carry ammo, reload or factory

[CalCCW03]

Please take a break gentlemen. Thank you

[Brian1979]

Would just love some links to good carry ammo or a way to find the Ranger stuff if thats what people suggest most.

thanks

[CalCCW03]

Originally Posted by Brian1979

Would just love some links to good carry ammo or a way to find the Ranger stuff if thats what people suggest most.

thanks

AMMOMAN.COM

[libertarian]

Originally Posted by Brian1979

Would just love some links to good carry ammo or a way to find the Ranger stuff if thats what people suggest most.

thanks

Ranger is great, but I like the Federal HST stuff too.

Welcome to Ammunition To Go!

Streichers Police Equipment - Call 800-367-3763 Today!

[Brian1979]

Thanks so much guys.

Will likely go with HST since its cheaper and likely just as good. I'll just get the 500rnds so I can waste some for practice to see it feeds ok then still have tons left over.

Very good links you gave me.

[BonoVox]

I have ordered HST from Ammunition To Go. Good site.

[Brian1979]

Yeah for $229 for 500rnds that is a killer price for some good ammo. Was talking to a LEO today and he said they use ranger because its what they have a contract with but he says its no better then other stuff.

Now I can shoot like 100 rnds for testing it out and have 400rnds to last me along time. I figure I will shoot off the loaded rounds after a few monhts of being in the mags to keep them fresh and still have enough to last me while keeping up on practicing with it.

I'll be happy with HST and if it ever got used I am sure it would do the job.

[BonoVox]

For me there is only two to choose from. I would be happy with either.

Ranger SXT & Federal HST.

[El Gato]

Originally Posted by SVTNate

El Gato is spot on. Also, however unlikely, if it can be proven that an ammo failure results in you being injured, with factory ammo you have someone to sue. Again, I don't know that this is likely, nor have I bothered to look for cases on point, but at least in theory when someone else made your ammo you might have a products liability case. You keep your options more open when using a product put out on the market by a company rather than using something you made yourself.

I buy Winchester Ranger by the case, at a very low price (no PM's please, it's through a private source). I don't practice with it often, but I'll run at least 200-300 rounds of it through each carry gun before I carry it. I also use Federal HST.

OK... I am having trouble believing this whole topic is real and am thinking my chain is being pulled but....

Let me start by saying... I'm so tight I squeek!

In my business we see probably an average of a gun a year being blown to peices by faulty ammo... the last one was a Baby Eagle 40 and of course it was by a guy who bought "cheap" ammo 'cause he couldn't stomach shooting walmart white box.. too expensive.. I guess his brand new gun looks pretty cool with all of those peices sitting inside the card board box at home... At least he bought the ammo at gun store so they are trying to help him get it replaced... last I heard...

As for reliablity.. a Kimber I once owned would shoot between 2 and 200 rounds... you could never determine how many... before jamming... the first 300 rounds or so went perfectly.. after that sometimes a magazine full would jam, somtimes I could shoot a box or two before it jammed... never could tell...

I will shoot low round counts of hollow points in a glock/XD/M&P type gun (200-500) and call it reliable... if it is a 1911? a low round count to call it reliable is on the order of 500-100 rounds... and I do think bullet shape has alot to do with it... If a 45acp will feed speer 200 gr. flying ashtrays, it will feed most anything... unless it won't... and that's the rub...

If you are parsimonious... shoot ball for practice, ball for carry and don't shoot anyone/anything where the bullet might go completely through and hurt anyone or anything else and be done with it...

Les Baer says you need to shoot 500 rounds through their guns just to break them in....

If you buy "brother billy bob's bargain basement bullets in a bag" you deserve it...

[Brian1979]

El Gato I think he is on your side so what didnt you agree with?

For Les Baer I will shoot my reloads for break in and all target practice but I will buy factory for carry to avoid any problems. I may start the gun out with about 100rnds of factory white box then go to my lead ball loads to finish it up. I think this is what I did on my super tac and it worked well. No magic ammo for break in just be sure its strong enough to cycle the gun at first when its the most tight.

The HST looks fine to me and I wouldnt call it cheap as Fedral is got a good reputation from what I know. But at $100 less per 500 then Ranger I have to go that route. It will do the job just as well I am sure and chances of ever needing to find that out are slim at best.

By the way the Baers feed all ammo I have tried but I havent tried hollow points so that will be a new thing. I dont think it will function any less perfect but perhaps I should buy a box of 50 locally first before getting 500 online, lol.

I see your point on shooting ball ammo for both practice and carry so I will consider that but I would rather shoot the hollow points if it will feed well. Would be real sad to have a round go through walls before stopping but with a 45acp and hollow points it shouldnt go too far.

[El Gato]

Originally Posted by Brian1979

El Gato I think he is on your side so what didnt you agree with?

