Hey everyone. Just wondering what the difference is in ammo. Since I got an FID card it's the first time I have been around guns and ammo that hasn't been issued to me! Before this I went to the range twice a year, was handed a couple of boxes with a hundred rounds in each of them, shot them from 7, 15 & 25 yards & then went home. We didn't have any choice of what ammo to use so I never did any research into it since it didn't matter. Now I go to buy ammo & there is 20 different brands/varietys of ammo for say a 9mm. Can anyone give me the basics of what is good/bad/differences? Thanks in advance!!!

For paper punching it doesn't really matter unless your gun is ammo sensitive-- in which case you need to keep trying different brands until you find the one it likes.

 

When I bought commercial ammo for range shooting, I always went with the cheapest commercial loads and that was that.

A lot would depend on what you want the ammo for. Are you talking HD, range, or some other use?

.22lr - cheap, low recoil, good on saving money on shooting.

9mm - still cheap, common, more recoil, good for home defense

.357- less common but packs a punch great for HD.

.40 - slightly more costly, more recoil then 9mm, better for HD

.45 - you see the price trend here, one of the best for HD

 

 

Ballistics on the rounds... the "gr" stands for grain count which is the weight of the bullet and not the amount of powder in the round.

 

 

as far as brands for ammo is concerned, if you start shopping reputable outlets for ammo you will see a common trend in brands used.. i.e. Federal, American Eagle etc.. seem to be some of the cheaper "range ammo" whereas some more pricier brands like hornaday, and winchester. Bullet types such as Hollow Points would be more expensive for home defense use.

 

FMJ "Full Metal Jackets" are usually the cheaper more common ammo used in ranges.

 

This is certainly not the whole deal but hopefully a step in the right direction. There is a wealth off knowledge both here and on the internet regarding differences in calibers, grain counts, bullet types etc. Find out what you want the gun for most (range shooting, home defense ,etc) and build a profile to find a gun with a caliber that suits your needs.

Brass Ammo runs in all guns. Steel and Aluminum cased ammo can be problematic in some guns.

 

Hollow points are for self defense, Full Metal Jacket(FMJ) is range ammo.

 

Winchester, Federal, Fiocchi, CCI Blazer Brass or Lawman, Sellior and Bellot, Remington UMC are some of the major ones. There are others, most will work just fine.

 

Steel Cased ammo like Wolf or Brown Bear are often the cheapest but can be problematic in some guns.

 

Blazer(as opposed to Blazer Brass) and Sellior and Bellot have Aluminum cased ammo which can be problematic in some guns but if it runs fine, it can save you some money.

 

If you don't know, stick to brass cased ammo and you're good to go. You can dabble in the others and see if it works for you.

Ok first off, Good ammo with reloadable brass and save it, sort it and send it to me, I'll PM you my address..

 

 

 

Just kidding... Ok, now first off what caliber gun, what do you want to do with the gun. I.e: Range target shooting, Gun Games, Home/Self Defense??

Not to sound like a guy wearing a tinfoil hat or anything, I would like to have a little ammo put away in case the SHTF. Don't worry, I'm not hiding in my basement, just would like to be prepared. So I guess that would fall under the HD category right???

Thanks for the replies, I've tried to google this info but believe it or not there is too much information out there to make any sort of decision. These replies have taught me more than I learned googling this stuff for a couple of hours!

alot of knowledge on particular topics can be found on youtube. Any sound person "prepper" would be in their right mind to stock(pile) hoard, reserve, whatever term you choose. in case SHTF. Im concerned ultimately with HD, but take it into consideration that to be proficient in HD, it takes time and training to become accustomed to firearm safety in general, specific operation and usage of your firearm for those purposes, and planning a HD strategy. If you plan on shooting often you may want to consider 9mm if cost is an issue. .357, .40, or .45 if you are ok with spending a little more, but given more stopping power by comparison.

