Best all around ammo brand

[Mikeyboy]

Am I the only guy who does this??? I have been trying to stick with one basic ammo brand and type of bullet, as my pratice round and home defense round. For example, so far for my 9mm I have been using Winchester White Box 115g JHP. It's cheap (about $10 for 50 rounds), so I can use it for target pratice and since it a hollowpoint it is good for home defense.

When all I owned was long guns for hunting, I was a big Remington ammo fan, but in pistol rounds Remington UMC in hollowpoint was too hard to find, unlike winchester, so I was switching from UMC ball ammo (which is about $6 per 50) for pratice to Golden Sabers (Which is about $32 per 50) for home defense. Even though they are both made by remington, the two bullets are completely different. I would feel more confident if I praticed with just the Golden Saber, but that would be expensive.

So far the WWB have given me no reliability problems and they are real easy to find (even walmart carries it). Is this a good idea?

 

[model 25]

I use white box by the case in my UZI. It runs well and I have never found a problem. I buy it from Walmart for 11.50 a hundred for JRN and I buy ten boxes at a time. I see no reason to change as the price and quality has always been good.

In my handguns for 9mm Hollowpoints for practice I use the remingtons at 16.50 a box of 100 from walmart.

25

 

[stevelyn]

Depends on the application. For rifle and shotgun I like Federal. For handgun I like Speer/CCI.

 

[1inthechamber]

I'm starting to be a 1 brand ammo guy myself.

CCI Blazer/Brass

I've tried the WWB and found it to give my gun problems (jams). Now I'm sticking to CCI since it shoots cleaner and it's problem free for me.

I can buy 2 boxes of CCI Blazer or Blazer Brass for $5.97/50 which is cheaper than WWB 100 round value pack. Oregon doesn't charge tax which is a good thing.

 

[kymasabe]

I LOVE WOLF !! ...just kidding.
I agree with the idea of using one brand for all, and eveon one round. If the WWB is working for you...great. I should try it. Problem for me is there are very few outdoor ranges around em and all the indoor ranges ranges require you buy their ammo.
When I shot trap, I used Remington exclusively in my trap guns. Now, with handguns, I'm using all kinds of stuff. The problems I'm finding aren't in the different brands as much as in the different bullet weights. If I practice and sight the gun with (speaking 9mm here) 115 gr bullet FMJ, and then I load up with my 135 gr. Hydro-Shoks, I find the heavier/slower bullet rides the recoil a hair longer and shoots higher.

As far as which brands I like...I'm a big CCI Blazer, and now Blazer Brass fan.
Remington is always fun and my local range uses Independant which seems to work well too. For self defense, it's either Speer Lawman or (usually) Hydro-Shoks.
I'm about to order a pile of ammo from Lancer Custom Ammo at www.lancerammo.com

 

[WESHOOT2]

Best?

Mine, and I'm sticking with it.

 

[CajunBass]

I've shot WWB, Rem-UMC, Blazer Brass, American Eagle, Wolf, and a few others I probably forgot. I can't say I've had any problems with any of it. I probably shoot more WWB than anything since I can get it at Wally World while the wife is wasting money that could go on guns and ammo, on silly stuff like clothes and groceries.

 

[Te Anau]

The best overall ammo brand is Fiocchi.
http://www.fiocchiusa.com/

 

[trooper3385]

Speer Gold Dot

I've always carried speer gold dot in my duty weapons and home defense weapons. I've seen how they have performed and BG's before and they do alot of damage. For practice ammo, I go with the Speer lawman. The fire nearly identical to the Gold Dot and there fairly cheep. When I was in the academy, they were looking to change over the the golden sabers. We tested those for about a week. We probably shot a couple of thousand rounds apiece. We're still carrying the Gold Dots if that tells you anything.

 

[hIPSHOT33]

Its far better to use one brand of ammo and stick to it . That way you know what your gun will do . I have always had good luck with Black hills runs good through all my .45 & 9MM pistols .A little spindy ,but if you can put $800.00 to $1300.00 into a good ,reliable handgun it only makes sence to put good reliable ammo through it . But Thats just my way of thinking .

