What ammo does your gun like?

[CigarStone]

I still find it interesting that every gun has a certain ammo that it likes better than others. There are a number of factors such as twist rate and barrel length that effect it, luckily, my gun liked the least expensive ammo. In preparation for a prairie dog hunt back in 2016, I bought four different ammos for my .223 sniper rifle and went to the range to see what it liked. Below is the gun and the result, it's easy to see which one the gun liked after a five shot group with each. This was shot at 100 yards.

 

[BlindedByScience]

My .223's are all 'gas guns' but I've got one with a 14.5" Rainier Arms 'Ultramatch' barrel that really shoots. Likely one of the most accurate rifles in the safe. Doesn't seem too ammo picky but for so long, I shot what I could get my hands on. Stocking up now.....while I still can.

 

[jacot23]

For bolt guns and cowboy action guns I hand load.

Black guns, handguns and/or home defense guns get fed whatever I can find at a good price.

 

[Smart Ash]

I mainly shoot 9mm pistols. I buy bulk range ammo, and at 7 yards, as long as it goes bang, I’m content with the accuracy. .22LR is where I seem to have picky eaters. Most of the time I just bite the bullet, and pony up for CCI mini mags. They pretty much cycle through every .22LR I own. I don’t do much long range shooting. I’m very impatient and would rather mag dump 30 rds of .223 rather than to dial in a scope at a 100 yards.

Great groups at 100 yards btw, and beautiful rifle!

 

[CigarStone]

I mainly shoot 9mm pistols. I buy bulk range ammo, and at 7 yards, as long as it goes bang, I’m content with the accuracy. .22LR is where I seem to have picky eaters. Most of the time I just bite the bullet, and pony up for CCI mini mags. They pretty much cycle through every .22LR I own. I don’t do much long range shooting. I’m very impatient and would rather mag dump 30 rds of .223 rather than to dial in a scope at a 100 yards.

Great groups at 100 yards btw, and beautiful rifle!

Thanks! I became obsessed for a while when I got into long range shooting and found that I could shoot a 1 gallon milk jug at one half mile.

Plus, it's an awesome feeling to put three bullets inside a group you can cover with a dime at 100 yards

 

[Mavric]

9mm, .17WSM, 22LR and 12 GA I use Federal, Winchester or Remington. 7mm Rem Mag I will only use Hornady American Whitetail. For 556 I prefer Federal or Winchester, but Frontier is not terrible to shot at 40 yards or less.

 

[SKYDIVNEKD]

For hunting, I really like the Barnes copper bullet. Weight retention and expansion are second to none, IMO. If I'm hunting big game(elk) I've gone with Cor-Bon brand(139gr 7mm Rem Mag). It shot really well. Otherwise, the Barnes production ammo is great. Shoots true and leaves an exit wound for a blood trail. I've had it blow thru one shoulder joint and into the other, and stop between the bone and hide. That's a tough bullet.

Find what ya like and shoot what yer gun likes. Ultimately, shot placement is more important than the bullet. Have fun.

Floyd T

 

[CigarStone]

For hunting, I really like the Barnes copper bullet. Weight retention and expansion are second to none, IMO. If I'm hunting big game(elk) I've gone with Cor-Bon brand(139gr 7mm Rem Mag). It shot really well. Otherwise, the Barnes production ammo is great. Shoots true and leaves an exit wound for a blood trail. I've had it blow thru one shoulder joint and into the other, and stop between the bone and hide. That's a tough bullet.

Find what ya like and shoot what yer gun likes. Ultimately, shot placement is more important than the bullet. Have fun.

Floyd T

True statement Floyd

 

[whopper]

Cor-Bon +P 125gr for my 9mm.

Old school Rem Core-Lokt 140gr for my 7mm-08.

 

[BlindedByScience]

For "...I'm not kidding..." ammo, I run Speer Gold Dot in all the defense guns; .45, .40, 9mm, even .38 special...

 

[Smart Ash]

For "...I'm not kidding..." ammo, I run Speer Gold Dot in all the defense guns; .45, .40, 9mm, even .38 special...

Do you shoot often? That’s some pricey ammo. I typically shoot a mag or two per month of the self defense ammo, and the rest bulk training ammo.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I run at least a couple boxes of defense ammo through each gun, to ensure reliability. Range trips are fueled by FMJ's..... 9mm is the biggest volume round, been good prices on line lately. Go deep.....

 

[CigarStone]

For "...I'm not kidding..." ammo, I run Speer Gold Dot in all the defense guns; .45, .40, 9mm, even .38 special.

Tom, Speert Gold Dot is what I use for home defense and for deer hunting.

 

[jfields]

I bought a used Winchester Model 70 30-06 at a gun show years ago. Shot a few boxes of Winchester and Remington cartridges through it, and it was way, way all over the place. I was sick and convinced the seller knew the barrel was gone, but sold it to me anyways. Reluctantly, at the suggestion of a friend I bought a box of Federal Premium and it turned into a tack driver.

 

[Johnny-O!]

I mainly shoot 9mm pistols. I buy bulk range ammo, and at 7 yards, as long as it goes bang, I’m content with the accuracy. .22LR is where I seem to have picky eaters. Most of the time I just bite the bullet, and pony up for CCI mini mags. They pretty much cycle through every .22LR I own. I don’t do much long range shooting. I’m very impatient and would rather mag dump 30 rds of .223 rather than to dial in a scope at a 100 yards.

Great groups at 100 yards btw, and beautiful rifle!

I bought a Glock 44 (22 LR) for my son and it struggled with Remington, Winchester, Federal. Used CCI Mini Mags and it was better but still couldn't consistently shoot all of the rounds in the magazine. I got rid of it and got a Taurus TX-22 as it was the handgun of the year. Much better, but still some failures from time to time with the non-CCI ammo. Both shot like a dream, it was like a butterfly in your hand. I thought that the .22 LR would be ideal for my kids but they shied away from it and wanted more and more to shoot the 9mm Glock 19 and 17L. I have that one figured out as those guns eat anything. So much for trying to save $$$ with .22 LR ammo. I try to stay with made in USA for a lot of reasons. I also try to use brass cased ammo but notice that a lot of companies are manufacturing chrome plated ammo, which does not oxidize like the brass over time. That's a beautiful rifle BTW, I hate that everything is going to the black plastic. John

 

[BlindedByScience]

I bought a Glock 44 (22 LR) for my son and it struggled with Remington, Winchester, Federal. Used CCI Mini Mags and it was better but still couldn't consistently shoot all of the rounds in the magazine. I got rid of it and got a Taurus TX-22 as it was the handgun of the year. Much better, but still some failures from time to time with the non-CCI ammo. Both shot like a dream, it was like a butterfly in your hand. I thought that the .22 LR would be ideal for my kids but they shied away from it and wanted more and more to shoot the 9mm Glock 19 and 17L. I have that one figured out as those guns eat anything. So much for trying to save $$$ with .22 LR ammo. I try to stay with made in USA for a lot of reasons. I also try to use brass cased ammo but notice that a lot of companies are manufacturing chrome plated ammo, which does not oxidize like the brass over time. That's a beautiful rifle BTW, I hate that everything is going to the black plastic. John

...I've got a couple very nice .22LR tools, a pistol and a rifle. I've been frustrated with how horrible so much .22LR is these days. FTF, dirty, crappy accuracy consistency.....frustrating. CCI MiniMags are probably the best, so far. Still looking.