Non-reloaders -- what ammo?

[matir]

For those who don't reload, what ammo do you use in matches?  Reliability seems to be the most important part, not sure the best brands there.

 

I'm planning to run a 9mm in production if that matters.

[Jakobi]

Any of the guys that target USPSA are good (Atlanta, Freedom, etc.). The larger commercial outfits are good but I'd stay away from Remington and the cheap Winchester stuff. PMC was always a good balance of cost and performance for me for pistol ammo and Federal works well for my rifle and shotgun ammo needs. Somehow Remington hasn't managed to screw up their shotshells yet so I'll buy those when I can find them on sale.

[matir]

I'm surprised to hear Freedom is included.  Half of the kabooms I've heard of have involved them, so I always assumed their QC was borderline...

[Sarge]

19 minutes ago, matir said:

I'm surprised to hear Freedom is included.  Half of the kabooms I've heard of have involved them, so I always assumed their QC was borderline...

Borderline? That would be a compliment.  

[Kixx]

Before I reloaded I used Armscor 124gr. Chrono’d about at 135 pf out of my G34 and felt very similar to Titegroup reloads at the same power factor. 

[matir]

1 hour ago, Sarge said:

Borderline? That would be a compliment.  

 

I didn't want to piss on a manufacturer who's product I've never tried.

[Hi-Power Jack]

For 9mm Production, you might want to try different

bullet weights - 115, 124 and 147 being the most common.

 

You'll pay extra for the heavier bullets, but you might

prefer their recoil impulse.    Or, not.      

[Jakobi]

I have friends that have used Freedom with no issues but I've never purchased Freedom's products so I can't really comment on them. I'll keep this feedback in mind when making future recommendations. Thanks for keeping me honest.

[Mcfoto]

I was a happy Freedom customer before they cancelled the brass trade in program which was the catalyst to get me to hand load

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, matir said:

 

I didn't want to piss on a manufacturer who's product I've never tried.

doesn't bother me. I won a box of 9mm years ago at a match. The entire box was not even crimped. Still widely belled.

[matir]

1 minute ago, Sarge said:

doesn't bother me. I won a box of 9mm years ago at a match. The entire box was not even crimped. Still widely belled.

 

WTF... say what you will about WWB, it's never been that bad!

[Frankly]

Had Freedom 38 and 9mm rounds that looked funky as well, cool marketing isn’t enough to get me back. I try to look at every round but it’s too easy to miss something.

 

Fiochhi 115 and 124 9mm and Federal 115 FMJs have been clean and consistent at a reasonable price. 17-18 cents per round, including shipping.

 

Federal .223 55s for ~ 28 cents.

 

Hornady Match .223 77s >buck buy it

 

Fiocchi 7/8oz 12g low recoil slugs >worth it

 

Federal Police Buckshot from the HD pile.

 

I tend to rank ammo as Hornady, Federal, Fiocchi, everything else in that order. But I’ve heard good things about Atlanta and Prime.

 

Respect to reloaders but that’s an entirely different hobby.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Frankly

[yigal]

fiocchi  115gr  fmj   the only ammo that nobody in the club ever have : no light strikes and no  other  problems.

Edited December 26, 2018 by yigal

[emjei]

Everglades Ammo

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[45 Raven]

I have heard Aguila ammo quantified as "dirty", but have shot multiple thousands of rounds of their 124 gr. FMJ ammo in IDPA and steel matches, practice, and training classes over the past several years. 

 

This ammo has been used in 1911's from Dan Wesson and Wilson Combat, in STI 2011 pistols, CZ 75 SP01 Shadows, CZ 75 SP-01 (non-Shadows), CZ Pro-Tek 1,  and Glock G43, G19, G17, G34, and G26 pistols as well as a Springfield EMP with 3" barrel.  100% reliable ignition, and no crimp or primer issues.  None. 

 

I clean all my pistols after a maximum of approximately 300 rounds fired, so if this ammo is "dirty" I haven't experienced any issues because of it.   

 

It chronos at minor power factor reliably in every pistol except the 3" EMP, and then it just misses the 125 PF about 1/3 of the time. 

[Kixx]

1 hour ago, 45 Raven said:

Aguila 124

 

I have also had very good experience with Aguila.  I started buying it when I couldn’t find Armscor anymore and still buy it any time I need factory ammo for something. Always reliable and makes PF. 

[davsco]

generally with factory, the heavier-for-caliber ammo has less energy/recoil for faster follow-up shots.  so for instance, fed american eagle 147 9mm should shoot a little softer than their 124 which should shoot a little softer than their 115, just look at the energy #'s on the boxes.  myself, not really good enough to tell the diff but i do try to buy 147 or if a little cheaper, 124.  fed am eagle is my preference for no strong reason.  actually i've had great luck with the blazer aluminum though it seems half the time it's more expensive than brass equivalents.  no issues with pmc or wwb.  always check pricing on ammoseek.com but realize that palmetto state armory and some other good shops aren't captured there for some reason.

[RangerTrace]

Before I converted my press to 9mm, I was shooting Blazer Brass 115s will great success.  I could buy it (at that time) for about .20 cents a round, it fed well in my guns and was plenty accurate for our sports.  I would buy it over any of the reman ammo, based on my limited experience.

