American Ammunition Co.
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This would be the Amerc right? Not the American Eagle - which is decent ammo
yes.
I've used Amerc in both .38 spl and 9mm
It's worse than junk and borders on being unsafe because it's often out of spec.
I had problems chambering the .38 spl due to excessive rim thickness and the majority of the primers on the 9mm were off-center.
Other's have reported more serious defects which based on my bad experience I tend to believe.
Win White Box or S&B are a far better value and much higher quality.
yes.
I've used Amerc in both .38 spl and 9mm
It's worse than junk and borders on being unsafe because it's often out of spec.
I had problems chambering the .38 spl due to excessive rim thickness and the majority of the primers on the 9mm were off-center.
Other's have reported more serious defects which based on my bad experience I tend to believe.
Win White Box or S&B are a far better value and much higher quality.
Black Snowman
Member
I haven't fired any but I have seen some brass at the range. When I inspected it I immidately threw it out. It looked horribly cheap. There are a few posts in reloading about this stuff and the unanimous answer has been "throw it away".
I used one box of .45ACP and that's the last box I'll ever use. Crappy brass and jacketed bullets with visible dimples and warps in the jackets.
If it was priced at $6 a box it'd be OK for plinking but at $9 a box it isn't worth it.
I'll stick with S&B (prefered) or Federal American Eagle both of which are excellent and I can get for $$8 to $10 a box depending on where I buy it.
If it was priced at $6 a box it'd be OK for plinking but at $9 a box it isn't worth it.
I'll stick with S&B (prefered) or Federal American Eagle both of which are excellent and I can get for $$8 to $10 a box depending on where I buy it.
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
UTTER GARBAGE!!
I used some within my test program on ammo thru R9s .... diabolical stuff! Not sure why my chrono gave the results it did but figures were way down on velocity tho it did cycle the gun. Really need to check that again but - all gone now after burning it up thru Camp 9.
Here's a pic showing the wrinkled bullets .. supposedly, someone said, plated and not jacketed. Whatever ... no more for me!
I used some within my test program on ammo thru R9s .... diabolical stuff! Not sure why my chrono gave the results it did but figures were way down on velocity tho it did cycle the gun. Really need to check that again but - all gone now after burning it up thru Camp 9.
Here's a pic showing the wrinkled bullets .. supposedly, someone said, plated and not jacketed. Whatever ... no more for me!
Dean Speir
Member
Werewolf states:
Look again… they're plated, as opposed to being jacketed, hence the surface irregularities.
The rep on American Ammunition (headstamp "AMERC") has been almost uniformly negative for quite a while now, and I have a substantial number of reports involving catastrophic failures with their rounds, particularly with Glocks! (Lead projectiles, even plated ones, are inimical to polygonal rifling.)
I think that American Ammunition's biggest problem in the past has been in the area of QC/QA, but I was made privy to the existence of a sizable contract between FLETC and AMERC at this past SHOT Show, and have been watching closely to see what sort of reports emanate from Glynco about the ammo.
So far, so good… so perhaps American Ammunition, with it's strategic alliance with IMI and acquisition of Triton's assets, has taken the necessary steps to rehabilitate itself.
However, it's gonna take a long time, if at all, for the perception of poor QC/QA to be overcome.
Werewolf states:
Gee, didja ever think that it might be because they're not "jacketed?!?"
Look again… they're plated, as opposed to being jacketed, hence the surface irregularities.
The rep on American Ammunition (headstamp "AMERC") has been almost uniformly negative for quite a while now, and I have a substantial number of reports involving catastrophic failures with their rounds, particularly with Glocks! (Lead projectiles, even plated ones, are inimical to polygonal rifling.)
I think that American Ammunition's biggest problem in the past has been in the area of QC/QA, but I was made privy to the existence of a sizable contract between FLETC and AMERC at this past SHOT Show, and have been watching closely to see what sort of reports emanate from Glynco about the ammo.
So far, so good… so perhaps American Ammunition, with it's strategic alliance with IMI and acquisition of Triton's assets, has taken the necessary steps to rehabilitate itself.
However, it's gonna take a long time, if at all, for the perception of poor QC/QA to be overcome.