For Les Baer I will shoot my reloads for break in and all target practice but I will buy factory for carry to avoid any problems. I may start the gun out with about 100rnds of factory white box then go to my lead ball loads to finish it up. I think this is what I did on my super tac and it worked well. No magic ammo for break in just be sure its strong enough to cycle the gun at first when its the most tight.

The HST looks fine to me and I wouldnt call it cheap as Fedral is got a good reputation from what I know. But at $100 less per 500 then Ranger I have to go that route. It will do the job just as well I am sure and chances of ever needing to find that out are slim at best.

By the way the Baers feed all ammo I have tried but I havent tried hollow points so that will be a new thing. I dont think it will function any less perfect but perhaps I should buy a box of 50 locally first before getting 500 online, lol.

I see your point on shooting ball ammo for both practice and carry so I will consider that but I would rather shoot the hollow points if it will feed well. Would be real sad to have a round go through walls before stopping but with a 45acp and hollow points it shouldnt go too far.

There are some who advocate ball for carry... I don't. I like HP ammo and have had HST for years. I went to Rem. 185gr +p golden sabers cause I got alot of it very very cheap.. I squeak remember.... the ogive of the bullet is good and it feeds well along with being very fast... I like the speed in my 5 in. guns and it feeds really well..and it was cheap... did I mention I got a good price on it? But it seems to be what the doc. ordered.. I am a little concerned with overpenetration in compressed environments.. so I stopped carrying the 10mm with full-house loads...and I really fell in like with the XD 5 in....

[V1Rot8]

If you do any amount of research, which is invaluable when you're dealing with a subject with so many elements and so much available information from so many people who know so much on the topic, I believe you would be hard-pressed to find any reputable publication or source that advocates using "ball" for any self-defense application, civilian, LEO or otherwise. 1911's may be pretty and evoke a certain nostalgia but no matter what you paid for that Baer or Kimber, if it can't be made dependable with appropriate ammunition then it's not much more than a very nice looking Saturday Night Special. Oh, I'm sorry--were those your toes? Form over function when my life may depend on it? No thanks...

[1buba]

Originally Posted by V1Rot8

If you do any amount of research, which is invaluable when you're dealing with a subject with so many elements and so much available information from so many people who know so much on the topic, I believe you would be hard-pressed to find any reputable publication or source that advocates using "ball" for any self-defense application, civilian, LEO or otherwise. 1911's may be pretty and evoke a certain nostalgia but no matter what you paid for that Baer or Kimber, if it can't be made dependable with appropriate ammunition then it's not much more than a very nice looking Saturday Night Special. Oh, I'm sorry--were those your toes? Form over function when my life may depend on it? No thanks...

You're exactly right. However, both the Baer and Kimber can indeed be made to function dependably with solid self defense ammo. Both need to have around 500 rounds put through them to verify it though. The same SHOULD be said of all carry guns, but folks that buy lower end production guns don't typically worry about it.

[Brian1979]

Originally Posted by V1Rot8

If you do any amount of research, which is invaluable when you're dealing with a subject with so many elements and so much available information from so many people who know so much on the topic, I believe you would be hard-pressed to find any reputable publication or source that advocates using "ball" for any self-defense application, civilian, LEO or otherwise. 1911's may be pretty and evoke a certain nostalgia but no matter what you paid for that Baer or Kimber, if it can't be made dependable with appropriate ammunition then it's not much more than a very nice looking Saturday Night Special. Oh, I'm sorry--were those your toes? Form over function when my life may depend on it? No thanks...

Coming from a non Bear owner I assume?

Mine has the 1.5 gurantee which is even tighter then normal and still has never malfunctioned with out of spec reloads or any other bullet.

Now if I were to trash it and run it through the dirt then I can see where a Glock would be a better choice but I wouldnt knock 1911's if you havent tried any good ones.

Production guns arent the best but can be a great platform for some work to make them amazing.

Its all your personal choice but I love all 3 of my 1911's.

PS i dont plan on ball ammo for carry.

[SVTNate]

I have two Les Baers, I had a Wilson Combat, I have two custom Colts, and I will soon have two Springfield Custom Shop guns. Never a malfunction, never a "break-in" period. If my gun needs a "break-in", it's broken, period. I trust my guns, and my guns (all of them) have been 100% since Round One.

Of course I'm not going to carry a NIB gun, but I shoot to verify, not to hope that some problem affecting reliability will get cleared up. My Colt Defender hit me in the head with brass (when it was stock), but it still functioned 100%. I shot it stock, found the extraction issue, and got it taken care of. That was the most major issue I've had with my 1911's.

I don't feel like going into it, but if you want to know why a GOOD 1911 necessarily must be expensive, read Hilton Yam's thoughts on it on the 10-8 forums. I trust my Glocks, Sigs, and HK's just as much as I trust my 1911's, the difference being that the 1911's are multiple times more expensive. But, the 1911 platform works best for me in every regard, and although it's a lot of money, I don't regret it at all.

And no, I would never consider carrying ball ammo.