[Pcew73]

I just bought some 9mm 147 gr competition Ammo from Fenix ammunition in Michigan. I’m planning on a range session with it Friday and will let you know how it runs.  I’ve also heard good things about peak performance Ammo.  

[Silverscooby27]

For production I use T1 ammunition 147 gr. in a CZ Shadow 2.

[BJB]

Before I started reloading I shot tons of factory 9mm.  Most of it came from sgammo.com.  I’ve sent thousands of dollars their direction for a case or two at a time.  About anything worked just fine for me because early on I didn’t really know what I was doing in the shooting game anyway, but my preference was and still is 124 gr in factory ammo.  They always seemed to have 124 gr Blazer Brass on hand. I shot that stuff in Area 4 in the past, chronoed at 138.6 PF thru a 5” M&P barrel.  I shot a lot of Perfect 115 gr 9mm when Walmart was selling it.  It was surprisingly accurate & clean & I never had a single failure with it.  It chronoed at 137 PF thru a 4.5” CZ P-09 barrel.  Fiocchi made that stuff & what they still sell in their blue boxes is the exact same stuff.  I know a Production M who still shoots Magtech 115 gr.  He claims it’s good stuff and always gives him 131 PF.  I was an RO at Area 4 this year and watched him use it in that match. Most any of the more name brand stuff should be fine for you.  I do agree with what has been stated that Remington & Winchester can be weak and inconsistent. But, if you find it on sale go ahead and get it and just practice with it.  Winchester also seems to run very dirty if that matters to you, I don’t care and just clean my gun.  I’ve never used Freedom but I guy I shoot with has.  He experienced a lot of QC issues with it & moved on.  S&B is fine unless you have messed with your main spring or striker spring because it seems to have a little harder primer.  I’ve see plenty of newer shooters use cheap Russian steel stuff with no problems because that’s what they could afford when bringing 300 or so rounds to a match.  But I do hear that stuff can cause issues if you shoot enough of it over time.  I don’t have direct experience with it though.  I’ve actually bought thousands of rounds of that cheap aluminum Federal Champion bulk boxes that you find at Walmart.  I’ve used it in classes when I don’t want to leave 1500 brass cases on the ground or I haven’t loaded enough for the entire class.  It has been just fine for me, although it seems a little dirtier because the aluminum doesn’t seal the chamber as well as brass does.  Right next to that on the Walmart shelf is often the Federal brass bulk pack for just a few cents more.  I’d say get a hold of whatever to can get a hold of the cheapest and have fun.  Also, whatever factory stuff you do use go ahead and pick up your brass because if you stay in this game you’ll likely start reloading.  If not, then you will always be able to trade it to your shooting partners for something.

[Joe4d]

Son in law wanted to go to gun show said wanted some 9mm ammo.. usually better off ordering but told him I just set up press for 9mm, pick up a brick of primers and powder at lGS,, bring me some beer.
Anyway pricing a lb of powder , 1k primers and 1k bullets,,, came out to about 125,,,   ammo prices are great now.  Ive got stored components so I will load,, but if I didnt have components, not worth the trouble.

Edited February 23, 2019 by Joe4d

[BeerBaron]

Probably the best all round choice for 9mm production ammo is fed American eagle 124gn fmj. 

 

Its about 138pf our of most prod guns so it’s a little warm but it’s super reliable. Will always make pf. Very clean. Brass is good too so you can recoup some $ selling it. It also has federal primers so it’ll always go bang even in tunes cz’s and tanfoglios. 

 

The new federal syntech action pistol 150gn is also a good option. It was also about 138 pf out of my shadow 2 but it ‘feels’ softer due to the heavier pill. 

 

I can tell you some of the top prod shooters in the world use fed American eagle as match ammo. 

 

Nothing beats quality,  factory ammo reliability. And the fed American eagle is pretty affordable too. 

 

 

[BeerBaron]

Ps. The most baller option is the geco 124gn hexagon. It’s loaded with vithavouri powder and fancy hexagon jhp’s. It’s super accurate but a bit pricey. It was one of the official match ammo options at the last Ipsc world shoot. 

 

https://geco-munition.de/en/ammunition/ammo-for-pistols-and-revolver/Product/show/geco-hexagon-pistol-cartridge/9-mm-luger.html

[blueorison]

39 minutes ago, BeerBaron said:

Probably the best all round choice for 9mm production ammo is fed American eagle 124gn fmj. 

 

Its about 138pf our of most prod guns so it’s a little warm but it’s super reliable. Will always make pf. Very clean. Brass is good too so you can recoup some $ selling it. It also has federal primers so it’ll always go bang even in tunes cz’s and tanfoglios. 

 

The new federal syntech action pistol 150gn is also a good option. It was also about 138 pf out of my shadow 2 but it ‘feels’ softer due to the heavier pill. 

 

I can tell you some of the top prod shooters in the world use fed American eagle as match ammo. 

 

Nothing beats quality,  factory ammo reliability. And the fed American eagle is pretty affordable too. 

 

 

 

This and this.

 

The AE 124gr is my fave factory round. Very accurate out of many different platforms, always ignites, even with weaker striker/hammer hits.

 

Many also like the heavies of the Syntech line; but it's your pref if you prefer snappier/pushier ammo.