What budget ammo does your G17 like?

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Mn Fats

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I'm going to give polymers one last try. Out of all of the ones I've shot or owned, aside from the HK P30L, the Gen 4 G17 was my favorite.

I know each barrel is different and this and that but how different can a Gen 4 G17 barrel from gun to gun really be to effect preference of grain/brand of ammo? Not much I'd guess.

So what budget ammo and grain does your Gen 4 G17 group best with? I believe Gen 4 G19 owners could chime in as well since the 1/2" length difference probably wouldn't effect much if anything.

I know these aren't "target guns". Just wondering what groups best in yours.

Thanks.
 
Cartridges 115 grain bullets running at 1135 FPS run best in my Glock 9mm pistols.

Remington UMC
Remington “Target” - same as UMC but repackaged.
PMC Bronze

Cartridges that aren’t so accurate:
Blazer Brass - 1000 FPS
Winchester white box - 1190 FPS
Fiocchi- runs a bit warmer at 1200 FPS


Also for SD - Hornady American Gunner 115 grain shoots very well from my G45, G34 and G26.
 
Practice - Aguila 115 FMJ

SD - American Gunner 124 gr XTP +P works well in everything I've seen it tried in including G17 and G19.
 
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My Glock 19 shoots best with Federal American Eagle 147 gr and AE 124 gr is right behind that. Your best bet is to buy a variety of ammo to try out and see what works best in your Glock 17.
 
Your best bet is to buy a variety of ammo to try out and see what works best in your Glock 17.
Agreed. But I figured the G17 may have been designed around a certain grain. Like how a lot of fixed sight 38's were designed to shoot 158's.
 
Cartridges 115 grain bullets running at 1135 FPS run best in my Glock 9mm pistols.

Remington UMC
Remington “Target” - same as UMC but repackaged.
PMC Bronze

Cartridges that aren’t so accurate:
Blazer Brass - 1000 FPS
Winchester white box - 1190 FPS
Fiocchi- runs a bit warmer at 1200 FPS


Also for SD - Hornady American Gunner 115 grain shoots very well from my G45, G34 and G26.

Funny, but my Gen 5 G19 has the same preference for ammo. I ended up using the Remington UMC 115gr HPs for matches. I had a Gen 4 G19 FS that I bought for matches but I was never satisfied with the accuracy, so I sold it to a "collector" that offered me $100 more than what I paid for it.

I'll have to see if I can find some of my old target pics to see what it did best with other than my reloads...
 
Found the old Gen 4 G19 pics. Best group I could get was just over 2" at 25yds with a rest. Fine for defensive work, but not for match shooting. Best group was with the Rem UMC in 147gr.
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Blazer was the worst...

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Compare those results with my Gen 5 G19 and it is pretty clear that the Gen 5 "marksman" barrel actually does make a difference...

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Funny, but my Gen 5 G19 has the same preference for ammo. I ended up using the Remington UMC 115gr HPs for matches. I had a Gen 4 G19 FS that I bought for matches but I was never satisfied with the accuracy, so I sold it to a "collector" that offered me $100 more than what I paid for it.

I'll have to see if I can find some of my old target pics to see what it did best with other than my reloads...
Didn't the Gen 5 switch to a different type of rifling that was supposedly superior? Odd that both preferred the same ammo.
I had a Gen 4 G19 FS that I bought for matches but I was never satisfied with the accuracy, so I sold it to a "collector" that offered me $100 more than what I paid for it.
Nice sale! I've never heard of a Glock Collector until now.
 
All of 'em.

But to be fair every polymer semi I've ever had has digested anything I've thrown it at.


Either I'm lucky or most modern plastic bottom feeders are pretty reliable. YMMV...
 
mine eats every off the shelf ammo I feed it. haven't tried bullseye shooting with it but it is combat accurate with all that's been through it.
 
No doubt a G17 can eat up most ammo. I was just curious what happens on the target after it has done so (group wise).

Im buying bulk, looks like I'll try the 115 UMC's.

Can anyone recommend some budget minded after market sights that have worked well for them?
 
No doubt a G17 can eat up most ammo. I was just curious what happens on the target after it has done so (group wise).

Most people on gun forums are lousy shots, so they don't check accuracy at 25 yards. Instead of revealing that they are average or below average shooters, they puff up and claim you don't need to be accurate at 25 yards and make up all sorts of excuses. Some even attack anyone that likes to know how accurate their defensive pistol actually is. Just typical human behavior...
 
Most people on gun forums are lousy shots, so they don't check accuracy at 25 yards. Instead of revealing that they are average or below average shooters, they puff up and claim you don't need to be accurate at 25 yards and make up all sorts of excuses. Some even attack anyone that likes to know how accurate their defensive pistol actually is. Just typical human behavior...

Okay I freely admit I'm a lousy shot. As long as it will put 5 rounds Offhand in the 1" 10-Ring at 7 yards at a reasonable pace of fire I consider it accurate..

If my eyes were good enough to focus on a 1" ring at 25 yards I might try rested slow fire as a way to test ammo.

PS As long as I can empty 3-Mags without going outside the 3" 8-Ring at a 1.0 Second Pace I'm happy with my shooting.
 
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I prefer American Eagle 124 grain for the consistency. That said, my G17 range gun will eat anything I feed it. For most of my training needs, I use that cheap Winchester forged stuff with steel cases. It has ingested thousands of this stuff as well as wolf and tula.
 
