# What is your Ammo of choice?



## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

What is your range ammo of choice?
What is your personal Defense ammo of choice?

What kind of ammo have you wanted to buy, but just haven't for some unknown reason?

My range ammo is Tulammo, while a lot of people hate the steel case, I find that (and I planned it this way) it runs pretty flawlessly with all 4 of my major caliber of guns, 9mm, .40s&w, .223, and 7.62x39.

Personal Defense: I love the Winchester PDX1, stuff is great, and I also have a few boxes of the Hornady Zombie Max, which is the same as Hornady Critical Defense....but it's a buck cheaper a box around here.

A long while ago I bought a box, should I say a package, of 9mm Magsafe ammo. If you haven't looked into this brand, do it (magsafeonline.com). This stuff is EXPENSIVE, but cool! It's a pre-fragmented round, so it creates multiple wound cavities and is designed to not over penetrate. I think 8 rounds is like 20 some bucks, so I have my Beretta loaded every other PDX1 then a magsafe.

What do ya'll shoot?


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Usually for my guns I try to buy brass, but for my SKS I buy solely steel casings. I figure if I clean it good, then what the heck. Also, I think the steel vs brass issue is overrated (again depends on how you clean the gun). Therefore I buy cheap sks ammo. 

for my bushmaster, I buy brass, just because of habit and its about the same in .223 and 5.56. Usually walmart has the best deals, but folks I've been talking with say that ammoman.com has great prices plus free shipping. They say to look at the cost per round instead of the overall cost of the bullets.

Federal and winchester are two main brands I buy.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

you know, that's a question I couldn't answer. I shot so many different types, they all seem the same as me. I got some tula in the back, Winchester, federal, some chinese steel jacketed 7.62 in one of those sardine cans you have to cut open, (i want more of those) and my uncle used to reload ammo for me, custom grind the case mouths and all that, and damn if they didn't shoot the same as a stock box of tula. Go figure.


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## Coyote (Jan 31, 2012)

Whatever is on sale.

I prefer brass for my AR. I'll shoot steel in my AK.


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## fedorthedog (Feb 28, 2012)

I shoot what I can get. I have purchased ammo for my department for years. The Wolf and other steal case is very dirty but fire fine. The big complaint is the coating on the steel case melts and sticks the case to the chamber. The biggest issue is the different points of impact when you change ammo. That is why Mil Spec ammo is desirable. FPS is the same and so is bullet weight to keep point of impact consistent. For what I am buying I get what I can find cheap. Brass is preferred for reloading but I buy steal case at the right price and intent to us it in the area where I cant recover the casings. If I can keep a 4 moa at 100 Im fine with that. I am hording for combat not squirrels.


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## AnvilIron (Mar 1, 2012)

I load my own. 38, 45 ACP & Long Colt, .223, .40 S&W, .270


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## bigdogbuc (Mar 23, 2012)

Hornady Critical Defense. I've found that their FPS varies considerably over the chrono, but I sure like that bullet design!


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## PreparedTexan (Apr 13, 2012)

I use Federal 100rd value pack 9mm and American Eagle .223 for the range. Both are good quality ammo, and neither has had a failure for me. Plus, they're the cheapest brass ammo in my area. I prefer brass in these calibers since the saving on steel is not as much as it is for 7.62, and I can save the brass for hand loading down the road.

I carry Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P 9mm in my pistol and have Hornady TAP FPD 75gr .223 in my AR for home defense.


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## preop (Jun 7, 2012)

I reload, both practice and ccw ammo. The practice 9mm ammo is a hard cast 160 gr lrn, at about 750 fps from a 3" barrel. The carry ammo is mixed, every other rd being a prefrag of my own design, and a "piercer" also of my own design. Most of the time, I don't carry a spare mag for my pocket 9, because if you need to reload your handgun, you are probably going to die anyway. the ranges are too short, the enemy can "outflank" your cover in 1-2 seconds, at most, and he can shoot, stab or club you 4x per second, with each hand. So you simply must make the first 1 second and the first 5 shots suffice. Fortuanately, the great majority of attackers don't make you shoot at all, just showing them your ready gun runs them off. Even more are run off by misses, and poor hits, too.


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## 1895gunner (Sep 23, 2012)

All practice and hunting/self-defense are the same here. I reload everything I shoot but I get it that many don't. To me the reloading is "almost" as much fun as shooting it. I'm just getting ready to start casting my own boolits this winter after hunting season.

