What is good ammo and bad ammo

[mi2az]

Ok, I did a search for ammo on this forum and many hits came up. I am sure this was asked before, but here it goes.

I have been buying my ammo at Wall Mart, the brand the guy gave me was Winchester for my 45 and 9mm.

I also bought Brown Bear .223 for my AK47.

Now that I am doing more reading on this and other forums, Brown Bear is considered Dirty Ammo.

Is Winchester considered good ammo ? What would be good ammo for my 45, 9mm and AK47 which uses .223.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[farronwolf]

What are you going to be doing with the ammo? If it is just practice, as long as it goes boom when you pull the trigger and the bullet hits the target area, it is good ammo in my book. Bad ammo is ammo that either doesn't go boom when you pull the trigger or doesn't hit anywhere near the target. There shouldn't be too much of that out there

Nothing wrong with Winchester White Box, or Remington UMC or any other ammo for that matter when it comes to practice. As far as being dirty, well hopefully your going to clean the gun after a trip to the range for practice, so all the dirt will be gone soon enough.

For ammo that is to be used for self defense purposes you probably want to be a little more selective. One thing is, does it work well in your firearm? Some guns just don't like certain ammo. First and foremost SD ammo must be reliable in the weapon. After that it becomes a personal choice based on the bullet performance after it hits the target. There is much info out there about SD rounds. You will find that Cor Bon, Speer Gold Dot HP, Winchester Ranger, Federal Hydra Shock, Black Hills, Hornady, and a list of others are choosen for various reason.

One other thing to consider when choosing SD ammo is whether your not your gun is rated for the higher performance loadings. Some of the hotter or +P loads will void some gun warranties or could possibly end up in damage to the firearm or shooter.

If you post the type of gun you shoot and the desired purpose, you are sure to get some responses as to what others have choosen for their guns based on whatever reason.

[mi2az]

If you post the type of gun you shoot and the desired purpose, you are sure to get some responses as to what others have choosen for their guns based on whatever reason.

OK,

Want Ammo for SD

Pistol #1 SIG P245
Pistol #2 Kahr TP9

Rifle - AK47 Golani Shoots .223

Any Suggestions for SD Ammo ?

[farronwolf]

For my pistols, 9mm I use Speer GDHP +P in 124 gr, for the .45 I use the Rem Golden Saber JHP +P 185 gr. They work in the guns, and have tested well.


I don't have a .223 so can't recommend one for that.

[Ragin Cajun]

I think Winchester WB will get the job done, I certainly wouldn't volunteer to be shot with it. With that said, there are better brands out there that perform more reliably with expansion and penetration. Research Gold Dots, Golden sabers, HST, and Ranger T's. Those are 4 good ones that are better just to name a few.

The WWB makes good practice ammo.

[GWRedDragon]

I have had enough primer failures with WWB that I would hesitate to carry it as defensive ammo. That being said the failure rate is still on the order of 1/2000 rounds, and I haven't shot nearly enough of anything else to see if other types have the same issues.

Over penetration is probably a worry when it comes to using FMJ in a caliber like 9mm...dunno. I use Gold Dot 124gr 9mm+p when loading for self-defense, based on recommendations from this forum in other threads.

[AZ Husker]

VERY BAD AMMO: The guy who sells reloads at gun shows in plastic bags.

[jfl]

I like Speer Gold Dot 124 +P in the 9mm; never had a problem.

[chaosrob]

VERY BAD AMMO: The guy who sells reloads at gun shows in plastic bags.

I didn't think that was legal?

[retsupt99]

I like Speer Gold Dot 124 +P in the 9mm; never had a problem.

+1 on the Speer Gold Dot...for my .45's and 9mm's...

[AZ Husker]

In my .45's I love 230gr Winchester Ranger RA45T with a standard power load.
Double Tap Gold Dots in 147gr are my favorite load for my .357 Sig. HOT and FAST.
Corbon 115gr +P does best in my 9mm.

[pgrass101]

Okay I can't help myself.....

Good Ammo = Bang

Bad Ammo = No Bang



It depends on what you want and what you consider good.

[dukalmighty]

Good Ammo goes bang,bad ammo goes click

[heylin]

I shoot mainly target at 25M and a bit of steel, Ive shot the following 9mm with no problems.

- HSM Police Ammo (124gr FMJ)
500 rounds no failures, reasonably clean burning and didnt leave as much residue as some cheaper ammo.

- American Eagle (115gr FMJ)
100 rounds no failures, slightly more residue than HSM, cheap.

- Barnaul (russian made 115gr FMJ)
Shot about 300 rounds of this, its cheap, no failures, does leave behind more residue than HSM or American Eagle. Steel cases as well so no need to pick up brass.

I recently switched to local made reloaded ammo, the guy I get it off has been reloading for decades and at $ 9US per 50 rounds for 124gr FMJ and 12% discount for 1000 or more its great value. Ive fired well over 1000 rounds and never had any failures.