Preferred Ammo Brand?

[BabaBlueJay]

The right answer is this: Stick with the name brands, many of which have been mentioned in the above responses to your post.
There seem to be a ton of new ammo manufacturers on the scene these days, and I don't trust them to have the same QC as the name brands. Plus, they are usually not significantly cheaper. And then there is the safety and reliability risk of running those brands through your guns.
I like and respect my guns (and myself) too much to run second-rate ammo through them.

Agreed. S&B has been around a while so I trust them for my FMJ. Defense rounds I'll probably go Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Defense.

Probably will come down to what is easier to find because even online some of the name brands are next to impossible to find in .357 right now. A bullet is no good to me if I can't get it.

 

[Imissedagain]

Never had any problems with Sel & Bel in 380/9mm/38Spl other than tight primer pockets when the brass is reloaded.
Hint... save your brass.

 

[swsig]

Thanks for the resources always fun to learn more. Appreciate the links!

I guess S&B SJHP didn't even make cut for testing. Of the ones they tested I like Gold Dot best, still have some .38 special from them but want to try their .357 Magnum rounds. May order some because I agree with some of the comments saying my S&B while nice for plinking might not be suitable for most defensive situations. I wish they tested their defensive rounds but maybe they just aren't up to snuff. Gold Dot/Hornady/Hydrashok I tested in .38 special; had poor results with the Hornady and Hydrashok but maybe I'll shoot their .357 magnum stuff better. Worth a test to be sure!

S&B didn't miss the cut because they make poor ammo. They were simply late to the game. They didn't start to make their presence felt in the US ammo market until after the tests had been conducted for those two websites. Their self-defense rounds may still be OK. I would check the Lucky Gunner site from time to time, because they do update their tests.

Regarding the Lucky Gunner test data, there are two primary things to note. The first is penetration. Your best choices are bullets that consistently penetrate 12 to 16 inches. Both under- and over-penetration are undesirable. The second thing is expansion. Bullets that expand well beyond their initial diameter and penetrate 12 to 16 inches are the most desirable. However, that is just your starting point. After you acquire some of those, you need to check them for reliability and accuracy in your gun.

I noticed that in the Lucky Gunner tests of .357 Magnum rounds, the Gold Dot 158g rounds performed poorly by greatly over-penetrating and not expanding at all. I was surprised by this, as Gold Dots are usually excellent performers in all calibers. On the other hand, Gold Dot 135g rounds did much better. If you like Gold Dots, start with the 135g versions first. An even better performer was the Winchester PDX1 125g round, which showed excellent penetration along with even greater expansion than the Gold Dot 135gs.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

S&B didn't miss the cut because they make poor ammo. They were simply late to the game. They didn't start to make their presence felt in the US ammo market until after the tests had been conducted for those two websites. Their self-defense rounds may still be OK. I would check the Lucky Gunner site from time to time, because they do update their tests.

Regarding the Lucky Gunner test data, there are two primary things to note. The first is penetration. Your best choices are bullets that consistently penetrate 12 to 16 inches. Both under- and over-penetration are undesirable. The second thing is expansion. Bullets that expand well beyond their initial diameter and penetrate 12 to 16 inches are the most desirable. However, that is just your starting point. After you acquire some of those, you need to check them for reliability and accuracy in your gun.

I noticed that in the Lucky Gunner tests of .357 Magnum rounds, the Gold Dot 158g rounds performed poorly by greatly over-penetrating and not expanding at all. I was surprised by this, as Gold Dots are usually excellent performers in all calibers. On the other hand, Gold Dot 135g rounds did much better. If you like Gold Dots, start with the 135g versions first. An even better performer was the Winchester PDX1 125g round, which showed excellent penetration along with even greater expansion than the Gold Dot 135gs.

I noticed they didn't test Remington Green and White box SJHP which is Paul Harrel's go to defense ammo. Shocked me they would leave that out, considering what a legend the guy is. I saw the penetration numbers and know the FBI prefers 14 which means the Hornady may be better route for .357 for me.

 

[gwpercle]

My favorite brands are the ones labled ...
.... "IN STOCK " and "AVAILABLE" ...

Beggars can't be chooser's !
Gary

 

[kmyers]

The right answer is this: Stick with the name brands, many of which have been mentioned in the above responses to your post.
There seem to be a ton of new ammo manufacturers on the scene these days, and I don't trust them to have the same QC as the name brands. Plus, they are usually not significantly cheaper. And then there is the safety and reliability risk of running those brands through your guns.
I like and respect my guns (and myself) too much to run second-rate ammo through them.

That is how we would do it also. A brand name likely to have gotten the manufacturing down as best as humans can do and make certain it will work in your firearm. It is a pistol, all pistol calibers have worked and failed, it isn't a phaser from Star Trek or blaster from Star Wars that works every time especially when you factor in the condition physical, mental and possible substances in a person. There is no magic bullet or caliber, it is what you like and can find these days.

