9mm range ammo

bigwoods

Newbie
What 9mm training ammo do you prefer and why?
I'v only recently started to see where I group at 25 and 50 yards. I'm not good enough to see a difference in Fiochhi, Aguila,PMC and Federal (that's what I've bought in bulk and whats usually least expensive).
Now with an RMR, which I'm getting installed now, the accuracy, when looking for accuracy, at those distances might be noticable if one brand steps above the others.
So have you noticed more precise ammo and does it matter?
 

IkeInTexas

Regular Member
Vendor
VIP
I can definitely tell a difference between ammo. Lately I've been doing some testing of different brands and weights to see what my gun likes best and what is the most similar to my carry ammo.


Out of 115gr, Remington UMC was the most consistent.
Nearly every round I shot in 124gr was better than 115gr. The top performers in this weight was Aguila, PPU and Speer Lawman.
Most of the 147gr was really similar or slightly better than the 124gr. American Eagle and Speer Lawman were the top performers in my testing.


To summarize, my barrel (S3F) prefers 124gr or 147gr. I have a list of 5 different brands/weights that were the most consistent and the POI is very similar across all of them. Almost identical. I buy whichever of those 5 is the cheapest and available. Lately that's been Aguila 124gr so I've been buying and shooting that.


124gr:
Speer Lawman
Aguila
PPU

147gr:
Speer Lawman
American Eagle



I'll be reloading again in the not too distant future so I'll be working up loads once I get setup again but for factory ammo, those have been the best performers. This may vary based on your barrel though. My tests have been at 15 and 25 yards from a bench but not in a ransom rest or anything like that.



~Ike
 

bigwoods

Newbie
Ike, you gave me a lot to consider there - stuff I didn't even think of. I need to compare carry and practice ammo again then. I reload but only for hunting and precision. I've hestitated on 9 because of the rate of fire at which it is shot and when I had 2 squibs with Freedom Munition I got scared of reloading and having that happen, even though I am very conscientious in reloading. I run a stock 19 barrel and Gold Dot +124s. 115s for practice.
 

IkeInTexas

Regular Member
Vendor
VIP
I thought one of the mods here, maybe Steve Fischer, said magtec is currently the most consistent bulk 9

I tried some 115gr magtech and it was decent but not as good as the 115gr UMC (at least in my barrel). Really every 115gr round I tried was less accurate than nearly every 124 or 147gr round I tested. I haven't tested any 124gr or 147gr Magtech yet so it's possible that those weights may be even better than what I use right now.

I'm sure @Steve F will be along shortly and can provide some more insight.
It should also be noted that my testing is far from conclusive and really is anecdotal at best.


~Ike
 

RowdyYates

Newbie
Kinda limited here, but I bounce between Fiocchi 115gn and Stand 1 Armory 115gn. I fun the Fiocchi in my Roland because the comp really likes the higher velocity but as far as accuracy is concerned, I don't have an issue with either brand on a B-8 at 25 yards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

back spin

Amateur
Ike you must have good luck with UMC. From the limited use I've seen it's underpowered and caused function issues in my buddy's new Glock 19, especially when shooting from retention.

On the other hand, some guns just prefer a load over the other. I had a stock Glock barrel that was more accurate with 115 Wolf steel cased ammo than any other 115 practice load I put through it.

I've had pretty good luck with American Eagle 124 or 147. Same with Speer Lawman 124 and 147. They are not the absolutely most accurate load out of my guns, but they perform consistently well across whatever platform I run them in (I can't say the same for 124 Aguila or 124 Freedom munitions).
 

martin_j001

Newbie
My G19 and G34 with S3F barrels definitely seem prefer 124 grain in my experience. I have shot 115gr Speer Lawman, and Magtech, as well as Freedom reloads, and 124 gr Speer Lawman, and Freedom's new manufacture ammo. The 124gr Speed Lawman is my current go-to for matches and training classes, the rest gets used for range trips/practice. (caveat: this is my limited experience with about 4k total rounds through both guns, with the variety of ammo mentioned). Just getting my 650 set up to reload now, will be using 125gr blue bullets, so hopefully my guns like those just as well.
 

bigwoods

Newbie
Went with 124 Aquila and I'm getting muzzle flash in daytime overcast conditions ha ha. On to the next one.
I should probably stick with the American made, its usually the best. But I haven't had luck with UMC either.
Thanks for input
 

Longeye

Established
My experience across a number of platforms has been that 124 is the magic middle ground for the 9mm.
Federal AE ammo has been the most consistent grouper in that bullet weight.

My recent work was been very .40 centric. Langley Munitions has been the better performer in 165 gr by a small margin. I am on the hunt for a COTS wadcutter bullet in .40. If I find one I will have a run of match ammo made by Langley. Rob is responsive to custom loads ideas.
 

MRF

Newbie
Longeye, you may be the first person whose opinion of Federal AE is positive.

Myself and many of my coworkers have had mediocre results in multiple brands of handguns. It might just be inconsistency in their lots.

Magtech and Speer Lawman are the most consistent in my 9s.
 

Longeye

Established
It sure could be. Mine was from one lot. But I found it for a good price, and bought in quantity, so that AE 9mm ammo lasted a while.

When I transitioned to .40, I bought more AE based on the previous experience. It has been quality and consistent as well.
I will say that the .223 ball AE has been indifferent, but the overrun AE loaded with 63 gr Gold Dot shoots like it has angel wings.
 

John L. Ca

Newbie
What 9mm training ammo do you prefer and why?
I'v only recently started to see where I group at 25 and 50 yards. I'm not good enough to see a difference in Fiochhi, Aguila,PMC and Federal (that's what I've bought in bulk and whats usually least expensive).
Now with an RMR, which I'm getting installed now, the accuracy, when looking for accuracy, at those distances might be noticable if one brand steps above the others.
So have you noticed more precise ammo and does it matter?

I can definitely see a difference in the typical range ammunition.
Some more then others.
Of the broad spectrum of RQ ammunition, ( Winchester Q, Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC ect. )
most are adequate. Speer Lawman most closely duplicates the performance of Speer Gold Dot duty ammunition.
Of the range ammunition we've been issued and used, Atlanta Arms has been the most accurate and cleanest that I have ever seen. I now use Atlanta to judge the accuracy potential of new firearms.
 

IkeInTexas

Regular Member
Vendor
VIP
Rolling updates...The past 2 range trips (350 rounds on one and 300 rounds on the other) produced 18 malfunctions with Aguilla 124gr between the two trips. All were stovepipes on a Gen 4 G19 with RMR, X300U & KKM barrel/Comp. I think I may have gotten a bad case of ammo since I've been using the same rounds for about a year and been through nearly 8 cases now with malfunctions I can count on one hand. Posting this to document for future reference.



Ike
 

DocGKR

Dr.Ballistics
Staff member
Moderator
Federal AE9FP 147 gr FMJ--offers a perfect compliment to Federal 147 gr HST duty ammo, including running without issues in compensated G19's and offering excellent accuracy at 25 yds and longer.
 

TXLEO

Member
Our issue load is 147 HST or 135 Critical Duty. I see Doc has a FMJ for the HST. Any compliment to the 135 Critical Duty? Or everything else is close enough? Currently a Agency 17 with RMR and Agency/S3F barrel, thinking of a TBRCi microcomp at some point.
 
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