handgun ammo FMJ - aluminum - steel etc

[Olympus Racing]

Been looking at Handgun ammo lately and i notice fairly big price difference between brands and other details such as aluminum or steel, hollow point etc.
What is good,ok, absolutely not when it comes to that stuff?
also i noticed some big difference in grains too. 9mm 115g to 130+, 40 from 180 to 240+, etc. do you use different for practice to self defense? i mean what is the criteria to choose the proper type?

 

[MAGA99]

FMJ for practice, JHP for carry/self defense. Generally, FMJ are way cheaper than JHPs.

Generally, you get what you pay for. Cheap ammo goes bang, but often times 50rnds of cheap-o stuff through a nice clean gun makes it significantly dirtier afterwards than 50 rnds of more expensive ammo through the same clean gun. Also steel and aluminum cased ammo doesn't expand and seal to the chamber as well as brass, or so they say, so you can get more material blown back into your gun that way. I haven't shot enough steel/aluminum cased ammo to make that scientifically valid conclusion, although I've shot plenty of wolf, even brass, and your gun gets WAY dirtier than the pricier ammo afterwards. Otherwise, if you don't reload, steel or aluminum cases should run fine in your gun. Even if you don't reload, save the brass and trade it to someone who does.

Bullet weight, measured in grains, is a personal preference thing. If you're punching holes in paper, the paper doesn't much care. 115g 9mm is cheap and plentiful. Heavier loads are not as plentiful. I like the heavier loads, especially for carry, but they leave the muzzle with less velocity. It's a personal preference thing. Try them all and see what you like!!

 

[MAD Geary]

115gr 124gr ad 147gr FMJ ball ammo can be found in bulk and is suitable for shooting/fun/practice fundamentals. But you need to at times train with what you carry, yeah it might be a bit more expensive but it is important. 147gr HST's will shoot different than 115 gr Tula 9mm.

 

[Sig Sauer Shooter]

I like to shoot and carry heavier 9mm ammo, Hornady makes a 135 grain jhp that I like. Sig makes a 147 grain jhp that's currently in my G19 and Shield, and I only shoot aluminum or brass, Never steel case!

 

[scheming]

HP is for self defense, It expands to help prevent over-penetration This lessens chance to shooting thru BG and hitting someone behind him. FMJ is your basic ball ammo. Nothing special, goes bang.

Aluminum & steel is cheaper because brass has copper and copper is expensive. Also, you can't reload aluminum or steel.
Some guns don't like Al or steel, causes jamming and such.

You should always have practice with the same weight ammo as your SD stuff. If you have 147gr HST, practice with 147gr FMJ. This helps you get used to that weight and recoil.
Beyond that, you can use any weight for target & plinking. I usually play around with 115gr, but I have 147gr HST for SD ammo and do some practice at that weight as well.
lower weight = faster and usually more penetration, heavier = slower

Rem UMC, Winchester White Box, Blazer Brass and Federal Champion are usually regarded as your basic plinking ammo. Get a box of every brand and see what you/your gun likes.
You can buy much more expensive ammo, but it's your money so that's your prerogative. I buy Perfecta whenever I see it. It's cheap and it's brass cased.

Biggest determination of what you shoot is what you like and how much you want to spend. Some ammo is super dirty but cheap and some people is ok with that.

TLDR: try a bit of everything and see what suits you.

 

[Sawicki1991]

I tend to avoid steel cased pistol ammo when I can. Federal aluminum FMJ is my go to range ammo. Doesn't hurt the wallet as much as Winchester white box. It is dirtier but I clean my guns after every range visit so it makes no difference to me. Steel is great Russian guns. I also find my ar shoots wolf very well.

 

[houdini]

I never shoot steal cases out of my hand gun.

 

[Sterg]

I like the Perfecta also. It's always at Wally Mart. I have a Beretta so I like to think I can run anything through it and I like challenging it. So far it has eaten everything, although I haven't tried hollow points or other self defense rounds. It's pretty much a range gun. If it's cheap it's for me.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Bank (Banks?) Miller of the DEA and Sig School (I forget what he's doing now) reco'd carrying 9mm FMJ. Adequate at accurate stops, didn't over-penetrate and was 100% reliable.

YMMV. Just stating what a professional gun guy said.

