Category: ammo

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.380ACP ammo Bersa DA/SA Herter's N82 Tactical Plus PMC Thunder

Latest Progress Report – Bersa Thunder 380 Plus

A few weeks ago, I had bought some .380 ammo locally (from Cabela’s).  I’d bought Herter’s Select and some PMC Bronze.  My intention was to shoot both boxes (50 rounds per box) but I ended up quitting after shooting the Herter’s.

Why?

The Plus was biting the webbing of my hand.  The part between forefinger and thumb.  It wasn’t slide bite but the gun’s beaver tail edges were cutting into the webbing.  This was the first time I’d experienced this and I’d shot maybe 250ish out of the gun by that time…without any sharp recoil (that’s what I’m going to call it).  I’d not changed how I was shooting.  I was holding the gun the same way I always had.

The only thing that had changed was the ammo.

My first thought was that the ammo was hot but when I conducted some quick research on the ammo, I saw that the muzzle velocity wasn’t anything special, so maybe it wasn’t that it was hot.

Today, I took it to the range and shot the PMC out of it.  This time, there was no sharp recoil.  It had to have been the Herter’s ammo.  I’m pretty sure that ammo was hotter than normal.  The whole box.  I believe it’s made in Europe and I know Europeans usually make their ammo NATO-spec.  I’m just glad I now know to avoid Herter’s.

I’m now at 323 rounds through the Plus.  That’s more than my XD 9 Mod 2.  The Plus is my 4th most fired gun, between the aforementioned XD and the Sig Sauer SP2022.

It is now much easier to fire than when I first bought it.  I used to hate how difficult it was for me to operate the gun.  I hated the DA trigger, hated the manual safety, hated the decocker’s placement, and hated the safety’s non-intuitive nature (the manual safety operates the opposite of how a 1911 manual safety is operated).  What’s different now?  The DA trigger must’ve wore in because it’s not so difficult to actuate now (but it is long and pinches the side of my trigger finger…I’d have to wear a bandaid to negate the effect).  I don’t use the manual safety at all…I use DA in place of the safety.  I do use the decocker (to get into DA mode) but I only use it after racking the slide back and chambering a round.  I usually don’t drill when doing this…this isn’t something I need to practice, but I do need to remember to always place the gun in DA mode.

I also published a video update on the Plus here:

I’ve only one holster for the gun, the N82 Tactical Original holster.  It is a great holster.  The gun will carry well no matter the holster but it carries extremely well with this particular holster.  The holster is easy to put on the hip and is easy to remove.  It’s a simple holster…simple is good enough for what I need at this time.  I needed a holster that removes quickly.

Oh, I’m carrying Inceptor Polycase ammo with this particular firearm, too.  I know that .380 JHP is known to have issues penetrating, so I wanted something that I know for a fact will always penetrate.  This ammo will not have an issue penetrating, but it shouldn’t over-penetrate either.  I’ve tested the ammo at the range to ensure the gun will eat it without issue…it did.

I wouldn’t mind finding different sights for this gun but I’ll wait until I’ve more rounds through the gun first.  I wouldn’t mind Big Dot sights for the gun.

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Alien Gear ammo grip module assembly N82 Tactical P320 PX4 Storm steel-cased Wolf

Ammo, Mags, and Holster Received!

I didn’t have a good picture of the gun…I only had the pictures I took the day I picked up the gun from the gun shop.

I now have three extra mags for it (five total).  That arrived yesterday, along with 1000 rounds of Wolf 9mm 115-grain FMJ ammo.

The N82 Tactical Professional holster also arrived.  I’m not in love with it.  It doesn’t fit like the one for my Bersa.  The hard shell is large and bulky, because the gun is large and bulky, I guess, but my Alien Gear feels more comfortable.  Because of the large shell, it is difficult to put on my hip…it’s very difficult to fit it in the gap between my body and waistband of my pants, and I’ve a good 1″+ of space.  I’m trying to give it time to grow on me…it’s not really going to break in enough for me to begin to like it.  It’s a shame because it’s a nice holster.  I like the retention system.  I like the professional look and feel of the holster.  I like the way you can adjust cant.  It’s just larger than I thought.

I suppose since the ammo and magazines have arrived, I’ve no excuse to not visit the range tomorrow.

My P320 subcompact grip assembly arrive today.  I can already tell that it’s the better size just by gripping it in my hand.  I’ll swap out the gun’s slide and  FCU tomorrow and maybe use a tape measure to get measurements (I’ve no calipers).

Oh, I’m still awaiting my stealth controls to arrive.  I’ve no idea when they’ll show or how they’ll show.  It’ll arrive via USPS, almost certainly…I don’t know when, though.  I’m thinking I might keep the PX4 as an F-type.  F-type isn’t bothering me like I thought it would, since I just keep it off of safe.

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ammo Beretta Grand Power N82 Tactical P11 PX4 Storm Wolf WWB

Swapped Out My EDC!

So, I went to the range yesterday and still had issues with the Grand Power.