 

[garand_shooter]

Hi everyone. Seems like I've been hiding in the shadows awhile, but I'm happy to finally be activated.

I think it depends on what stage of the game you're in. If you're still dealing with basic marksmanship issues, I see no problem using cheap ammo for practice and better for home defense. High Master or not, if you need to defend your home/family you're going to use your gun, regardless.

There have been studies showing some hollow points don't open properly if they get clogged with clothing. I don't know that choosing a bullet/brand based on it being affordable to shoot a lot makes the most sense for your defensive round. In a defensive round, I look for something that will expand consistently, regardless of hitting flesh or clothing first. For some folks, that may exclude them from being able to afford to put a lot of rounds down range.

That being said, it is always a good idea to spend part of your range time shooting your defensive round. Difference in POA/POI and recoil can affect your shot.

When you are at the point where you are comfortable with your skills, then putting expensive ammo down range becomes less of an issue, as you don't need to shoot as many rounds to preserve your skills, as you do building them.

 

[Ala Dan]

Again, it totally depends on application. For range and target use when not
shooting my very own handloads, I prefer Remington-UMC~!

For self-defense situations, I prefer Federal Hydra-Shoks in all calibers~!

As a back-up in .45 ACP ammo, the 200 grain Hornady TAP JHP's
come into play.

 

[carbiner]

I like Magtech for my handguns, and white box for my carbines.

 

[bodab]

I use magtech in my .44 mag but over all i use hornady

 

[Terrierman]

All around? Including rimfire, shotgun, centerfire rifle, centerfire pistol, for me it's Winchester hands down. Super X is never a mistake.

 

[FISHNFRANK]

Several

The brands I like and I shoot .357mag and .44mag - (not necessarily in order) - I think they are all good. Winchester white box is cheap to shoot but very dirty stuff. Remington is good but there tends to be alot of that 125gr (.357) and 180gr (.44) which is to light and generates too much muzzle flash for my liking for the caliber.

These are my favorites

1) Magtech .357 (158) and .44 (240)
2) Fiocchi .357 (142)
3) Federal American Eagle .357 (158)
4) Black Hills .44 (240) jacketed

FRANK

 

['75Scout]

I use Winchester WWB 115s and Rem UMC 115s for range duty and I like 124 Fed Hydrashoks for defense. But I want to do some tests with the hydras vs Hornady TAP 124, Rem Gold Saber 124 and 147 and see what they do in a "Box-O-Truth" type situation. Nothing I've used has given me any problems in my GLOCK 26, but the Hydras are the only JHPs I've tested.

 

[cje1980]

For example, so far for my 9mm I have been using Winchester White Box 115g JHP. It's cheap (about $10 for 50 rounds), so I can use it for target pratice and since it a hollowpoint it is good for home defense.

Just because its a HP doesn't mean that its a good self defense load. You're better off practicing with the 115gr. WWB FMJ stuff and loading some 115gr. Speer GD vs an untested round, which nobody knows how reliably it expands or penetrates. Don't worry about round being different or from different manufacturers. Just practice with a load that is of a similar bullet weight as your SD load and has the overall seem feel and POI. For example you like WWB 115gr. FMJ because its cheap but don't find a 115gr. JHP load by Winchester that you like. You can use a 115gr.load from another manufacturer for SD because its the same weight and should be a pretty similar velocity, thus it will shoot to the same POI. A POI of maybe 1/2" isn't going to make a massive difference as your shot placement isn't likely going to be that good in combat anyway. Manufacturer doesn't matter just use similar bullet weights for your practice and SD loads. I usually practice with WWB and carry Speer GDs just because the Speer GD is an excellent bullet that is known for reliable penetration and expansion.

 

[jrklaus]

I'm partial to Federal, although I have used and been satisfied with Winchester, Remington, Speer, etc.

 

[caz223]

Before I loaded my own, I tried every brand that was available locally, and cataloged my favorites by caliber.
.357 mag, magtech.
.45 acp, PMP/DENEL. (Same thing.)
357SIG, winchester.
ETC, ETC.