Only exception is shotgun which I shall tool up for over the next year. I don't shoot them that much but I do feel I should be prepared to build my own - just in case...

1895gunner


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## jwall378 (Oct 18, 2012)

Hornady Critical Defense for home use in my 9mm. Winchester PDX1 Defender for my AR in home defense. Winchester PDX1 Defender for my shotgun in home defense. CCI in all of my .22LR's and Remington in all of my guns for target/practice.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

Speer Gold Dot 124 +P JHP in 9mm Parabellum, Hornady 110 SP in 30


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## Gotbaggz (Oct 28, 2012)

Federal american eagle 9mm fmj 115/124/147 grains for the range. 
Fede


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## Gotbaggz (Oct 28, 2012)

Federal 9mm jhp hydra shock for home defense. And always have hishock jhp federal 9mm for back up


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## jmh033089 (Oct 23, 2012)

Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP 9mm and bet my life on it multi times and it never let me down


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## mossberg500 (Nov 4, 2012)

I use home loaded full metal jackets for target shooting out of my Glock 36 .45ACP and my Virginian SAA in .45 Colt. Personal defense for people in the Glock is loaded every other Critical defense and Federal Hollow Points. SAA is Critical defense in city and Home loaded 250gr. Hollow points for out on the ranch. Those bears and cougars haven't stood a chance yet from my .45 Colt. Rifle is Federal FMJ's in my 30-06, and 30/30. Shotgun is just good ol slugs and double 00 from usually Federal or Winchester.


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## randy grider (Nov 2, 2012)

I like millitary calibers (9mm,.45 acp,7.62x39,.223, .308,7.52x54 R)because its readily available and cheap.


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## armyguy (Nov 9, 2012)

This is a prepper forum right?
Well then I would buy the cheapest of ammo you can afford. Because in the end it is how much ammo you have not how good each of your bullets are. Chances are during a firefight you are spraying and praying. Even LEOs will tell you that with all their training the optimum senario almost always never happens. Remember back a couple of months ago some guy who got fired in New York New York near Times Square when back and shot his co workers? Well the two LEOs who saw him on the street fire back and most of their rounds are strays that hit pedestrain and such eventhough they were like 15 meter from the shooter. 

So why buy bullets that cost 1 dollar per round while youc an buy rounds that cost 20 cents if most of those rounds are going to end up somewhere other than the person you are shooting at?

what i am saying is dont get all hype up on the supposive stopping power of a particular brand. Just make sure you have a healthy supply of good reliable ammuniition when you need it. Try not to buy ammo that dont work well with your gun. Stick with what works for you not what you read from someone who says it work well for their particular weapon. I wouls say buy some ammo go to the range with your firearm and shoot them. then decide which brand shoots better and then go buy a couple of thousands of that.

the name of the game is to survive and to survive you have to have more ammo than the other guy to outlast him in a firefight. So whatever budget you have stretch it good. dont waste on what the box claim it will do. If you put enough round on a living thing it will die. If you can place those rounds properly then you wont need so many rounds but chances are when you are in a firefight the target wont just be standing there for you to shoot. my two cents


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## OklahomaTactical (Nov 8, 2012)

I don't disagree with most of your points. Just don't get confused with quantity over quality. Tula and Wolf work just fine for training, but their open packs don't store well with out extra care. and you are right, not every weapon will digest what the market tells you is the "BEST AMMO". I own some of the best Weapons on the market but they are picky with some ammo. Never the less, for folks on a budget (me included) 1K rounds of Tula for $209 vs. 1K of BVAC for $339 .....well lets just say the $209 beats throwing rocks. Good valid points Armyguy


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## HoJo (Nov 8, 2012)

Freedom Munitions for the range and Federal HST for SD.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Fiocchi for the Savage .308, the .45's and the shotguns. Federal for the .223 and TulAmmo for the 7.62x39.
Yellow Jackets for the .22lr.


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## Cheesewiz (Nov 16, 2012)

armyguy said:


> This is a prepper forum right?
> Well then I would buy the cheapest of ammo you can afford. Because in the end it is how much ammo you have not how good each of your bullets are. Chances are during a firefight you are spraying and praying. Even LEOs will tell you that with all their training the optimum senario almost always never happens. Remember back a couple of months ago some guy who got fired in New York New York near Times Square when back and shot his co workers? Well the two LEOs who saw him on the street fire back and most of their rounds are strays that hit pedestrain and such eventhough they were like 15 meter from the shooter.
> 
> So why buy bullets that cost 1 dollar per round while youc an buy rounds that cost 20 cents if most of those rounds are going to end up somewhere other than the person you are shooting at?
> ...


