Where do you guys go to get cheap ammunition for range time? I'm shooting 9mm at the moment, so that's mostly what I'm looking for. At the moment it's WalMart (*barf*). Also (though I know it comes down to "ask twn gun-owners what the best ammo is and you'll get thirteen answers) what load do you carry in your EDC weapon? I've gotten a few reccomendations for Federal Hydrashock.
2 ways I buy ammo: Save up money and buy online OR save up money and buy at a gun show. It's not worth it to buy a few boxes. Buying in bulk or ultimately reloading will save you some coin. I'm in California, so Miwall is the gun show seller I use. For online, use this search engine to compare prices. http://gun-deals.com/ammo Heard lots of good things about Hornady Critical Duty/Defense. Friends and family in law enforcement.
Buy in Bulk!!!!!! As for defense ammo, find out what works in your gun. Any nice jacketed hollow point from a big name company will work (Federal, Winchester, Hornady). Usually I like Winchester as it seems to work as well but is cheaper. Probably the nicest self defense stuff is the really high end hornady stuff.
Ammo makers put a lot of research into their loads, particularly the self defense ones. Chances are they all will perform adequately. There are also lots of online reviews for just about everything. Do a bit of reading and see what you like based on others test results. Then make sure it works in your gun. 9mm is about as common as handgun calibers get these days so unless you have a LOT of time to spend, just pick three or four loads to read up on. For plinking/practice, I reload my own but the above advice is sound. You may want to avoid the super cheap "re-manufactured" stuff unless you really need to practice malfunction drills.
Try blazer in aluminum. It's cheap, but still shoots great. Better than a lot of premium ammunition in my experience. Also it's usually a whole lot cleaner than other cheap crap.
Cheap ammo? . . . Handload your own. You're just not going to get any cheaper. But yeah, be aware of the dangers that primers can pose if mishandled. If you practice often, the reloading equipment will pay for itself in no time. Get a Lee hand press and you won't even need a work bench for mounting. If you'd rather not, CCI Blazer is pretty cheap. Also surplus ammunition such as Wolf brand too.
WWB and reloading. That's about as good as it gets. It's an expensive game that I've been less and less inclined to pay for.
No, not this. The correct answer is 100 rd packs of federal 9mm 115gr ball ammo from wally world. Its far cheaper and cleaner than WWB. Its almost the same price as blazer and tula, but better ammo and the brass be can saved for when you do reload.
Weak. Mine don't have the federal around here. WWB brass is suitable for reload though. Can't compare dirtyness, it shoots fine out of my autos. Granted only in 100-200 round sessions. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I like speer gold dot for sd, and what ever is on sale for plinking. Avoid tula, unless you like doing the whole tap rack bang thing. (very hard primers)
You might try academy for speer lawman 124gr 50ct box for $12.99...might as well get the most bang for your buck if your just plinking a few rounds. I am able to get the cost of my 9mm rounds below $6 50ct, reloading is fun and relaxing.
I go to the gunshow route and buy in bulk. Take along a heavy duty folding cart to haul it back to your car. I did that the last show. It was a pain to carry around, but once I bought the ammo, it was much easier. One caveat, there were some local remanufactures. I use to buy from them, first batch about 1 or 2 in fifty didn't work. Second batch, different caliber, same thing, and in one primer was in side ways. No damage to either gun or me, but I stopped buying from them. The range I use to use sold bulk reloads, good ammo. The owner died, so that went away.
Beware of cheap prices tied to insane shipping costs. I've had good luck with Palmetto. Federal 9mm FMJ 23c/rd shipped to my door. Federal 45ACP FMJ 35c/rd shipped to my door. That's quality practice ammo from a reliable manufacturer loaded in brass, at competitive prices compared to a lot of alu/steel ammo.
Look for CCI Blazer 9mm. The case is aluminum. I know it doesn't sound like it would be a good material, but I have at least 4000 rounds through a Glock 17 with no problems. The only downside is that you can't reload the spent cases. On average, a case (1000 rounds) was around $20 less than anything else. I would always buy a case when I bought ammo and sometimes I could sweet talk a small discount.
Better get it now while you can. In light of the recent CO shooting, there has been a rush to buy hardware and ammo which will probably create a shortage soon. I reload and have built up stock from the last shortage during the Admin change. Even primers were being rationed up till about 2 years ago.
