Good and Poor ammo brands

[doddg]

I'm a newbie to buying ammo.
I'd like to buy some online to save money, but what I see isn't any less expensive than what I buy at the range, and there are dangers of buying the wrong kind.
By that, I mean the range doesn't allow "steel" jackets (if I have my term correct).
And, when I asked about ammo in an earlier thread (back in May or June?), one of the brands I was told to stay away from (Aguila?) was sold by the range (Westfield: Tim's Shooting) and where I have bought a couple of guns (Westfield: Marksman Shooting Sports).
So, apparently, a brand (like Aguila and perhaps Remington?) can have some poor ammo, yet also have some very good ammo, depending on the exact name (which for a newbie is confounding).
Or, do I have that wrong and anything Remington is good (like the ads say ).

I have needs for .22LR; 9mm; .380; and .38 special

One time I was going to order ammo that looked OK online, but the shipping put it at the same price that I was getting it at the range.
I have bought .22 ammo at Cabela when I was there, but there is so much choice that I didn't even try to buy for other calibers.
I also have bought at Dicks Sporting Goods at the Castleton Mall when it was on sale.
I bought some Thunderbolts and Remington Golden bullets, I believe, and some Federals.
I have notes on what people had said at the time, just wanted to expand when I go to a place like Cabela (where I won't have to pay shipping).

I was told that all .22 calibers were fairly dirty, but CCI was good.
I was trying to buy .22s that weren't 10 cents/ea., but I'm getting the idea that they will all be "dirty."
I just want to know which brands are: good, average, and poor (stay away from).

When it comes to just a few rounds for personal defense, I guess I can't go wrong if I stick with: Hornady?
I even have some left over for my .380 from 1990.

Then there is the issue of grains and velocities that I know little about.
I don't need the ultimate round: just the basic common sense round.
I carry a NAA .22 magnum very small for ultimate concealment, and a S/W 642 light revolver most of the time.
If and when I learn to trust one of the 9mms I have, I might carry a small 9mm (perhaps the Walther PPS, but it is bigger than my Ruger LC9 and my Taurus 709 Slim, of which it was one of 3 guns, Glock 43 and I forgot the other that Guns and Ammo put through a 1000 round test for misfires).

I want to keep my 642 and my S/W 10-8 Police .38 loaded at home for personal protection with sufficient pp rounds (in different rooms).
Is it acceptable to use +P round in a 1977-80 Police revolver. I read where you wouldn't want to do so for the range, but for emergency use it was OK?
I don't have kids around anymore, and if grandkids come to visit: I unload them.

 

[Doublehelix]

I usually make my own ammo nowadays, but in the past I have been happy with CCI, Fiocchi, S&B, etc.

Go to places like LAX Ammunition online and wait for sales with free shipping.

 

[Bfish]

I have shot the good stuff and the crappy stuff, and with 22 I don't really care too much as long as it actually goes off. I personally like CCI and Gemtech the most however when it comes to 22. I haven't shot as much of the Aguila, but I'd also buy it without hesitation. Some people have mixed feelings about Federal Auto Match, but I really like shooting it quite a bit as well. It's all dirty but the jacketed stuff does cut down on the leading in a can a bit it seems.

For 9mm and 380 I've shot so much junky stuff, and to be honest at the prices now, I'm done with steel stuff if I'm going to buy. I've had terrible luck with steel 380 and a few issues with 9mm. I also had some issues with Winchester White Box out of 9mm carbines and a couple pistols were picky with it. I ended up having to shoot it all through my Glock to get rid of it. The perfecta brass stuff I tried because it was cheap and it all worked to my satisfaction but it looked like they loaded it with kitty litter in the case when I opened the guns up to clean them. Lastly if you load your own that's fantastic, but I've been staying away from reman stuff, and buying new. I have seen two occasions this past year that made me leery. One was a 38 super mixed in with a bunch of 9mm, and the other was while in a training class there was a guy shooting minute man reman stuff had something go wrong and the projectile was stuck in the barrel, the next round tried to go in to battery and was an 1/8 of an inch from slide lock up. Luckily he didn't fire again, or there would have went the gun... Just knocked it out with a rod and went on, but it made me less trust worthy for sure seeing some of it myself.

As far as good stuff goes I have a buddy who bought several thousand S&B 9mm online last week or something for 150 a case and he shot a lot of it yesterday and it was really good, just as good as the stuff I had a few years back, but I saw suggested above, and thought I'd let you know it seems ok.. I also use their primers right now for reloading and I am very happy with them. Double Helix also suggested Fiocchi and I can get behind that 100%. In the spring I saw it for $200 out the door. It shoots super well and I nothing but good things to say about it, at that price, it would probably be my first choice. Otherwise, I've been seeing PMC, Blazer, and several other good brands for well under $200 but it didn't include shipping which will bump you over for sure.

