[SCFireFighter]

I got my M&P40c a few months ago, and fired probably close to 400 rounds through it. All of it has been WWB 165gr, and the (I believe 180gr) JHP version.

I understand there are different levels of quality in everything, including ammunition.



WWB, for me, averages about $0.22 per round. The JHP is more, but I can't remember what I pay for my boxes at WM.



What do you shoot? Hornady? Speer? For practice, and for carry loads? What do you pay per round? Is it really worth that much more? I have yet to have any of my WWB cartridges fail on me.



Share your thoughts. Enlighten the mind of a newb

 

[darklyte24]

hello check out this link it has lots of info http://mp-pistol.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=345

 

[FieroCDSP]

I'll shoot whatever I can get my hands on cheaply. Wal-mart carries the WWB for a reasonable price. My prefered factory ammo is CCI Blazer brass, and I have Speer Gold Dots for HD. Mostly I shoot reloads. 155gr rainier FP's on 3.8 gr Clays. A good defense-range, inexpensive load, about $.12 a shot. Lead loads go cheaper.

 

[FieroCDSP]

As far as quality, some brands are equal, others are terrible, but it often depends on the gun. I've had exactly two fail to fires with WWB, and that was a year ago. Avoid Wolf steel case in 40 cal. It'll fire just fine, but if you get the older stuff, the laquer can flake off, melt and start sticking to your chamber, resulting in an eventual stuck case. I had that happen once in my Sigma. I find Wolf to be dirty, though, and have vowed that because of my past experience, I will not run Wolf through my M&P, short of nuclear war or level three zombie infestation.



Remington UMC is fine. 165gr, pretty inexpensive. I've heard variable results with Aguilla. Since i load, I try to make the most of my brass and the CCI's seem to do the best in my gun. S&B is great if you can find it cheap.



If you're going to carry your 40, make sure you run a few boxes of your selected HD ammos through it, to verify their reliability. You never know what the gun will suddenly decide it doesn't like.



Break in on the trigger is about 200 rounds. The gritty feel will disappear around there. Check out the Weapon Shield post on this forum and write the guy to see if he's still offering the trial sample. Good stuff. I've stripped almost every gun I own and cleaned and lubed it with the stuff.



When you finally get used to the trigger and are firing good groups, ship the gun off to Dan Burwell for a trigger job. It's somewhere on my list of things to do, but everyone here says it's a good investment.

 

[TOF]

I use Winchester Ranger 155 gr. JHP as sold by Sportsmans Guide for home defense. It is not the latest and greatest bullet but has proven adequately reliable for me. ie. always goes bang feeds well, yields sub 1 inch groups at 15 yards chrono's at around 1200 FPS opens to .75 inch in third milk jug etc. It is also significantly less expensive than the latest and greatest HD stuff. There is a lot of Hype in ammo adds and I try to look through it. Practice ammo is home brew.



Good luck and enjoy.



:twisted:

 

[G56]

For information on personal defense ammo go here:

http://www.tacticalforums.com/cgi-bin/tact...c;f=78;t=000964



For practice most of the generic ammo from the major manufacturers is fine, Winchester white box, Rem UMC and Federal American Eagle.



Avoid commercially reloaded ammo, there is only one brand commercially reloaded ammo that I consider safe to use, Black Hills in the blue box, I wouldn't even consider any other brand, and NEVER buy reloads at a gun show...NEVER!

 

[SCFireFighter]

It took me a while to read all the links you all posted. Good stuff!

It looks like the Speer Gold Dot JHP is a favorite on this and other boards for HD. I'll give them a try the next time I'm at the range. Thanks!

 

[MTech]

Listen to the Doc!!



Keeping in mind that handguns generally offer poor incapacitation potential, bullets with effective terminal performance are available in all of the most commonly used duty pistol calibers—pick the one that you shoot most accurately, that is most reliable in the type of pistol you choose, and best suits you likely engagement scenarios.



The following loads all demonstrate outstanding terminal performance and can be considered acceptable for duty/self-defense use:



.40 S&W:

Barnes XPB 140 & 155 gr JHP (copper bullet)

Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP

Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3)

Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA)

Winchester Partition Gold 165 gr JHP (RA401P)

Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1)

Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1)

Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)

Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP

Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T)





Personally I'd go with either of the last two, I really like the Ranger-T though being you get 50 for slightly over $20 which makes them affordable and they really do the job..nasty lookin suckers too..

 

[mad212]

are the ranger t, and ranger sxt's the same? because my rounds look like that.



Only thing im concerned about is penetration through shirts, sweeters and jackets with hp's. Yet I really don't want to carry fmj for the sake of bystanders.

 

[coltman1985]

The debate as to what ammo to use really is useless if one does not have the ability to accurately place a bullet in the bad guy. Not being smart here, just a well placed .22 will do more damage then a miss with a .50 BMG! Training followed by practice + mindset = effective self defense. The "right" ammo discussion is important, don't get me wrong here, but most could not hit their target under real world scenarios. JMHO :wink:

 

[choochboost]

are the ranger t, and ranger sxt's the same? because my rounds look like that.

You can tell the difference by the actual bullet. IIRC, the SXT rounds are black with a nickel casing. I can't be sure as I'm at work and my ammo is at home. The difference between the two is more than color, they are different bullet designs, but both come in similar packaging and say "SXT" on the box. Another way to distinguish the two is by the product codes. To use 9mm 147gr as an example, the Ranger-T product code is RA9T while the SXT product code is RA9SXT.

 

[MTech]

are the ranger t, and ranger sxt's the same? because my rounds look like that.



Only thing im concerned about is penetration through shirts, sweeters and jackets with hp's. Yet I really don't want to carry fmj for the sake of bystanders.

No the Ranger-T is a better round and hence it's on the recommended list. As for the "penetration worried" that's why you don't use outdated bullet technology like Hydrashocks and Black Talons. That's also why Doc makes that list of what bullets do there job like they're supposed to. If you're running around using FMJ's than you have to worry about it going through the guy and hitting whoever is behind them.