[GlockComa]

When stockpiling ammo - how much regard for the 'same brand' is there?

Does it depend on the intended use of the ammo? (Target or defense)

When people stockpile ammo it seems to generally be ball ammo (from what I can tell). Is this intended for target, sd, or both?

How much is accuracy affected by switching brands (same grain)?

at this point, I'm still only buying ammo (.40) sporadically (1,2 @ a time), not by the case, and as a result, my cache is a rainbow of colors. just wondering if I should change my ways....

input?

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

Meh...thesed days, with modern manufacturing techniques, I don't really think there's a hill of beans worth of difference amongst the major manufacturers for FMJ ammo.

Bullet design is the major factor in SD ammo, so yeah, I'm picky about that (I only use Winchester T-Series).

Folks are stockpiling that because it's the least expensive and range use is it's primary intended purpose.

I wouldn't carry FMJ in 9mm or .40, but would carry FMJ in .45 ACP if I had to. I've got enough SD ammo on hand in the three calibers to load all of my magazines a couple of times over...that's enough for me to keep on hand since I don't tend to shoot that for practice.

I try to stock the same bullet weight in my FMJ ammo, but it's not always possible. For shooting a match, I'll take a supply all from the same manufacturer just for consistency. For the range, I'll grab what ever is handiest.

Buy what you can when you can, and shoot it in good health!

HTH

Edit to add: Glock, I've got 100rnds of GA Arms .380 FMJ range ammo I don't need if you need a little for your SOs Bersa.

 

[T.S.]

IMHO .....

When stockpiling ammo - how much regard for the 'same brand' is there?

In the past, I have attempted to buy the same type of ammo.

With the ammo market being what it is today, you have to buy, what you can, when you can, as much as you can, whenever and wherever you can find it, as long as it is a high quality type of ammo.

Does it depend on the intended use of the ammo? (Target or defense)

All of my carry ammo is Federal Hydra-Shok 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Point in 45.acp.

With that being said, if I did not have the aforementioned ammo available, then I would carry ball ammo. Because if JHP is not available, then ball ammo will also do the job just maybe not as good as JHP might do.

I buy Georgia Arms reloaded ball ammo for my practice ammunition. It is cheaper than factory new, yet it is a high enough quality for good practice results, and in a pinch I would not be afraid to use it in a self-defense scenario.

When people stockpile ammo it seems to generally be ball ammo (from what I can tell). Is this intended for target, sd, or both?

As mentioned above, I have ball ammo for practice. In my opinion, if I could not find anyother type of ammo, I would buy ball in bulk as long as it was 230 grain good quality ball ammo. If need be ball ammo can be used as self-defense ammo.

How much is accuracy affected by switching brands (same grain)?

I have not noticed a significant loss of accuracy between comparable ammunition.

at this point, I'm still only buying ammo (.40) sporadically (1,2 @ a time), not by the case, and as a result, my cache is a rainbow of colors. just wondering if I should change my ways.... input?

As I have mentioned earlier ... " With the ammo market being what it is today, you have to buy, what you can, when you can, as much as you can, whenever and wherever you can find it, as long as it is a high quality type of ammo. "

If your cache is a rainbow of colors of " quality " ammunition, then I see no significant problem.

BTW, if you are unhappy with your " rainbow of color " cache and decide to throw them away, please let me know where you are going to throw them away ...

 

[brownie]

IMHO .....



In the past, I have attempted to buy the same type of ammo.

With the ammo market being what it is today, you have to buy, what you can, when you can, as much as you can, whenever and wherever you can find it, as long as it is a high quality type of ammo.



All of my carry ammo is Federal Hydra-Shok 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Point in 45.acp.

With that being said, if I did not have the aforementioned ammo available, then I would carry ball ammo. Because if JHP is not available, then ball ammo will also do the job just maybe not as good as JHP might do.

I buy Georgia Arms reloaded ball ammo for my practice ammunition. It is cheaper than factory new, yet it is a high enough quality for good practice results, and in a pinch I would not be afraid to use it in a self-defense scenario.



As mentioned above, I have ball ammo for practice. In my opinion, if I could not find anyother type of ammo, I would buy ball in bulk as long as it was 230 grain good quality ball ammo. If need be ball ammo can be used as self-defense ammo.



I have not noticed a significant loss of accuracy between comparable ammunition.



As I have mentioned earlier ... " With the ammo market being what it is today, you have to buy, what you can, when you can, as much as you can, whenever and wherever you can find it, as long as it is a high quality type of ammo. "

If your cache is a rainbow of colors of " quality " ammunition, then I see no significant problem.

BTW, if you are unhappy with your " rainbow of color " cache and decide to throw them away, please let me know where you are going to throw them away ...