 

Key issues here

 

Reinforce firearm general safety- Both with yourself and the people in your house. They dont have to go shooting with you or even be part of your choice, but to me it seems cruicial that if you are going to store weapons in your home, the responsible parties in your home should be familiar with firearm safety and basic components and functions of your firearm (againi as a general precaution or if SHTF)

 

Know your gun- When you decide which gun you will buy or have bought, learn everything about it. Owners manual, websites, youtube videos are all over the place for every gun out there.. know its strengths, weaknesses, operations, and troubleshooting.

 

Train and plan - Having a gun in your home wont mean much if you dont know how to use it. Go to the range as often as you can cost allowing. Train, improve your aim and commit using your weapon to muscle memory. Have a good HD plan and know the laws of NJ as it pertains to the castle doctrine. You have a duty to retreat but when you are pushed to the point to where it is your life, or an intruder, the answer seems clear. KNOW THE GUN LAWS FOR NJ. because they are so eff'd up they will nail you for any slight infraction..

 

 

Good luck!

Brass Ammo runs in all guns. Steel and Aluminum cased ammo can be problematic in some guns.

 

Hollow points are for self defense, Full Metal Jacket(FMJ) is range ammo.

 

Winchester, Federal, Fiocchi, CCI Blazer Brass or Lawman, Sellior and Bellot, Remington UMC are some of the major ones. There are others, most will work just fine.

 

Steel Cased ammo like Wolf or Brown Bear are often the cheapest but can be problematic in some guns.

 

Blazer(as opposed to Blazer Brass) and Sellior and Bellot have Aluminum cased ammo which can be problematic in some guns but if it runs fine, it can save you some money.

 

If you don't know, stick to brass cased ammo and you're good to go. You can dabble in the others and see if it works for you.

 

^ ^ ^ ^ This.. 115gr FMJ and 124gr FMJ for most 9mm..

 

Start new guns on BRASS ammo.. then try (maybe 1 box) of the junky steel ammo.. CCI Bazer or Wolf/Tula..

 

My Sig runs on anything.. and thats at like 300 rounds thru it maybe..

 

Cheap ammo (aka steel cased) is DIRTY.. and will need much more cleaning..

Not to sound like a guy wearing a tinfoil hat or anything, I would like to have a little ammo put away in case the SHTF. Don't worry, I'm not hiding in my basement, just would like to be prepared. So I guess that would fall under the HD category right???

 

Mike, I get worried if I have less than 10K in 22LR not to mention another 10K plus of center-fire and rifle ammo at home, and thats just for fun, not for a SHTF scenario..

Can't go wrong with federal.

 

Hornady is a great home defense or hunting round but for paper punching it gets pricey.

Hornady is great for HD. for range use, usually the winchester white box is really cheap and will work just fine. if you go down to the 'Hot Deals" section, you usually can find some good deals on 9mm ammo.

Not to sound like a guy wearing a tinfoil hat or anything, I would like to have a little ammo put away in case the SHTF. Don't worry, I'm not hiding in my basement, just would like to be prepared. So I guess that would fall under the HD category right???

 

IMHO, since SD/HD ammo is pretty pricey, I've got a bit of it, but most of my stash is target (FMJ) ammo. I would think that would suffice for a SHTF scenario, but I would interested to hear the comments of others. Do people keep thousands of rounds of Hornady Critical Defense or equivalent ammo stashed away?

. Do people keep thousands of rounds of Hornady Critical Defense or equivalent ammo stashed away?

 

I doubt that they would keep that much on hand. Now people who reload may keep a lot more HP ammo on hand but I wouldn't use my reloads for HD/SD.

The ammo I have a lot of is range ammo. Plain ole federal. The ammo I use for home defense I have a few boxes of each caliber

Now I go to buy ammo & there is 20 different brands/varietys of ammo for say a 9mm. Can anyone give me the basics of what is good/bad/differences? Thanks in advance!!!

 

For what it's worth I asked a similar question a while back. Here is the link you can see what the community said http://njgunforums.c...ad-ammo-brands/

Thanks for the replies everyone!