 

[Leadeye]

Make your own ammo, it's one of the best decisions a shooter can make.

 

[knot4reel]

Make your own ammo, it's one of the best decisions a shooter can make.

For real. I now roll everything I shoot except for .22.

 

[mcapo]

Lucky Gunner and my LGS are my go to for factory ammo though I reload.

All my 38/357 have been reloads for decades so can't help you with that...

I have really good accuracy from CCI SGB in 22 lr. along with consistency in several platforms. Give it a try...

9 mm - Winchester White Box, for me, has been really decent range ammo. Not the best/not the worst but consistent. Hornday XTP has been a favorite too along with some Nosler offerings. DO NOT like WWB in 44 mag. Dirty dirty dirty....

380 - Fiocchi or Hornady; but can't say I've spent any time searching for accuracy out of my pocket 380's...

Generally I have the best luck with Federal, Winchester and Hornady. I just went through 1000 rounds of 45 acp Remington and was impressed. Not impressed with their UMC 10 mm.

BUT - guns tend to be fickle and like the ammo they like. Winchester White Box is kinda my go to ammo for a new pistols. Gives me a starting point and I experiment from that to find what a gun likes best. I am kinda an accuracy nut and like to see how tight and consistent I get a gun to shot - so I reload. As an example of ammo sensitivity, I have a M&P 10 just like a friends. He shoots great groups with Fiocchi. My gun shot so bad with it (like 6" - 8" groups at 100 yards!) I almost sent it to S&W before I found that it shots MOA with Hornady 168 gr BTHP and is now sub-MOA with a hand load.

As you can see from the above; doubt you'll get a straight answer on this one other than roll your own....experimentation and comparison is the solution.

 

[doddg]

Thanks for the feedback: I'll take notes.

 

[amafrank]

One thing to consider is what you're planning on shooting whatever ammo you buy in. 22 cal firearms can be very picky so you'll probably have to try a bunch of different ones to get something that works reliably. There is no such thing as jacketed 22LR, there is plated and plain. The plating doesn't make much difference for fouling or cleanliness. It does make it look like it will though. Most 22 ammo is waxed or greased and that does more than the plating to prevent lead fouling. Some types of ammo are known to be difficult such as remington golden bullets which are loaded light and won't cycle many semi autos. Winchester super x and wildcats are all over the place velocity wise and can cause some serious problems in 22 machineguns. On the other hand they seem to work well in a lot of semi autos. So back to the pick what works for your needs.

On the 9mm front the S&B is nice and clean, packaged well and frequently cheap. It seems to work ok in most handguns but for subguns its no good. They load it on the light side for lawyer reasons and because of that many open bolt subguns won't fully cycle. That means the bolt won't make it back to catch the sear and you'll have runaways where the gun runs til the mag is empty. We have run many thousands of rounds of the winchester white box in the open bolt subbies and never had any problems. A friend ran a couple hundred rounds in his glock and had lots of problems. Just another bit of info showing that you need to pick what will work in your guns and not just for price.

I won't buy S&B 338 Lapua ammo because its not good enough for my rifle, its very expensive and I can buy brass and bullets cheaper to load myself. When I load I get good accurate ammo that is loaded specific to my rifle. Why pay $75 for 20 rds when I can load the same for $40 and get good ammo.

So having said all that I'll let you get down to figuring out what you need for yourself. Try different stuff in small quantities before you buy lots. Its annoying to have a lot of ammo taking up space and cash when you can't use it.

Frank

 

[doddg]

Thanks, Frank!

 

[russc2542]

As for the prices, what quantities are you looking at? If you're only buying a box or two at a time, no you won't save much buying online. The real deals are if you can save up and buy in bulk, 1000 rounds or more. It comes and goes though, usually the bulk online price once you figure hazmat, shipping, etc is barely better than the best price you can pick up in person, the difference being you don't have to hunt around for it. As others have mentioned, 9mm prices are bottoming out so there isn't as much difference buying in person or online as there was pre-election.

For brands: most of the name brands aren't actually bad but some are better than others and sometimes you do find a picky gun. I've never had trouble with really any brands but I have noticed Remington UMC is filthy

 

[doddg]

As for the prices, what quantities are you looking at? If you're only buying a box or two at a time, no you won't save much buying online. The real deals are if you can save up and buy in bulk, 1000 rounds or more. It comes and goes though, usually the bulk online price once you figure hazmat, shipping, etc is barely better than the best price you can pick up in person, the difference being you don't have to hunt around for it. As others have mentioned, 9mm prices are bottoming out so there isn't as much difference buying in person or online as there was pre-election.

