best range and home defense 9mm & .45 ammo

[p4+riot]

There seems to be a run on ammo here in my city, specifically the 9mm and .45 acp variety. This has forced me to take what I can get and pay what I have to. So far I've been getting Federal, Winchester, and Remington FMJ's.

I'd like to start shopping online but I've noticed how many other brands there are and how cheap they are as well.

Should I stick to the above mentioned brands or are there other brands I should try out?

I'd like to have a surplus of range ammo (FMJ's) and home defense ammo (JHP's).

If it helps, I shoot an XD-9 and a Glock 21.

Thanks,

 

[CWL]

You shoot 2 very robust guns. Just keep buying the cheapest ammo that works reliably for yourself.

There is no such thing as "best" -it is a market ploy. Everything is relative to your individual need & situation.

Walk away laughing from anyone who claims to have a "best" of anything.

 

[wnycollector]

Fiocchi makes high quality and low cost ammo in both FMJ (for range) and JHP (for carry). Here is a nice review of their ammo line http://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2007/03/on-various-firearms-discussion-forums-i.html

 

[.357 magnum]

Hi p4+riot!

I apologize for posting so late on your thread, I have been sick this week. For Practice Ammo, if there is a Wal-Mart near you they are the least Expensive. Especially Blazer Brass, which is good pratice Ammo. Right now even practice Ammo is hard to find thanks to the Obama Scare

For Defensive Ammo let's start with the .45-- The Two Best loads are the Winchester LE 230gr Bonded [they Feed really well!] The other Excellent load is Federal's 230gr Tactical HST. I do not do +P loads in .45 cal-you may feel differently. For the 9mm. I have switched to heavier loads for my 9mm's. Two reasons. They Penetrate the Best and Bullet Technology has improved so much that the heavier 9mm loads are almost as Lethal as .40 and .45 loads. I really like the Winchester 147gr +P Bonded and the Federal 147gr +P HST. Both of theses loads are almost as good in Standard Pressure [non +P] if that is all that is available to purchase. I buy all my Defensive Ammo on line, and it is all LE Ammo because it Really is High Quality Ammo. Below I have the links to the two places I purchase at. Reliable and Very Good Prices. Take Care Buddy! Have a Good Weekend!

http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/storefront.pl?ref=hotpig27&pg=29119

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/

 

[mstirton]

What he ^ said. Bullet weight is debatable, but for defense Federal HST, Win RangerT bonded, Speer Gold Dot, Rem Golden Sabre bonded are all good.
I use 230 HST+p and 230 DT Gold Dot; 124+p Gold Dot for 9mm. My favorite practice ammo is CCI Blazer and Blazer brass. I've had good luck with S&B and Fed AmEagle as well. I stay away from Rem UMC.

 

[XDShooter07]

I stay away from Rem UMC.

Why?

Unless I can find blazer brass which is cheaper I always go with UMC for the range. I've found UMC much cleaner than WWB. I tried some new winchester today because it was the same price as the UMC, I think it was SXZ or something. Well, the cases were still dirtier than crap and my buddy had a dud round; wasn't impressed.

 

[sohcgt2]

my preference for defensive loads are either Federal Hydra-Shok or Hornady TAP for personal defense, the Hydra-Shok bullet has better than most terminal ballistics in FBI testing and the TAP ammo has a self lubricating nickle coating to improve feeding in magazine fed firearms. For the range I buy the cheapest jacketed ammo I can find (lately CCI Blazer Brass).

 

[C-grunt]

My dept switched to the Federal HST. After seeing the testing results I can see why. The 230 .45 expands to almost an inch and sometimes over. Plus they have been doing pretty darn well through windshields.