What TampaSsgt said.

I've salted away 1 case of 9mm and 45acp in my favorite SD HP load which will last longer than I'm going to. I've got my own fmj reloads, several makers [ that rainbow effect ] fmj in each caliber that's used for training/practice sessions in quantity enough to last maybe 5 years or longer.

Brownie

 

[GlockComa]

solid advice, thank you sirs.

Tampa,
I'm throwing them away. they'll be sitting on (or in) the big dirt hill @ GRPC. just let me know before you run out to grab them, so I can call the line cold :laughing

/end dry humor

 

[GlockComa]

....in quantity enough to last maybe 5 years or longer.

you're my hero

 

[T.S.]

you're my hero

What, you've never seen Brownie's back yard?

 

[brownie]

What, you've never seen Brownie's back yard?

That's not too far off, here's my backyard from a distance. :rolf

GlockComa,

After about 5 years, I'll have to go out to the cached stores.

Brownie

 

[T.S.]

That's not too far off, here's my backyard from a distance. :rolf

Brownie

Whats in those " Native American Tee-Pees " out there in the distance?

 

[brownie]

TampaSsgt,

This is how big they are up close.

They were "Coke" ovens used to make fuel for the railroad. The Gila River is just south of these ovens where the train ran from NM to Ca.

Brownie

 

[playertobenamedlater]

is .40 FMJ really that ineffective for SD/HD?

i EDC with Hornady TAP, but fiscal limitations prevent too much stockpiling of that. i figured the .40 was big enough to retain reasonable stopping power in FMJ. thoughts?

 

[GlockComa]

is .40 FMJ really that ineffective for SD/HD?
..... thoughts?

lots of penetration. might get a bg and gg with the same bullet.. slightly less likely w.jhp

 

[Rvrctyrngr]

What GlockComa said. .40 is a high-pressure round producing high velocities. I wouldn't carry .40 FMJ unless it was my ONLY option.

Check the classifieds. Ammoshpere is selling Winchester T-Series .40 at a very reasonable price. $35/50rnds of 180gr.

 

[J T]

My bigger inventories are range/practice ammo. I don't stick to any particular brand for that, just buy something decent quality. For example, in 9mm, I have Federal, Remington UMC and Magtech. For SD ammo, I'm much more particular, but the inventory is much smaller. Again in 9mm, it's either Federal HST or Winchester Ranger T, both in 147 grain.

 

[T.S.]

is .40 FMJ really that ineffective for SD/HD?

I found this info at another website. It compares the two rounds and how they performed against different types of surfaces:

http://le.atk.com/pdf/SanAngeloWBW_Report.pdf

Gelatin

Gelatin was measured for calibration (Temperature 37-41 degrees, BB penetration 3.25”-3.75”) and shot within 20 minutes of removal from refrigeration. *Note – because of very windy conditions, we were unable to test the velocities of the BB’s, however temperature and penetration were within parameters.

Rounds

San Angelo PD tested:

40 S&W 180 gr. Gold Dot and 40 S&W165 gr. HST & SXT

45 ACP 230 gr. Gold Dot, HST & SXT

Test Events

Bare Gelatin

All rounds typically perform well in bare gelatin, which is the easiest test event. It is the benchmark test for bullet performance. Past and current hollow points were designed to expand 1.5 times the original bullet diameter. Federal HST rounds were engineered to expand more than twice the original diameter in bare gelatin.

Federal HST 40 165 gr. Expanded 42% more than the Winchester SXT and retained 3.45% more weight.

Federal HST 45 230 gr. Expanded 30% more than the Winchester SXT and retained 8.18% more weight.

Bullet Cal. / -------------- Weight --- Penetration ------- Expansion --- RetainedWeight

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W ---- 180 gr. ------ 13.00” ------------- .59’ ----------- 98.72 %
Federal HST 40 S&W ------- 165 gr. ------ 13.50” ------------- .81” ----------- 100.12 %
Win. SXT 40 S&W ---------- 165 gr. ------ 15.25 -------------- .57” ------------ 96.67 %

Speer Gold Dot 45 ACP ------ 230 gr. ------ 13.25” ------------ .71” ------------ 99.96 %
Federal HST 45 ACP --------- 230 gr. ------ 13.25” ------------ .97” ------------ 99.35 %
Win. SXT 45 ACP ----------- 230 gr. ------ 13.50” ------------ .75” ------------ 91.17 %

Heavy Clothing

All Bullets performed well in Heavy Clothing. Federal HST again demonstrated the design expansion characteristics and outperformed all tested rounds for expansion.