For brands: most of the name brands aren't actually bad but some are better than others and sometimes you do find a picky gun. I've never had trouble with really any brands but I have noticed Remington UMC is filthy

1. This is what I've found about prices: about the time you figure in shipping it is no better deal than buying a box at the range; I have been surprised.
2. I have tried to buy ammo here in the classifieds but either it is sold or it is too far away.
3. When I compare prices at even Dick's Sporting Goods here in Indy, I'm only saving a few dollars off buying from individuals.
4. Not wiling to buy 1000 rounds of about anything since the savings isn't impressing me.
5. Don't mind spending a $100 per caliber here and there for boxes of:
.22LR for the range;
very little .380, don't shoot it much;
lots of 9mm to run through 3 9mms that I own and more that I'll buy in the future to try out;
some 38 special to run through my old police 38 (10-8 model) and my personal carry 642

I'm getting my .22s for 7 cents each at Dicks Sporting Goods (some 525 or 350 bullets in a box cheaper stuff, Remington and Winchester and Federal), and at the range 10 cents.
Getting my 9mm for about 22 cents each at the range.
Getting my 38s for about 30 cents each at the range.

 

[BE Mike]

CCI produces the most consistent quality and accurate .22 ammo at their price point. I don't like Wolf centerfire ammo, nor any other imported steel cased stuff. I'm not a big fan of aluminum cased ammo. American Eagle is usually pretty good for centerfire plinking ammo. Winchester "white box" is pretty decent. Magtech is good. I like Zero ammo, either remanufactured or new. You can buy Zero ammo at Roze Distribution, Inc. - Zero Bullets and Ammunition and their prices include shipping, I believe. I'm not a big fan of Fiocchi ammo.

 

[doddg]

CCI produces the most consistent quality and accurate .22 ammo at their price point. I don't like Wolf centerfire ammo, nor any other imported steel cased stuff. I'm not a big fan of aluminum cased ammo. American Eagle is usually pretty good for centerfire plinking ammo. Winchester "white box" is pretty decent. Magtech is good. I like Zero ammo, either remanufactured or new. You can buy Zero ammo at Roze Distribution, Inc. - Zero Bullets and Ammunition and their prices include shipping, I believe. I'm not a big fan of Fiocchi ammo.

1. Loved your input.
2. I'm going to write it down.
3. I was surprised at the knock on Fiocchi, b/c it was recommended in another thread.
4. I wouldn't buy steel since it is not allowed at the range and don't know anything about aluminum.
5. American Eagle was another negative, but evidently it has worked for you.
6. I checked the web site but nothing available in 22, 380, 38 sp or 9mm.

 

[Rebel Jack]

"Remington UMC is filthy." 2nd that. I actually sold a nearly new Commander recently (for a pittance) because All I could get in .45 when O was buying was UMC and it was such a pain to clean. Aguila in 9mm runs pretty well but I've only ever shot it out a Glock 17 and the old ladies 26. They'll eat anything we feed 'em. .22 Aguila is usually on sale at Rural King but it's only offered in the 50rd packs and that's just not the way we do things around here.

 

[ol' poke]

1. Loved your input.
2. I'm going to write it down.
3. I was surprised at the knock on Fiocchi, b/c it was recommended in another thread.
4. I wouldn't buy steel since it is not allowed at the range and don't know anything about aluminum.
5. American Eagle was another negative, but evidently it has worked for you.
6. I checked the web site but nothing available in 22, 380, 38 sp or 9mm.

Don't get confused on steel/aluminum cased ammo and steel-core ammo. I don't know why a range would ban steel-cased ammo, but understand a ban on steel-core. Steel-core ammo can tear up targets in short order. Some ranges even have a magnet at the firing line so you can see if the bullet is attracted or not.

 

[dung]

I picked up some 20 cpr GECO 9mm at Rural king the other day. It shot great and wasn't as dirty as UMC. Though i wouldn't call it clean either.

 

[russc2542]

Don't get confused on steel/aluminum cased ammo and steel-core ammo. I don't know why a range would ban steel-cased ammo, but understand a ban on steel-core. Steel-core ammo can tear up targets in short order. Some ranges even have a magnet at the firing line so you can see if the bullet is attracted or not.

because people are stupid and would argue the steel-core bullet isn't attracting the magnet, the case is, then the employee has to educate them and argue and it's just not worth it.

 

[Nitro]

.22 CCI is all I use in my Ruger Mark III. It is the only stuff that it likes so it is the only stuff that I buy.
Depending on what you are looking for I always check LAX Ammunition, Freedom Munitions, and Octane Munitions. Most of the stuff I buy is 9mm, 40cal, and 223/556. Have never looked on them for .22 or 380. Buy in bulk!!! Cheaper shipping.

 

[IndyTom]

Targetsportsusa.com -- no shipping when buying in bulk. Good prices on various range ammo as well as some defensive rounds.

 

[doddg]