Practice Ammo Brands

Hello all,

I’ve been looking around trying to find deals for bulk practice ammo online. I see a lot of brands I’m not familiar with, or never even heard of. Can you tell me, in your experience, which ammo brands should I stay away from? Which practice ammo brands do you recommend? Thank you

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I look for ball ammo FMJ 124 for 9mm from TargetSportsUSA.com.
I generally pay between $160-$180 per 1,000 rounds. They offer free delivery for a $100 annual membership. I like it since I shoot 20k-30k rounds per year.

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May not be the cheapest out there, but I use Blazer Brass 115 grain FMJ as practice ammo in my 9mm Sig P320 M17. I’ve put about 2000 rounds of the stuff through it in the last year and it’s very reliable. I’ve only had 3 FTEs in that time and I blame that on me not controlling the recoil early on.

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Everyone has different experiences but for me personally I almost exclusively use Fiochi and occasionally Sig FMJ at the range. I shoot between 1k-2k per month and I use these brands due to consistency and cleanliness of the rounds. I can usually find the fiochi in bulk (124 gr 9mm) for less than 200 shipped for 1k rounds. I’ve also been a huge fan of federal American eagle in the past.

Like Michael1 said, blazer is some really good stuff too. My wife won’t shoot anything else, unless I paid for it of course :wink:

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I have had good luck with Speer Lawman and Blazer Brass. The 115gr Speer can be bought in +P, which better replicates the recoil of good duty loads. Merry Christmas!

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I try to pick up the Blazer 124 gr. FMJ when on sale locally. I agree, very reliable stuff.

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I generally shoot American Eagle, Blazer or Sellier & Bellot.

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I use AE, Blazer, Winchester and started trying out a local company here in Oshkosh-Valor out of Appleton. I shot 100 rounds no problem.

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This is my list after 20k rounds::

  • Fiocchi
  • Sellier & Bellot
  • Blazer Brass
  • Magtech
  • Federal

In this particular order.
If you don’t like to clean the firearm, Fiocchi ammo is the clearest one.

However my choice mostly depends on current price. I don’t spend more than $180 for 1000 rounds delivered.

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In 9mm this is pretty much my list, altho i put Blazer at the bottom (but still good enough, i certainly won’t turn my nose up at it) and I’d add Speer into the list. All of them are available ~$180/1000rnds give or take and shipping depends on your location.

I have a friend who shoots a lot and he buys steel cased Tula (?) and has never had a problem, so theres that if you really want to save a few dollars.

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Steel case is the cheapest one… I’ve never used it… and I’m not convinced of it…
Does anyone have any experience with steel case ammo?

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Steel casings are cheaper but if you shoot at an indoor range you might want to check with them first to make sure they allow it. Mine doesn’t.

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This is 100% true. Same buddy, we went to a range and they didn’t want him shooting steel cased (not steel CORE which i understand makes a mess of the backstop). I loaned him a case of my brass cased ammo. He shoots at another range that I also frequent and they’ve never had a problem with steel case. Both indoor ranges, different rules.

My one buddy is the only one I know of, and he says it runs 100% in his Glock. If you read around online, you’ll find one crowd says “if it’s worth relying on, it should eat anything” and the other crowd that says “sure run it if you want to ruin your gun”. For me, I don’t shoot enough where the cost difference is worth it. But if you shoot a lot, or are under a stricter budget, I’d say give it a shot (hehehe) and see if your gun likes it.

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https://www.laxammo.com/lax-ammunition-reloaded-9-mm-147-gr-1000-rds-w-free-can-detail

I buy from them directly I drive over and pick it up during their parking lot sales. I like their bulk quantities, service, selection, and availability.

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I avoid Monarch and Aguila. They cycle fine in all of my firearms, however they’re dirty rounds and make cleaning a much bigger chore.

My favorite practice rounds are, in order of preference, Herters, Winchester white box, and Browning. 9mm. If I’m patient I can find these for $0.15-$0.17 per round. They cycle well, burn clean, and are all brass-case.

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One of, if not the, cheapest ‘major’ brands of high quality ammo is Privi Partizan. Both their practice and hunting ammo are accurate and consistent. My friends in Europe swear by it. Usually cheaper than Wolf and other eastern block junk mil spec.
American Eagle by Federal is generally almost as good as their signature versions, just a lot cheaper.
I found through a lot of [poor] experience with various cheap mil spec surplus stuff that those two weren’t that much more costly, but a whole lot better than their competitors, both for pistol and rifle.
For those that haven’t stumbled onto it yet, you can price search on AmmoSeek.com

The only minor ‘warning’ I raise is the S&B is generally a lot ‘hotter’ than other makers. i.e., more chamber pressure and recoil. And it is generally not as cheap as PriviPartizan or American Eagle.

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Steel cases and steel cores are no longer allowed on most indoor or outdoor ranges here in CA and you can’t hide them from ‘magnet check’.

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My gunsmith agrees that the ‘ruin your gun’ argument really only applies to the extractor, which can chip or wear more rapidly with steel case than brass. It would take ‘a lot’ of steel case rounds to experience that problem.

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My Range still allows… but I don’t even think about steel case ammo. I prefer to spend few more $$$ for brass or alu.

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