Ammo Brands

[t84a]

Honest, I tried a search. So in these times of scarce supply, are there brands to stay away from? I mean, can one assume if a particular brand is readily available, it for a reason?

 

[Dave MP]

What are you shooting?
Some firearms are finicky with ammo. My Glock, Mini-14, & AR all will eat steel cased ammo like candy.

Sent from my phone using 2 cramping thumbs.

 

[t84a]

Sorry.

Glock 19 9mm
Ruger Mark III .22LR
Ruger GP100 .357/.38

 

[Dave MP]

Sorry.

Glock 19 9mm
Ruger Mark III .22LR
Ruger GP100 .357/.38

Can't speak for the others, but the G19 will eat ANYTHING you feed it. Some ammo can be more dirty that others.

 

[4095fanatic]

My MKIII is not the best with Federal Bulk Pack. Has a FTF every few mags. Not horrible, but not great.

 

[NickZac]

Let me first say this is all just my personal opinion. My personal favorite practice ammo brands are Fiocchi & S&B, followed by Magtech/PMC and then AE/Lawman and finally WWB/UMC/Wolf/Blazer etc. I find the brands I like most to be cleaner (and hotter).

For example, the 115 grain S&B FMJ for 9mm moves at 1,280 fps and carries about 420 lb. behind it. Wolf is about 1150 fps and 340 lb. and most other practice rounds are about the same as that. To me, shooting the S&B gives me a better prep for shooting defensive rounds that will also be hotter than standard range ammo.

And then there is costs...honestly if you look at the pricing of premium versus standard practice ammo, it really isn't all that much of a difference nowadays (this is based on sellers not gouging where as you can get high quality ball 9mm for 11-15 bucks a box). With that said, a Glock won't have any issues with feeding and the Ruger GP will do well with anything. It's worth noting that most of the .357 Magnum loads are greatly watered down and you can only find full-spec ammo from a place such as Double Tap.

The Mk III is a little pickier. My buddy uses CCI and Federal Gold Metal. I personally like the Gold Metal as I find it to be a lot cleaner. It does not do well with bulk bricks and the bricks make it get dirty very quickly.

IMO if you have a specific defensive ammo of choice, I would try to buy that in bulk as well. A 115gr 9mm +p+ is practically a completely different firearm versus a standard range loading. A full-spec .357 is unbelievably hotter than most range rounds. And in the case of Fiocchi JHPs with Hornady XTP bullets, it is a great self-defense round and a great value, as they usually only are about 2-3 bucks more than the FMJs.

 

[SigMatt]

Only ammo I have problems with is non-brass cased CCI .22LR. Semi-autos don't like it. Other than that, even the cheap, no-name crap I have fires fine in everything. I tend to stick though to US brands. I fire mainly Lake City, Federal, American Eagle, Independence and Magtech. Everything else I have is milsurp and the guns it's designed for.

If it has a case, bullet that is seated and a primer that is seated correctly, it will do nowadays.

Matt

 

[RipkinC]

With your block, lead bullets are not your friend, the rest is a matter of how "clean" you like ur ammo, steel case stuff Normaly has hard primers so striker fired guns like a glock or xd sometimes can have trouble "lighting off" the round

 

[ma_deuce]

Let me first say this is all just my personal opinion. My personal favorite practice ammo brands are Fiocchi & S&B, followed by Magtech/PMC and then AE/Lawman and finally WWB/UMC/Wolf/Blazer etc. I find the brands I like most to be cleaner (and hotter).

My ranking is close to the same, except I'd put PPU/Prvi Partisan in there with Fiocchi and S&B, and RWS somewhere up there with them or Magtech/PMC, too. I've like Blazer better than you do, and would put it and WWB a definite step ahead of the others you've put in that group.

I avoid Remington/UMC when I can. I find it to be dirty and inconsistent, at least as dirty as Wolf, maybe worse.

 

[LeeMD]

I had no issue shooting WWB, Federal, or PMC. Maybe it is just me, but steel case is not working well for me.

 

[ridethemessiah]

Your ruger ..22 is prob the only picky one. Cci mini mags will run flawless through it

 

[NickZac]

My ranking is close to the same, except I'd put PPU/Prvi Partisan in there with Fiocchi and S&B, and RWS somewhere up there with them or Magtech/PMC, too. I've like Blazer better than you do, and would put it and WWB a definite step ahead of the others you've put in that group.

I avoid Remington/UMC when I can. I find it to be dirty and inconsistent, at least as dirty as Wolf, maybe worse.

I've never used Prvi Partisan or RWS. I'll have to check them out. The main complaint I have with Blazer is that some ranges are restrictive on its usage and of course the case has no resale value (where as brass has some and IMO is worth keeping). I do know a lot of guys that love it and it is def a lot cleaner than the others on the list, so I suppose I should have moved that one up. UMC for me has been the worst although I've been reading reviews on the new 'target' UMC with nickel-plated casings and it sounds like people are very happy with them. With that said, I've found UMC to be so dirty I am almost reluctant to try it!

 

[Defender]

Just get 20 rounds and this