I like how you said this. I have plenty of the high end stuff in all sorts of varietys. I'm now just stocking up on name brand FMJ that I can get for around $11 for a fifty box. You are so right if SHTF it won't matter, anything will be better than nothing . The bulk 22 will still do the job when all else has gone away . This is why I have two 22cal weapons . Bulk boxes are great ! Still love my two 9mm, one high capicity and the trusty 12ga . A case of bird shot is soo cheap at Walmart  know what your weapons like, shoot, take down, clean repeat .


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## Alpha-17 (Nov 16, 2012)

For range use, I use whatever I can find the cheapest. While I prefer brass cased, I'm perfectly willing to use steel for training. I'm trying to get set up for reloading now, but it's a slow process.

For carry/defensive use, I have a few rounds I prefer. I used to carry almost nothing but Hornady, and while I still like their TAP .45 230gr +P round, and their new Critical Duty stuff, I've stopped buying their Critical Defense/Z-Max pistol ammo because I prefer full-power rounds. After doing a little bit of research, I've settled on the Winchester Ranger T-Series (updated, re-branded Black Talons), and their bonded cousins, PDX1.

In my rifles, I prefer Mk318 Mod 0 and Mk319 Mod 0 for 5.56 and 7.62NATO respectively. They are very expensive, but I like their barrier blind attributes, and the Mk318's shared zero with M855 green tip ammo.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Not bound by a brand name for the most part. For the AR's Lake city when I can 
I buy a lot of ball rounds for the hand guns they cover a wide range of uses 
I would rather stack boxes than powered so Reloading in not my thing.


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## scramble4a5 (Nov 1, 2012)

For range ammo whatever is on sale and brass. Usually Blazer Brass which I recently picked up for $11.89 a box in 9mm. For home defense Hornady.


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## Rockyriver (Nov 16, 2012)

For Range use what ever is cheapest in Brass cased ammo.
For self defense I now use Federal HST exclusive in all my handguns.


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## Blackcat (Nov 12, 2012)

For range I use low recoil inexpensive loads. For fun I use the heavy hitting stuff.
I try to keep 1000 rounds for each firearm and enough components to reload that 1000 at least 10 times.
For my pet revolver I reload .300 grain lfn gc cast lead for penetration and accuracy. Im working on a light practice/range load for my .454 using an upper pressure .45 Colt recipe in .454 brass with a light 200 grain lfn cast lead bullet.
I save a few boxes of Factory Hornady .300 XTP MAG JHP's for less penetration and more expansion... but lets face it with a .454 any .300 solid cast or hollow point is probably going to over penetrate a 2 legged varmint. Both will leave a gaping wound channel also.
I already have have my opinions on the penetration subject. If your bullet over penetrates then know how to use it. I would settle for over penetration any day if its a matter of life and death. Thats not to say I wouldnt mind some good expanding rounds with low penetration. I just cant seem to find anything better than the XTP here in Canada.
I just cant think of how to get inexpensive ammo for my shotguns... its so pricey and I dont have reloading equipment for them.


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## Sr40ken (Nov 21, 2012)

My ammo of choice is Nosler 135gr HP for the SR40, 125 gr HP Montana Gold in the .357 66 and '92, 200gr Xtreme HP for the .45s and 55gr FMJBT or 75gr BTHP in the 5.56 (Mini14). All my own handloads.


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## Fuzzee (Nov 20, 2012)

I tend to stick to FMJ for the range except with the .22lr. Kind doesn't matter if I come across a deal except I stay away from Wolf and Tula as it's just the worst ammo I've ever experienced.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Not a brand bigot.
I want US made. better quality all around I do stock outside 7.62X39
M855 /5.56 and 193 .223
7.62 Nato
30.06 I want 150gr US but will take any
303 what ever the market offers.
9mm in what ever is on sale 115-147 gr
.38 all I can get any round
.45 230 gr
.45 long 200 gr
357 all I can buy at any given time any round
12,20 and 410ga what is on sale will find a use for it all I can always repack it my way.
.22 LR crates what is on sale this week.

Fuzzee IMO wolf is the poster child of cheap junk


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