Help me find a new ammo

tectrry

tectrry

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For the past few years I have mostly been using Freedom Munitions (usually new brass but sometimes reman) and have said great things about their ammo until now. They used to load at the upper end of the SAAMI specs and their 9mm worked great in my full size M&P but now they load on the low end of the SAAMI specs (still within spec but...) and now it feels weak and has very weak ejection. All spent shells actually hit me instead of ejecting high enough and far enough. It still works fine in my Shield but barely ejects in my full size 9. At first I thought it must be my pistol so I sent it in to S&W and they replaced the ejector and extractor but the new FM is just too weak. I still have several older boxes that I have been comparing the new stuff with and it is unmistakable. They said they did it because it is safer but it's not worth it to me if it doesn't function right. So, I need to find another good ammo that is fully powered and works well but is affordable (I like to shoot a lot). Is there anything in the .20/round range (for 9mm) that is decent? I haven't had any problems so far with their .40, .45 or .223 so I continue buy those from Freedom, but I need a new supply for 9mm. If you have a good suggestion I'm all ears.
 
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For range practice factory ammo, I use whatever Walmart has, Winchester White Box, Federal Champion, etc. It all works fine in my M&P.
 
I'm a big fan of Federal's American Eagle ammo in fmj for my range stuff. In 9mm I've had equal success with both 115gr and 124gr in my Full Size and Shield-no issues at all and very accurate. Easy to find for around $12-$13/box

In .45acp I run their 230gr fmj exclusively through my Les Baer TRS and custom built 1911, again great accuracy and no issues at all. I get it online from Natchez for right around $21/box, in my local stores for $22-23/box.
 
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CCI Blazer perhaps?

Or maybe the remanufactured LAX Ammunition that's sold there in your home state?

I don't know the ammos myself; just see that the price is right. (Per AmmoSeek.com)
 
tectrry said:
They used to load at the upper end of the SAAMI specs and their 9mm worked great in my full size M&P but now they load on the low end of the SAAMI specs (still within spec but...) and now it feels weak and has very weak ejection.
Click to expand...

Can anyone post a link to this spec?
Thanks
 
HCH said:
Can anyone post a link to this spec?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Here's a link to the SAAMI website. SAAMI I don't have the testing equipment but was just going by what the Freedom Munitions CS person told me when I asked.

For everyone else, thanks for the info, I'll be looking at some of those. As for LAX, I was really considering them but within the same state means they add tax, but it still might be worth it.
 
Blazer aluminum if you can find it. I get really disgusted when I buy
9mm ammo that is "safer", that is downloaded so much that it won't
even function in some of my guns. I think that because of the lighter
weight of aluminum cases that CCI has to keep the velocity up to
decent speed to insure function. Or maybe CCI just produces better
ammo period. Recent Blazer 115 gr 9mm chronographed at 1167 fps
out of my BHP. This is much better than some of the junk being sold
these days that runs a good 100 fps slower and is useless unless you
don't mind turning your semi-auto into a single shot.
 
+1 on the CCI Blazer. It is good stuff. See if you can find the round 100 pack "cans" of Tulammo BrassMaxx. I get them at Wally World.
 
Winchester sells a NATO version in their white box which is a hotter version of the standard 124 gr. stuff. Georgia Arms sells the same round in bulk (when in stock). It's not +P rated, but it's hot. Should be close to what you are looking for. I use it all the time for practice since its close to the recoil of my carry ammo.
 
chanroc said:
Winchester sells a NATO version in their white box which is a hotter version of the standard 124 gr. stuff. Georgia Arms sells the same round in bulk (when in stock). It's not +P rated, but it's hot. Should be close to what you are looking for. I use it all the time for practice since its close to the recoil of my carry ammo.
Click to expand...

Yes, good stuff!
 
chanroc said:
Winchester sells a NATO version in their white box which is a hotter version of the standard 124 gr. stuff. Georgia Arms sells the same round in bulk (when in stock). It's not +P rated, but it's hot. Should be close to what you are looking for. I use it all the time for practice since its close to the recoil of my carry ammo.
Click to expand...

Thanks! This was what I was hoping to find.
 
When I can find it, the Remington UMC 100-round box, 115g, JHP, at about $28.00.

No equipment or specs, but it kicks more and speaks louder than WWB 115gr, so I'm guessing it is closing in on +P. And (if you are in an area that has multiple WM stores) the price is on rough par with WWB.

I like it also in that range ammo can be SD ammo in a pinch.

The Tulammo in the 100 round plastic (round) can was very uneven in load when I fired a can. The range folks asked if it was my first try at reloading. It was bang, boom, burp. I won't buy it again.
 
I too like the Blazer Brass (115 fmj) for range ammo in my 9c; second option i shoot for (pun intended lol) is the Remington UMC as both have run perfectly for me with no issues in near 1k rounds thru my compact.
Normally i'll grab it when it's in the $11-$12 per 50 area (in fact Dick's this week has UMC on ad for $11.98/50 as an example)
 
For Range ammo your best bet would be to watch for sales of the bulk-packed Winchester, Remington or Federal. If you are gung-ho into shooting like many here, I would suggest thinking about a Re-loading Outfit. Surprisingly they do pay for themselves in short order!
 
chief38 said:
For Range ammo your best bet would be to watch for sales of the bulk-packed Winchester, Remington or Federal. If you are gung-ho into shooting like many here, I would suggest thinking about a Re-loading Outfit. Surprisingly they do pay for themselves in short order!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I told my wife that I wouldn't start anything new until I finished my dissertation so maybe by summer I can start rolling my own.
 
I too use the Winchester NATO ammo, and I also find the Fiocchi 124 grain FMJ to be just as good as the Winchester and for a better price.
 
alwslate said:
I get really disgusted when I buy
9mm ammo that is "safer", that is downloaded so much that it won't
even function in some of my guns.
Click to expand...

I have a suspicion that with the so called ammo shortages we are seeing more and more of what the OP touches on. Ammo being loaded to lowest possible end of the SAAMI specs in an attempt to both squeeze maximum profit from a box but also to get as much ammo out the door. And it stands to reason that doing that means more of them slip by quality control that are under the spec.

Can't locate where I saw this recently but someone listed a supplier called Georgia Arms. And that they had a bulk version of the 9mm 124 gr NATO.
 
When did FM make the change? I wonder if it's really a "safety" factor or is it to save powder. Over a year I'm sure they would see a difference.
 
Florida J Frame said:
When did FM make the change? I wonder if it's really a "safety" factor or is it to save powder. Over a year I'm sure they would see a difference.
Click to expand...

I was using my old stock pile before getting into the new stuff, but when I noticed it a month or two ago, I think the ammo was from about 6-8 months before that (maybe longer).
 
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