 

[BillBro]

I'm not positive about their pistol brass, though I have reloaded some and it seems fine, but their rifle brass is some of the best made and they make brass for alot of big name brands, including Hornady. It's just about all I'll load for my 6.8SPC. So, save your brass.
Overall I like S&B products and will happily use any I find but I havent bought any loaded ammo for over two years.

 

[heeter3]

Any .38s except steel cased.

 

[BIGDOC]

Anything I can get my hands on, let the guns learn to put'em down range.

 

[BearBio]

Underwood for EDC! Much more reliable in a semi auto than Grizzly! Underwood in 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 41 Mag for heavy bear loads (or handloads).

 

[bulletslap]

I am putting in a good word for Black Hills Ammunition, I have had consistent good results across a wide variety of calibers and many decades.

 

[scoobysnacker]

Thanks for all the input on here. I learned that I should stock an equal amount of hollow point for defense as I do FMJ for plinking and specific situations where I may need to have more penetration.

I will disagree here... just on ratio.

For my use (and I suspect a lot of others), you want to put a fair amount of SD ammo through your handgun, just to confirm there won't be any feed issues. So, initially, you will want a decent amount.
Once that's determined, if you are buying ammo (not reloading), I'd say a box of JHP for a case of FMJ. That allows you to shoot and train with the cheaper stuff, while occasionally replenishing the SD ammo.

Think of it like an automobile. Once you determine what oil you will use (the SD ammo), you then spend money on gasoline (the FMJ). You can try different brands of gas, it doesn't make a ton of difference, your car will just keep going. But every so often you change the oil (which costs more per unit, but not used in such high quantity), and you stick to that brand and that weight (just as you should stick to your preferred JHP defensive ammo).

I've got Speer Gold Dot LE FMJ, came across a deal April of 2020 (got a full case for $399!). I keep it stored in an airtight can, and after making sure it would run in my gun of choice, I rarely shoot any. I keep a couple mags full, and around the time I will have shot maybe a case of the cheap range stuff, I probably will shoot those mags off, and reload with more.

If you're a normal civilian shooter, you (like me) will likely never need a full case of good SD ammo over the course of your lifetime. But it's not unusual to shoot at least a case of FMJ in a year.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

That makes sense, so maybe 95% plinking S&B with a couple hundred rounds of defense ammo. Shoot 120 a year and keep 80 for carry/defense. That does make sense as its extraordinarily rare to use a firearm in defense.

 

[scoobysnacker]

That makes sense, so maybe 95% plinking S&B with a couple hundred rounds of defense ammo. Shoot 120 a year and keep 80 for carry/defense. That does make sense as its extraordinarily rare to use a firearm in defense.

I probably wouldn't even shoot that much JHP, if we're being honest here

 

[BabaBlueJay]

I probably wouldn't even shoot that much JHP, if we're being honest here

You have been one of my favorite people since joining here! I appreciate the honesty, something we need more of in this World!

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I see Phil carries Buffalo Bore in his 642.
If I had some, I wouldn't mind carrying it in my 642.
But Shooting it?
Not too sure about that!

 

[BabaBlueJay]

I see Phil carries Buffalo Bore in his 642.
If I had some, I wouldn't mind carrying it in my 642.
But Shooting it?
Not too sure about that!

I can't speak to their .357 but their .38 was not as hot as I expected it might be. Grant it, their outdoorsman caused ejector issues for my 686 so I stopped using them. Shot true, and was not nearly as bad on recoil as you might suspect though.

Thinking about trying Speer Gold Dot 135 grain short barrel. They had great expansion, and FBI sweet spot for penetration in LuckyGunner gel test.

 

[scoobysnacker]

Thanks

This is a great site, I find the posters here are both knowledgeable and respectful. I've gleaned a lot of info from them. There's very little of the latest hot thing, and lots of a century's worth of applied knowledge and experience.

What are you slinging your 9mm through? If it's not a 3rd Gen S&W, you need to go pick one of those gems up. Even with today's elevated prices, a used 5906 in nice condition is good value... you won't find another pistol with stainless frame and slide anywhere near the price.

 

[BearBio]

I agree with using a more inexpensive ammo for practice but I always unload AT LEAST one magazine of my EDC ammo. I use a Glock-27 modified to shoot 257SIG.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Ammo has come a long way since I started shooting in the late 50's.

When I was a teenager, the Remington Bronze Point and the Super-X ammo were my go to ammo for my deer hunting ammo as well as Norma, if I could find it.

Today there is "Zillions" of special bullets and Huge fps loads to use for your "normal" 800 yard shots, with the custom rifles of today.

SD ammo and bullets have also opened many doors, to find "Super Duper"
SD ammo that will work, even out of barrels less than 2" in length !!

The only problem is finding it.