultimax, which, under normal circumstances, i wouldnt pay for. it’s crappily reloaded junk, for the most part, and thats probably why it’s the only thing i can find.
wolf is good to go- they’ve made a science out of making shitty ammo, so it’s pretty good shitty ammo. i’d kill for a couple cases of wolf right now.
I picked up a couple cases of 9mm Wolf for training.
If it doesn’t go bang, I get to work on my clearance drills.
What ever I can get until I start reloading 9mm.
My favorite training and competition load right now is factory new Federal/American Eagle 115gr FMJ. Sometimes I still shoot ‘gamer’ 147gr JHP but I actually prefer the snappier feel to 115gr FMJ. It’s probably all mental but it seems to me that the Atlanta Arms 147gr JHP takes forever to cycle the gun, I only like shooting it at Steel Challenge matches. It seems the sights lift and fall faster with 115gr FMJ.
I like Winchester White Box 115 Gr FMJ , snappy, reliable and available.
In order of acceptability:
[ol]
[li]Free
[/li][li]Cheap name-brand FMJ
[/li][li]Cheap Euro FMJ
[/li][li]Anything that doesn’t have a reputation for messing up guns
[/li][li]Anything
[/li][/ol]
Free-90-free is good! 
At the last class I took I ran 1000 rounds of 9mm and 600 rounds of 40Sw from BVAC, their new ammo, not reloads. Not one ammo problem. The rounds are loose packed, but in pretty sturdy boxes. BVAC did a nice job of making sure I had the ammo when I needed it for the class. I’ll probably try their reman next.
I ran about 1000 rds of both Winchester white box and CCI Blazer with no problems training last year. Both can be found fairly cheap.
I’m a big fan of Winchester white box. Thousands of rounds so far and still reliable. Not the easiest to find recently, but still possible. Usually about $120ish for a case of 500 these days. I stock up on cases when I know I have training coming up.
I use Blazer Brass 9mm and Federal or Independence 9mm FMJ. You can get the Blazer for $212/1k shipped from Midsouth. It has been backordered, but it comes around and I stock a few 1k back for training.
Update: I got to work on my clearance drills.
Every now and again a primer would not ignite. Early in the day I’d tap-rack-bang but once I tried just pulling the trigger again (SIG P226) and it would go off.
Probably 5 or 6 times this happened in (IIRC) around 600 rounds.
Class was MDFI’s Handgun II.
My Glock 19 has no trouble igniting Wolf 9mm. I have shot three cases with zero issues.
As a follow up to my previous post:
I was at a common gun shop where I often buy a 500 case of Winchester white box for $129, which is bad enough. They had plenty of cases…for $150! I immediately walked out because I don’t think they throw in the KY at that price. Thank god I work by the Indiana border.
I don’t think any retailer can beat mail order for ammo. Just got a case of wolf 9mm delivered for right around $200.
I recently bought 9mm Federal 115 FMJ at Wal-Mart for $9/box/50
Limit 6 boxes