Very poor quality stuff. I put a couple of hundred rounds through a P89 awhile back. The recoil and report varied considerably from round to round and I had several failures to feed in a pistol that has otherwise been 100% reliable. The rounds that failed to feed wouldn't fully chamber which I took to mean that they're out of spec.
Not just poor quality -- really bad. On the same trip I shot a few hundred rounds of steel case Chinese stuff with absolutely no problems and better accuracy.
Not just poor quality -- really bad. On the same trip I shot a few hundred rounds of steel case Chinese stuff with absolutely no problems and better accuracy.
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Is this the stuff that comes in the 750 round plastic gallon bucket??? A friend gave me some a few weeks ago. I have been using it for local IDPA matches and I have shot ~250 of them now with only 1 failure. I am shooting it through a 1911 BTW. I understand a lot of police department ranges use the stuff. The stuff I have is all once fired brass.
Greg
Greg
nemesis
Member
The most recent issue of American Handgunner has an enthusiastic endorsement of A-Merc on page 121. I e-mailed them and gave them the benefit of my opinion of gun mags that endorse anything to gain advertising dollars.
Here's their e-mail address for anyone who may be interested:
American Handgunner
Here's their e-mail address for anyone who may be interested:
American Handgunner
VaughnT
Member
My experiences mirror what's already been said. This alliance and restructuring that's been hinted at might mean better stuff in the future, but I'll stick with proven ammo.
The stuff isn't markedly cheaper than WWB, Federal, UMC and the others. And it sure isn't worth the risk.
Why AH did that rave review is beyond me. I guess they got lucky with their test batch....or the advertising check had enough zeroes tacked on the end.
The stuff isn't markedly cheaper than WWB, Federal, UMC and the others. And it sure isn't worth the risk.
Why AH did that rave review is beyond me. I guess they got lucky with their test batch....or the advertising check had enough zeroes tacked on the end.
lycanthrope
Member
Caliber matters with AMERC. I've reloaded their .40 brass several times with no problems, but when seating the bullet in a .45 you can bulge the case just enough to lock the gun just out of battery. I have, however, found AMERC brass in both .40 and .45 where the primer hole was drilled offset. The outside looks ok, but the inside isn't even close enough to be hit by the decapping pin. I saved one of these around here somewhere if we have doubters.
Definately not carry ammo.
I think that AMERC bought out Triton so that may be food for thought in the future.
Definately not carry ammo.
I think that AMERC bought out Triton so that may be food for thought in the future.
Cool Hand Luke 22:36
member
I have found S&B to be largely crap and a waste of money, at least in .357 magnum.
The shock of firing a round in my SP101 is enough to cause the bullet to work it's way of of the casing, wherein the casing then sticks out of the cylinder and causes it to bind. This was a very clean SP101, and this happens virtually every time I use S&B.
The shock of firing a round in my SP101 is enough to cause the bullet to work it's way of of the casing, wherein the casing then sticks out of the cylinder and causes it to bind. This was a very clean SP101, and this happens virtually every time I use S&B.
Interesting. However, my experience with S&B is quite different. I've fired around 500 rounds of 158 gr FMJ .357 Mag S&B out of my S&W 686 in the last month and have experienced ZERO problems with it. S&B isn't the cleanest ammo around (meaning my perception is it leaves more black stuff behind than say Federal for example) but it's way cleaner than Magtech which is the dirtiest stuff I've ever used. S&B is consistent enough that I have a high level of confidence that I can hit what I'm aiming at at a reasonable distance.
For the price S&B is excellent ammo and the brass is very reloadable. FWIW S&B is the best of the brands I've tried in my CZ's (which kinda makes sense since it is Czech ammo and CZ's are Czech guns - probably test the stuff in CZ's when developing loads).
American OTOH is complete crap based on the one box of .45 ACP I fired of it out of my Sig P220. I could barely maintain minute of paper plate at 15 yards and that's just not acceptable to me. Like I said before if it was $6 a box it might be worth it just as screwing around in the boonies ammo but for anything else - nah!
I fire 10s of thousands of plated bullets down range a year and never seen any that look like the picture posted above.
My only experience with Amerc is trying to reload their .45 ACP brass. All the ones I've run across are shorter then spec and foul up my reloading process resulting in a wasted bullet and primer. The stuff is junk.
I will not buy it, reload it, or pick it up off the ground. Your mileage may very.
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