So I decided to a quick little review of some cheap ammo I picked up on the way to the range today.
The ammo was Monarch Steel Cased 115gr 9x19 FMJ and I paid $9.99ea for two boxes of 50 making it almost $3.00 a box cheaper than what I normally buy for the range.
First thing I noticed about the round was that the cases were lacquered and they felt dirty in my hands while I was loading them (and by the end my fingers were pretty scummy). With that said however, I didn't have any feeding/magazine issues and they ran though without a hitch. My Ruger SR9c cycled them just as well as if they had been one of the more expensive high-quality brands.
The Monarch 115gr FMJ was just as accurate as any other 115gr round I've fired through my gun and there isn't really much else to say. My groups were the same as they usually are out to 21' and slightly worse than usual once I went out to 50' so I'll mention why I feel they were next.
I noticed a bit more 'snap' in the recoil when I fired them. After firing all 100 I could definitely feel it in my wrist, which is unusual. My hand was definitely getting tired quick and I think that caused my groups to widen out as I fired. So I took a break before finishing off 50 rounds of of Blazer 115gr FMJ that I had on me. The Blazer wasn't uncomfortable to fire like the Monarch so I attribute the fatigue I was getting to the brand.
The Monarch brand was also hideously dirty to fire. While firing I could see that there was a lot more unburned powder leaving the barrel than I've seen with other brands, and when I stripped my gun down and cleaned it after I got home it was dirtier than I've ever seen it. This was a very dirty round. Period.
Finally I'll end with a note on reliability. For such a cheap ammo it fired 100% without failure. First time, every time. I expected it to be a bit rough and unreliable but I was surprised. I know I didn't fire that many rounds though but I would expect similar performance next time I buy them.
All-in-all I would say 3.5 out of 5 for a rating. The ammo was dirty and hard on the wrist for a 9mm but the price and reliability made it worth while. I will definitely buy more of this ammo for my range bag and use it for recreational shooting.
Not my photo btw.
The ammo was Monarch Steel Cased 115gr 9x19 FMJ and I paid $9.99ea for two boxes of 50 making it almost $3.00 a box cheaper than what I normally buy for the range.
First thing I noticed about the round was that the cases were lacquered and they felt dirty in my hands while I was loading them (and by the end my fingers were pretty scummy). With that said however, I didn't have any feeding/magazine issues and they ran though without a hitch. My Ruger SR9c cycled them just as well as if they had been one of the more expensive high-quality brands.
The Monarch 115gr FMJ was just as accurate as any other 115gr round I've fired through my gun and there isn't really much else to say. My groups were the same as they usually are out to 21' and slightly worse than usual once I went out to 50' so I'll mention why I feel they were next.
I noticed a bit more 'snap' in the recoil when I fired them. After firing all 100 I could definitely feel it in my wrist, which is unusual. My hand was definitely getting tired quick and I think that caused my groups to widen out as I fired. So I took a break before finishing off 50 rounds of of Blazer 115gr FMJ that I had on me. The Blazer wasn't uncomfortable to fire like the Monarch so I attribute the fatigue I was getting to the brand.
The Monarch brand was also hideously dirty to fire. While firing I could see that there was a lot more unburned powder leaving the barrel than I've seen with other brands, and when I stripped my gun down and cleaned it after I got home it was dirtier than I've ever seen it. This was a very dirty round. Period.
Finally I'll end with a note on reliability. For such a cheap ammo it fired 100% without failure. First time, every time. I expected it to be a bit rough and unreliable but I was surprised. I know I didn't fire that many rounds though but I would expect similar performance next time I buy them.
All-in-all I would say 3.5 out of 5 for a rating. The ammo was dirty and hard on the wrist for a 9mm but the price and reliability made it worth while. I will definitely buy more of this ammo for my range bag and use it for recreational shooting.
Not my photo btw.
