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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I have had very good experience with Win White Box HP ammo. As in no failures at all. There is some suspicion that WWB is just over run ammo from other contracts that they put a label on it showing bullet type , weight, and speed. And then sell it at a discount in the white box. DR
The one ammunition that has been chronically problematic for me has been MagTech. I have averaged about 10% failures to fire PER BOX when firing .38sp and 9mm due to hard primers. They’re Brazilian and the QC is not the best but they sell in bulk to a lot of American shooting ranges so you find them all over.
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