Hey guys what are the so called "crap" brands of ammo and what are the higher end better brands? I know Hornady makes decent ammo, but what brands should i avoid? This is primarily for 9mm handgun G19...Thanks
Crap ammo ? or good ammo?
- Thread starter primetime
- Start date
- Status
General Geoff
Member
If you're just looking for stuff that goes "bang," pretty much anything will do. Premium defense (JHP) ammo, I like Speer and Hornady, personally.
For just practicing at the range, I tend to shoot whatever I can find cheapest so I can get the most practice. Self defense I tend to use Gold Dot 124gr for my 9mm or Gold Dot 230gr for my 45.
pv18463 - Will cheap range ammo react (recoil, limp wristing, etc) the same as good quality ammo? My brother who is in the military recommended Hornady, I trust him fully. But I haven't used Hornady at the range, i've just been using the cheap stuff..I simply have a Hornady box of 50 for home defense.
Stay away from American (aka AMERC) ammo. The one box that I bought had several squib rounds in it. If a squib round doesn't leave the barrel and you shoot another round, bad things will happen. This ammo is different than American Eagle brand. I don't know if AMERC is still around, this was a few years ago that I tried it, and will never buy it again.
AMERC IS CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!
Use it at your own risk. Do not try to reload the brass either. It is usually wildly out of spec.
Use it at your own risk. Do not try to reload the brass either. It is usually wildly out of spec.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Since I hate chasing brass, I don't reload for any of my autos. I try to stick to the domestic bulk stuff like Winchester white box and Remington-UMC for range duty. For self defense, I'm rather partial to Gold Dots.
Does it recoil the same? I haven't been able to notice a really difference, but I don't tend to shoot different brands of ammo in the same range session. I will have to try that and see.
Good advice..thank you everyone. I've mainly just been using winchester white box at the range, and sometimes pmc at the range..
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Hornady makes plinking ammo. They make plinking bullets, but not complete plinking ammo. At least I can't recall seeing any.
If you're just plinking, then about anything will work. There are some brands to avoid (as others have mentioned), but the majority will all go bang just fine.
I've shot all of the following 9mm and been satisfied with their performance (no particular order):
WWB
PMC
Federal / American Eagle
Speer
Sellier & Bellot
Fiocchi
Probably left one or two out...
Mostly I shoot Federal, PMC, or WWB (in that order of preference).
I will say that Remington has been the worst ammo I've run through my guns, and I refuse to use it anymore. Remington has had the most FTF/FTE or duds of any ammo I've tried. WWB has given me a couple duds, but no issues feeding/extracting. The others I listed have all been fine.
If price and availability aren't holding you back, you may also want to consider how clean the ammo is to shoot. Some ammo dirties your firearm more than others. If cleanning times and such don't bother you, then shoot whatever works best that you can find at the best price.
If you're just plinking, then about anything will work. There are some brands to avoid (as others have mentioned), but the majority will all go bang just fine.
I've shot all of the following 9mm and been satisfied with their performance (no particular order):
WWB
PMC
Federal / American Eagle
Speer
Sellier & Bellot
Fiocchi
Probably left one or two out...
Mostly I shoot Federal, PMC, or WWB (in that order of preference).
I will say that Remington has been the worst ammo I've run through my guns, and I refuse to use it anymore. Remington has had the most FTF/FTE or duds of any ammo I've tried. WWB has given me a couple duds, but no issues feeding/extracting. The others I listed have all been fine.
If price and availability aren't holding you back, you may also want to consider how clean the ammo is to shoot. Some ammo dirties your firearm more than others. If cleanning times and such don't bother you, then shoot whatever works best that you can find at the best price.
Last edited:
^^^^^^^
That's true. I wasn't thinking about the 5.56 stuff since the OP was talking about 9mm, but they do indeed make plinking 5.56. Supposedly it is pretty good...I ordered some a while back and will soon find out how good it is
That's true. I wasn't thinking about the 5.56 stuff since the OP was talking about 9mm, but they do indeed make plinking 5.56. Supposedly it is pretty good...I ordered some a while back and will soon find out how good it is
Schofield3
Member
I don't have a lot of experience but so far I have used without any issues:
For practice:
American Eagle (38 Special, 9mm, and 45 ACP)
USAAmmo remanufactured (9mm)
Remington UMC (9mm)
Speer Lawman (38 Special)
Fiocchi (9mm)
Winchester Value Pack (9mm)
PMC (45 ACP)
For self defense and some practice:
Speer Gold Dot (38 Special, 357 Magnum, 9mm)
Cor Bon (9mm)
Hornady XTP (45 ACP)
Hornady TAP CQ (45 ACP)
Fiocchi (45 ACP)
Winchester Elite Supreme (45 ACP)
For practice:
American Eagle (38 Special, 9mm, and 45 ACP)
USAAmmo remanufactured (9mm)
Remington UMC (9mm)
Speer Lawman (38 Special)
Fiocchi (9mm)
Winchester Value Pack (9mm)
PMC (45 ACP)
For self defense and some practice:
Speer Gold Dot (38 Special, 357 Magnum, 9mm)
Cor Bon (9mm)
Hornady XTP (45 ACP)
Hornady TAP CQ (45 ACP)
Fiocchi (45 ACP)
Winchester Elite Supreme (45 ACP)
bannockburn
Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 26,319
The following centerfire ammunition has worked fine for me; be it range/practice ammo or specialized usage:
Winchester
Remington
Federal
CCI
Hornady
Speer
Fiocchi
PMC
Sellior and Bellot
Aquila
Winchester
Remington
Federal
CCI
Hornady
Speer
Fiocchi
PMC
Sellior and Bellot
Aquila
You own a Glock...shoot whatever is on sale 
Home defense can be stepped up a bit...but for range time, WBB works great
Home defense can be stepped up a bit...but for range time, WBB works great
Thanks this helps alot. Boba Fett i'm glad you mentioned that point about the dirtiness of different ammo and getting your gun dirty. I don't particularly like the dirtiness of my gun after some range time, (i clean the gun after every few trips to the range, I hate having a dirty gun!!)
I'll try some other brands mentioned above. I just wanted to make sure i was using decent ammo, and its good to know what the bad brands are..
I'll try some other brands mentioned above. I just wanted to make sure i was using decent ammo, and its good to know what the bad brands are..
If you want some cleaner ammo, it will generally cost more.
I've found the PMC eRange to be good (I think I was getting it for about $14 a box a while back...been a bit scarce on ammunitiontogo.com lately):
http://www.pmcammo.com/eRange.html
Also the Fiocchi non-toxic seems pretty good, however it is a lighter frangible bullet - $22ish per box:
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catal...c-lead-free-frangible-ammo/cName/9mm-fmj-ammo
I haven't tried the Winchester WinClean yet (don't recall a price - actually haven't seen any around in a while...haven't really looked for it either) and the SuperClean NT ($41ish per box) is just too darn expensive:
http://www.winchester.com/Products/...nclean/brass-enclosed-base/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.winchester.com/Products/...lean-nt-tin/super-clean-nt/Pages/default.aspx
- Status
Similar threads