Bullet Cal. / -------------- Weight --- Penetration ------- Expansion --- RetainedWeight

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W ---- 180 gr. ------ 15.00” ------------- .65” ------------ 99.17 %
Federal HST 40 S&W ------- 165 gr. ------ 14.00” -------------- .75” ----------- 100.25 %
Win. SXT 40 S&W ---------- 165 gr. ------ 14.00” -------------- .65” ----------- 101.58 %

Speer Gold Dot 45 ACP ----- 230 gr. ------- 14.75” ------------- .71” ----------- 100.09 %
Federal HST 45 ACP -------- 230 gr. ------- 13.00” ------------- .96” ------------ 99.26 %
Win. SXT 45 ACP ----------- 230 gr. ------- 14.00” ------------- .81” ---------- 100.13 %

Auto Glass

Auto Glass is the toughest and most difficult of all barrier tests.

ATK’s bonded Speer Gold Dot .40 & .45 both stayed together through Auto Glass.

Federal HST and Winchester SXT both experienced core jacket separation in the .40 165 gr., however they stayed together in the .45 230 gr.


Bullet Cal. / -------------- Weight --- Penetration ------- Expansion --- RetainedWeight

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W ----- 180 gr. ------ 15.25” ----------- .51” ------------ 87.33 %
Federal HST 40 S&W -------- 165 gr. ------ 14.0” ------------ .48” ------------ 59.88 % **
Win. SXT 40 S&W ----------- 165 gr. ------ 12.25” -------- .57 77" ------------- .52 % **

Speer Gold Dot 45 ACP ------ 230 gr. ------ 15.5” ---------- .65” --------------- 98.39 %
Federal HST 45 ACP --------- 230 gr. ------ 15.5” ---------- .64” --------------- 90.65 %
Win. SXT 45 ACP ------------ 230 gr. ------ 15.5” ---------- .60” --------------- 90.09 %
** Core jacket separation


Wallboard

All rounds performed as designed through wallboard. Again, Federal HST had superior expansion to the Winchester SXT.

Bullet Cal. / -------------- Weight --- Penetration ------- Expansion --- RetainedWeight

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W ----- 180 gr. ------- 14.25” ----------- .64” ---------- 98.72 %
Federal HST 40 S&W -------- 165 gr. ------- 12.25” ----------- .72” ---------- 95.82 %
Win. SXT 40 S&W ----------- 165 gr. ------- 14.50” ----------- .64” ---------- 99.21 %

Speer Gold Dot 45 ACP ------ 230 gr. ------- 15.75” ----------- .63” --------- 99.78 %
Federal HST 45 ACP --------- 230 gr. ------- 14.5” ------------ .86” --------- 99.35" %
Win. SXT 45 ACP ------------ 230 gr. ------ 16.25” ----------- .73” --------- 100.00 %


Plywood

Plywood is second only to glass when measured in terms of bullet failures to expansion and performance.
Federal HST performed as designed, with no failures and great expansions. While Winchester SXT .40 165 gr. plugged and the Gold Dot .45 230 gr. also plugged.

Bullet Cal. / -------------- Weight --- Penetration ------- Expansion --- RetainedWeight

Speer Gold Dot 40 S&W ---- 180 gr. ----------- 14.25” -------- .64” ------------- 98.72 %
Federal HST 40 S&W ------- 165 gr. ----------- 12.25” -------- .72” ------------- 95.82 %
Win. SXT 40 S&W ---------- 165 gr. ----------- 14.50” -------- .64” ------------- 99.21 % *

Speer Gold Dot 45 ACP ------ 230 gr. ---------- 15.75” -------- .63” ------------- 99.78 % *
Federal HST 45 ACP --------- 230 gr. ---------- 14.5” --------- .86” ------------- 99.35 %
Win. SXT 45 ACP ------------ 230 gr. --------- 16.25” --------- .73” ----------- 100.00 %
* Plugged

 

[Ghost]

Due to the current ammo supply problem I've been forced to buy anything I can get my grubby paws on. I have 9mm Blazer Brass, WWB, Rem/UMC in stock and I have American Eagle and Georgia Arms on order.

Other ammo in different calibers are all over the rainbow. No rhyme or reason as I don't have any really strong preference for any brand. I do not shoot any Wolf however.

My carry 9mm ammo is Speer Gold Dot 115 grain.

 

[GlockComa]

+1 for the good people here

Edit to add: Glock, I've got 100rnds of GA Arms .380 FMJ range ammo I don't need if you need a little for your SOs Bersa.

Thanks for coming through with the goods and waiting on me to show up! Real stand-up of you man. Good to know people are here to actually help. I'll be sure to pay it forward.

I'm looking forward to meeting the other stand-uppers 'rounhere (maybe @ da idpa?)

-gc