9 mm Ammo

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Joined
Apr 2, 2014
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Start reloading! Buy a Dillon 550. Look in to it.!
I'm not sure you can reload 9mm ammo practice much cheaper then bulk buys if you price shop.
Equation changes for other calibers.
My favorite 9mm practice ammo is Winchester "NATO" 124 grain. Using Hornady Critical Defense as
carry ammo right now but will use any quality name brand if it's not avail.
 
Joined
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My ammo supplier is pretty much Georgia Arms.... their 9mm bulk that comes loose in an ammo can can't be beat. But I usually contact them a week before the gun show here and preorder... saves a bit since there is no shipping but cost me time and parking and an entrance fee..... they are back up and running after having a fire from a lightning strike last year.
 

DGW1949

Hunter
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I buy quite a bit from SGAmmo.com.....First class 115-Grn and 124-Grn FMJ factory loads are presently priced at just under $13 a box and ship free in case lots.

DGW
 

s4s4u

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I'm not sure you can reload 9mm ammo practice much cheaper then bulk buys if you price shop.
Equation changes for other calibers.
My favorite 9mm practice ammo is Winchester "NATO" 124 grain. Using Hornady Critical Defense as
carry ammo right now but will use any quality name brand if it's not avail.

Bingo! It makes zero sense to handload "blasting" ammo, when you can buy it in pretty boxes for the same cost as components now, regardless of the equipment. I handload defensive ammo and defensive practice ammo, but FMJ doesn't pay.
 

Eclem

Bearcat
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Thompson, CT , USA
I love going to the range.
Can anyone suggest a brand that I can use for the range and protection that won't break the bank? Of course, I'm looking for something reliable.
Thanks
9mm/ 124G FMJ / $11.99 / box / works perfect in my Max9. Free shipping if you order $199 worth.
 
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I'm happy using cast, plated OR jacketed bullets loaded in range brass for practise ammo. I've figured out that I can keep the cost down if I take my time & watch for deals, at local gun shops, gun shows, and auction sites. I can still load 9mm for about $8 a box - historically (before the China virus) it was more like 5 to 10 cents a round, but I'm not complaining. If you're willing to be flexible when it comes to components, it's easier to keep the cost down - not everyone wants to do that, but it works for me.

As always FWIW, YMMV, IMHO, etc.
:)
 
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What's nice is that plated bullets are really cheap and some powders are reasonable as well. Primers are the wild card. It's easy to tailor loads for accuracy and reliability. I have a friend who had "Limp Wrist" issues with her S&W Shield 9 EZ using standard plinking loads. I loaded some rounds towards the higher end of normal but not +P and problem solved. If the slide doesn't have enough velocity the spring doesn't have enough strength to strip the next round out of the mag. It's literally stopped with the round half way out of the mag and a tap on the back of the slide is all it needs.She doesn't have this problem with any other gun and the gun doesn't have the issue with me shooting it. I'm not a fan of weak springs they're less reliable in most every instance.
 

Star43

Blackhawk
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Ain't that the truth. For an everyday type of round 38 Special has always been high in stores...That is why I shoot so much more 9MM. Cost factor.
 

Star43

Blackhawk
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If you're OK with FMJ 'blasting ammo', I doubt it's worthwhile to start reloading right now.
I'm loading 9mm with plated HP bullets under 20 cents per round but only because I bought everything except the bullets over a decade back. At today's prices, 25 cents a pop blasting ammo is as good as it gets.
You were smart to buy it when you did. Costs never go down. That is for sure.
 

vlavalle

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I'm more concerned about the sometimes widely varying powder charges in WWB ammo than I am the lack of cleanliness. Speaking of dirty ammo, did you ever shoot any of the old Wolf steel-case stuff when they first began importing it? That stuff was funky, at least the .45 ACP that I sampled. Smelled bad, too.
While I do not own any pistols, I have a Ruger .45 Convertible Blackhawk, which allows me the ability to shoot either the .45LC or the .45ACP with a cylinder swap. I have found early own that the steel wolf ammo is a bit of a problem, and I stay away from all steel ammo. Since my gun is a revolver, the issue is not that it locks up the gun or doesn't advance the ammo, but rather that it expands too much, and very often and the manual ejection of the casings is almost always more difficult. Also, if I recall correctly, that Wolf ammo left quite a bit of residue (was dirty).
 

vlavalle

Single-Sixer
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Chandler, AZ
Blazer Aluminum is cheapest.
I do not think that Blazer aluminum 9 mm ammo this is the lowest costing 9mm ammo today. I have seen several ads for 9mm ammo that costs between $.24 - $.25 and these are NOT Blazer aluminum ammo. I get 10-20 emails a day about ammo sale, and almost all of these include 9mm ammo. If you are interested in online ammo pricing and availability, message me for my ballistics file which has pricing and ballistics info, which includes 400 9mm online retailers links, as well as online links for 34 other handgun calibers, as well as 25 different rifle calibers, with a total of over 3,500 entries combined, where each is a link to an online retailer. For example, in my file, there are over 500 .45ACP links, 175 entries for .45LC, 138 for .38 Spec, 240 entries for .357 Mag, 103 for 10mm,179 for 380 ACP, and many more.
 

vlavalle

Single-Sixer
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For range ammo, I like Fiocchi and SIG FMJs.

For defense ammo in 9mm, I like Federal HSTs in 124gr.

You can find some really detailed ammo tests/comparisons online if you want to see specifics of velocity, penetration, expansion, etc
I would like to know where these ammo test are online. So far, I have only found such 'tests' on You Tube, and most of these are very biased and offer extremely limited testing - they choose a specific ammo and compare it to a different caliber, which really tells you very little since in the case of popular calibers there is a huge range of ammo offered due to such things as different power levels and bullet types within that caliber.

So, do you have some online links to offer that gives the info you mention?
 

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