Ammo Recommendation - 9mm (Vanity)

IrishPennant

[IrishPennant]

Excuse the vanity post but I just picked up a new Ruger P95 9mm. I figured it was the right time. I'm not a stranger to handguns, carrying the .45 back in the Corps and then transitioning from a wheel gun to the Sig 9 (226 I think...or 228 - one was bigger) when I was a cop...but I left that over a decade ago and I haven't had a handgun since. I am almost ashamed to say, I didn't leave with much memory either...they gave me rounds - I shot rounds - qualified well 4 times a year and life was good.

But now that I have one I am wondering what the best rounds for this Ruger would be; both inexpensive but good rounds to send down range and "impact rounds" to keep in the mags at all other times.

The manual states the pistol is chambered for a 9mm x 19 Parabellum (9mm Luger) cartridge. Well, there ya go! I had no idea there was such an animal. It also says not to load any other 9mm cartridges such as 9mm short, 9mm Steyr, Bergmann, etc.

I guess bottom line, I don't want to look like a geek when at the counter buying rounds. I would rather say "Gimme a few boxes of them and a few boxes of those, thank you very much."

Any guidance from knowledgeable FReepers???

p.s. for those obama/ACORN trolls scrubbing the internet, the above post is hypothetically presented. I would never, ever own a gun...

[andy58-in-nh]

9mm is ridiculously hard to find right now, especially given how ubiquitous it once was. For personal defense rounds, your best bet (assuming you can find them) are Winchester 9mm 147gr. JHP or (cheaper) Remington 115 gr. JHP’s. Federal makes great ammo as well, but I haven’t seen it for months.

[Yosemitest]

Call them on the phone and put in the order,
while looking at the item you want to order on their site, to provide them the Item Number.

I order .45 ACP when they were out of stock and in two weeks, I had it in my hands.

[smokingfrog]

It just makes sense. A new gun is going to have tighter tolerances & the brass is softer metal to break in more gradually/gently. Plus, steel case ammo is often lacquered, which tends to melt and gum up the works. In Russian guns, its not a problem since tolerances aren’t that tight to begin with. The Russian stuff may have harder primers too.

[LasVegasMac]

Thanks for the reply. Makes complete sense.

Wanna buy some Wolf 9mm? :)

[Chode]

bingo...

[Yosemitest]

One more piece of info. When I spoke to them to place my order, I asked for advise.
I had several calibers I wanted to purchase over time.
They told me to place the orders for .45, .45 Colt, and for .9mm first. They're hard calibers to get now due to the demand.
Also, if you get a notice saying the order will be delayed, DON'T CANCEL the order.
The orders are filled on a "first come, first serve" basis.
If after three months, they can't fill the order, then they will cancel it.
But they said don't cancel the order yourself unless you absolutely have to,
because it puts you back at the end of the line.

[smokingfrog]

I don’t shoot much Wolf or other Russian ammo except in a Mosin, which is no problem. I think most of the Wolf is polymer coated now (not laquered). If so, go ahead and shoot it up!

[Gaffer]

Been there. However a lot of what you’ll see are what I call ‘ home business loads’. Not too sure of quality or consistency.

[mad_as_he$$]

I prefer the 9mm sword. It works every time and so far is not serialized. All my guns were destroyed in a raging RV fire which I pushed into Lake Tahoe to extinguish. Unfortunately, the RV sunk all 1500 feet to the bottom.

[sig226]

+P ammunition is loaded to 10% higher pressure than standard ammunition. In the 9mm, the SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Institute) standard is 35,000 p.s.i. 9mm +P loads hit 38,500 p.s.i.

There is no standard for +P+ ammunition. It is loaded to whatever the manufacturer loaded it to. Some of the N.A.T.O. stuff exceeds 42,000 p.s.i. Ruger makes a very strong gun, but +P+ ammunition is still 7,000 p.s.i. over the design load for the cartridge. I never reccomend it.

Whatever range ammunition you can get cheap is good for practice. Ruger centerfire pistols will normally eat anything. I personally use the Remington Golden Saber 124 grain +P 9mm load. It is the most accurate of the brands I’ve tried and it performs well in tests and on dirtbags.

[LasVegasMac]

It is polymer coated, had to go look!

Thanks!

[LasVegasMac]

All my guns were destroyed in a raging RV fire which I pushed into Lake Tahoe to extinguish. Unfortunately, the RV sunk all 1500 feet to the bottom.

Ouch!

How long can you hold your breath?

j/k

That sucks.

[mad_as_he$$]

lol Not that long!

[ExSoldier]

All my primary mags (no matter what caliber) are loaded with MAGSAFE & all my spare mags are loaded with RBCD

I love the "no bounce/no TNT" (Thru-N-Thru Gunshot) aspect of the magsafe AND no lawsuit against them has ever succeeded and there have been plenty. The backup RBCD comes as a recommendation from a very good friend in special operations and I surely do trust his judgment. YMMV, but I'll stick to this combo.

[TYVets]

Walmart was selling Winchester 40 S&W 165 gr Full Metal Jacket Target/Range 100 round value pack for $28.95 about a month ago (Winchester Item # USA40SWVP). Works great in a Glock for practice.

No 9mm in stock but perhaps the above will give you a ball park figure of a semi-recent price.

[IrishPennant]

Guys all...thanks so much. I had to step away for dinner and now I am back ready. Some great FReeper guidance and I look forward to putting it in to practice!!!!

[IrishPennant]

Guys all...thanks so much. I had to step away for dinner and now I am back ready to read..

I musta been sitting at the kids table for dinner...forgot some words :)

[Vendome]

Perfect practice makes perfect

[telebob]

For 9mm range ammo I like Winchester USA (commonly referred to as White Box), Remington UMC, CCI or PMC. All good stuff.

For JHP, either Remington Golden Sabre or Federal Hydra-Shok.
Both of those are considered the best by those in the know.

[longhorn too]

Ruger makes a good dependable firearm. I have a P89 in 9mm that holds 15 in the magazine and one in the chamber. Hopefully you will be able to find some ammo without to much trouble.