Okay I freely admit I'm a lousy shot. As long as it will put 5 rounds Offhand in the 1" 10-Ring at 7 yards at a reasonable pace of fire I consider it accurate..

If my eyes were good enough to focus on a 1" ring at 25 yards I might try rested slow fire as a way to test ammo.

PS As long as I can empty 3-Mags without going outside the 3" 8-Ring at a 1.0 Second Pace I'm happy with my shooting.

I've had a couple of incidents in which either a pistol or the ammo couldn't do better than 8" at 25 yards. I don't like the idea of carrying a pistol or ammo that I could not rely on to hit a human-sized target at 25 yards away, off-hand and under stress.

This is one of my 15 yard and 25 yard targets from a GSSF indoor match. This is a timed, 1 round per second, off-hand result using a pistol that I can get verified 1" groups with at 25yds with a rest.

g-kxsRRmQLOok_13LsWckw.jpg

So if a pistol that can do an inch at 25yds opens up to 10" under mild stress, how much would a pistol that barely does 8" at 25yds open up to under stress? The point that I'm trying to make is that the more accurate the pistol is, the more accurate it is going to be in a defensive shooting. And we can't guarantee that whatever horrible scenario we find ourselves in is going to be at the proverbial 7yds or less.
 
I've had a couple of incidents in which either a pistol or the ammo couldn't do better than 8" at 25 yards. I don't like the idea of carrying a pistol or ammo that I could not rely on to hit a human-sized target at 25 yards away, off-hand and under stress.

This is one of my 15 yard and 25 yard targets from a GSSF indoor match. This is a timed, 1 round per second, off-hand result using a pistol that I can get verified 1" groups with at 25yds with a rest.

View attachment 876586

So if a pistol that can do an inch at 25yds opens up to 10" under mild stress, how much would a pistol that barely does 8" at 25yds open up to under stress? The point that I'm trying to make is that the more accurate the pistol is, the more accurate it is going to be in a defensive shooting. And we can't guarantee that whatever horrible scenario we find ourselves in is going to be at the proverbial 7yds or less.

Sorry but the pistol's inherent mechanical accuracy has almost nothing to do with your groups opening up during "Stress". Your premise is complete flawed. 99% of pistol accuracy on target is the Indian not the arrow. If you train properly your group under stress will mimic your training. If you don't train properly your groups under pressure will suffer. The inherent accuracy of the pistol or ammo is not really coming into play. It is all about the shooter not the pistol. I can guarantee that every pistol in your safe is mechanically more accurate than you or I are. Strap it into a rest and it will shoot groups you are not capable of. This is not a knock on your abilities. Again it is the Indian not the pistol or the ammo that opens up someones groups under stress it is the shooter.

Also if you as a civilian take a 25 yard shot and any of the miss you will have a lot of questions to answer. Taking a shot at that distance with innocent people in the mix is a huge risk no matter how good a shot you are. Advising people that they need to take that kind of shot is reckless and dangerous IMHO. This is horrible advice. Your puffery is stunning. Do you even know the stats on the distance that the avg defense shooting happens at? 25 Yards is not the avg distance. Not even close. Most defensive shootings do not even involve sights.I am not saying training for longer distances has no value but the reality is that the proverbial 7 yards or less is true. It is the distance that most pistol involved conflicts happen.

Ken Hackathorn summed it up nicely.

  • 10 meters or less
  • Conditions low light
  • 1-3 attackers
  • Rounds fired if there is only 1 person with a gun 1-3 rounds. If 2 or more are shooting then every round in the magazine.
  • Most shooting are done with one hand and point shooting distance.

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Sorry but the pistol's inherent mechanical accuracy has almost nothing to do with your groups opening up during "Stress". Your premise is complete flawed. 99% of pistol accuracy on target is the Indian not the arrow. If you train properly your group under stress will mimic your training. If you don't train properly your groups under pressure will suffer. The inherent accuracy of the pistol or ammo is not really coming into play. It is all about the shooter not the pistol. I can guarantee that every pistol in your safe is mechanically more accurate than you or I are.

Not sure how you don't think that a pistol less accurate when bench rested is not going to be less accurate when fired off-hand and under stress.

I can guarantee you that I am more accurate than a couple of my pistols. If I wasn't, then explain 1" groups with one, and 8" groups with the other. It's because the pistol is not as accurate as I am.
 
Not sure how you don't think that a pistol less accurate when bench rested is not going to be less accurate when fired off-hand and under stress.

I can guarantee you that I am more accurate than a couple of my pistols. If I wasn't, then explain 1" groups with one, and 8" groups with the other. It's because the pistol is not as accurate as I am.

Strap the pistol into a mechanical rest and it will outshoot you. Interface between you and a particular gun also will come into play. I am also working under the assumption that said gun is in spec and not defective.

I agree a given group will open up under stress but the reason the groups open up is 100% the shooter not the pistol. Technique goes out the window. Motor skills are diminished etc... but the pistols inherent accuracy has not changed. Indian not the arrow.

None of this changes the fact you are giving poor advice based on false premises.
 
The typical SD Shooting description I've heard is 3', 3 Seconds and 3 rounds. But that doesn't eliminate the outriders where a Civilian with an AR takes out a perpetrator at 150 yards that is running down pedestrians with an automobile. It's not something we should spend a lot of time training for but a SD Shooting is by it's very nature an anomaly. If you were going with the odds you wouldn't carry because chances are you will never need it.
 
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