 

[jkelly1229]

Research your carry ammo just cuz it has a cool box and costs a lot doesn't mean it will actually stop a yhreat. See g2 rip ammo. Some guns don't like certain ammos so you should try a lot before you buy bulk. I had an fmk that no matter what I tried would not cycle steel case ammo. So that's always on the table. But unless your jerry Mickulek which I don't think you are because I doubt you'd ask this question any ammo will probably be as accurate as you at this stage

 

[whacko]

Steel case and aluminum case stuff tends to have extraction issues and jam. Use it only if you are hard up for range ammo. I would never load my ccw with that stuff. As far as bullet weight....google is your friend. So much info out there its numbimg.

 

[Dennis in MA]

If you aren't buying what this guy in 3 colors is using, you aren't half the man you should be.

(Best is Lefty giving you the "It's OK" vibe with his gun up and hand out while Centerdude has the shotgun pointed right at you. LOL)

 

[cb1]

Steel case and aluminum case stuff tends to have extraction issues and jam. Use it only if you are hard up for range ammo. I would never load my ccw with that stuff. As far as bullet weight....google is your friend. So much info out there its numbimg.

What ammo/gun combinations have you had issues with? I've put lots of aluminum and steel cased stuff through my M&P9 without a single issue.

 

[92G]

not going to comment on projectiles. that's a huge area. plenty of reading to do there.

in terms of casing, here's my take:

steel case. most of what i shoot for cost. very slightly accelerated wear on internals particularly extractor. we are talking at least 10k rounds until noticeable. chamber/breech will get dirtier but who cares. in glock or other typical handgun it's just fine. in a blowback or something fancy, older pistol i wouldn't run it. keep in mind a glock extractor is like $12, so you can buy a new glock extractor with each case of steel ammo and still save $$. my HK USP 9 has shot so much tulammo it's ridiculous. no issues. my sig 1911 also eats steel ammo all day long.

aluminum case. good stuff also. i shoot lots of it. very lightweight so easy to carry to range. try comparing 300 rounds of aluminum vs. brass ammo. huge weight difference. less wear than steel case due to aluminum being softer. of note i have had more frequent extraction issues with aluminum ammo in several pistols (e.g. P229) but overall still rare. the extractor seems to have a tendency to jump over the case head during extraction, but i have no hard data to support this. was fixed with replacement of extractor spring so increased extractor tension helped.

brass case. obviously preferable and reloadable. expands/contracts nicely and aids in sealing chamber + extraction. slightly less wear on internals. any carry ammo should be brass case, period. any micro pistols or blow-back firearms i only shoot brass.

in summary, don't be afraid of steel or aluminum ammo if it's a full size standard pistol. shoot it. the people who whine about steel/aluminum either 1) rarely shoot or 2) fired it through a finicky micro pistol and decide to blame the ammo to feel better about their gun.

oh, one other perk about steel ammo is can be picked up w a big magnet. if i'm shooting outside i prefer it because cleanup is a cinch. run the magnet around the ground and takes ~2 minutes to have the entire area clean.

 

[Olympus Racing]

^ thanks for the detailed info.
Pretty much what I was looking for.

 

[StevieP]

OP - what gun did you end up getting?

Some personal defense ammo is better suited to short barrels (Hornady Critical Defense, Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point "short barrel"). If any ammo runs in your gun, that's fine. But if you're looking for something tailored to your specific gun, there are options... Hornady Critical Duty is supposedly best in a full-size 5+" barrel, where the Critical Defense is designed to work with a short barreled CCW.

I carry 115gr Critical Defense, so train with 115gr fmj at the range. Same recoil, point of impact, etc.

 

[Retired-LEO]

Shooting cheap FMJ, can help teach you how to deal with ammo malfunctions.

The more you learn and practice, the better off you will be if the S.H.T.F.

I shoot the cheapest ammo (FMJ) I can find "for practice" AND

Carry the BEST ammo (JHP)I can find for Self Defense!

 

[whacko]

What ammo/gun combinations have you had issues with? I've put lots of aluminum and steel cased stuff through my M&P9 without a single issue.

An m and p full size 45

never had a malfunctiom with any brass case ammo though.

Failures with steel and aluminum have been failure to extract. Have to tap em out. I think they expand in the chamber.

note....I do shoot steel and aluminum case at the range. With the few (rare) instances of fail to extract I am only recommending not using it for ccw as brass is much more reliable.

 

[Chet0729]

Buy what you can find and afford and figure out what your gun runs the best with. They are all different. I am in the hollow points for PP crowd