Well, to be honest, it was the ammo…the gun didn’t like the ammo.  How do I know this?  Because the PX4 had the same issue with the exact same ammo.  Both guns exhibited the same problem and both had the same problem on the first round of ammo.

This choked the P11.  The side of the round is flat and if you look closely, you can see rifling marks.
Here’s a different view.
The PX4 choked on this one (The pictures show two totally different rounds, each coming for a different box — the boxes have the same lot number, though).
You can see the rifling marks on the gun…this is not typical of a chambered round that was extracted.

The ammo I was using was Winchester White Box 124-grain FMJ.  I’ve shot WWB from this gun many times, but this is the first time I’ve shot WWB 124-grain from it.

Now, it’s the fault of the ammo, BUT the PX4 had no problems after the first round choked it…it shot the rest without issue.  The P11 had to be cleared or had to have it’s slide smacked multiple times.

The P11 was cleaned and lubed well, so the problem isn’t because it was dirty or needed lube.  It was due to the gun being tight.  It’s a pro of the brand but in this case, it is also a con.  This is not the first time I’ve had to deal with the gun being plagued by out-of-spec ammo…it ruins a range session, especially if it’s my carry gun and I’m trying to polish my trigger skills.  If I’m spending more time clearing the gun than shooting it, that’s not fun nor does it give me confidence in the gun.  Now, I know this is practice ammo and I know that self defense ammo will not have such issues (far less likely than practice ammo, at least), but I can’t practice with SD ammo.  Well, I could, but that would NOT be cost effective.

I’m tired of dealing with the P11’s fickleness.  It is now retired from EDC duty.  I retired it early out of frustration.

I still need a good holster, though.  Right now I’m using one of my Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holsters with a PX4 compact shell.  It works well, but I want something that I can easily take off and put back on, so I ordered one of N82 Tactical’s Professional series holsters.

I also ordered 3 more magazines.  The mags are generally expensive (but cheaper than the $50 that P11 mags cost).  Beretta sells them for $40.  After searching far and wide, I found that Ammo Depot had them for $22 each!  The next cheapest was $33 at Tombstone Tactical.

I went to the range with the owner of a business that I’m transferring over to.  I brought my own ammo but he insisted that we use his…he brought a small ammo can of Tula ammo.  I shot about five mags of that from my gun.  It didn’t choke at all (and the P11 didn’t choke on it either when I shot Tula from it awhile back).  I was impressed with that ammo, so when I got home, I ordered 1000 rounds of Wolf from Ammo Depot.  The link shows a case of 500.  I ordered two of them.

I also traded guns with my new boss (he brought a Springfield XDM, the 4″ model).  He shot well enough with my gun but he didn’t shoot it like he did his XDM.  He said he loved the heft of the Storm.  Now, I loved his gun.  I haven’t shot striker-fired in awhile (I’ve several of them).  I thought I would have issues with the trigger.  Nope.  My grouping was tight.  It was just as tight as when I shoot my DA/SA guns.  I might have to look into that gun.  The trigger was better than what’s in my XD Mod 2.

Oh, and I also got a notice that a store now has a medium P320 subcompact grip module in stock, so I ordered that, especially since those are difficult to come by.

Lastly, I ordered stealth levers for the PX4 Storm.  I ordered both the stealth safety/decocker levers and the slide catch levers.  Those should arrive soon (it’s coming from a shop in Italy…I ordered from them since Beretta USA didn’t have those parts in stock).  Once it arrives, I’ll convert to the G-type.

So, this next few weeks will be fun.  I’ve more info to share about a recent range visit, but I’ll do that in a different blog entry (it involves the Bersa Thunder).

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.45 ACP 147-grain 9mm ammo JHP SD SP2022

Ammo!

I bought some ammo today from Walmart.  While this is nothing special in itself, I did get 100 rounds of WWB .380 FMJ since I don’t have much range ammo in that caliber (I’ve a crap load of self defense ammo in .380, though).  They didn’t have much else that I trusted, brand-wise…Tula, which is on Bersa’s Do Not list, and Remington, which I’ve grown to not trust.  So, I grabbed the WWB since I’ve never had issues with that brand.

I also bought 100 rounds of WWB 9mm JHP in 147-grain, since I rarely see that weight of 9mm in Walmart. I’d have bought more than that if I thought my wife wouldn’t complain about it.

I forgot to check what SD ammo they had, especially for 9mm.  I’ve some Remington in JHP but my carry gun does NOT like it.

I also need to check to see if my Metro Arms 1911 will eat JHP, especially since it is a 1911.  I’ve a bunch of .45 ACP but I think it’s almost all Remington, which tends to be dirty and also not be consistent with powder charge.

I’ll take the Metro Arms and the Bersa with me on my next visit so I can get some SD rounds through them.  If the Bersa is trust-worthy, I’ll consider carrying it…I just need an Alien Gear holster shell for it.

I’d been thinking of carrying my SP2022 (I love it’s trigger and decocker), but I still think that gun is a bit large for carry…the mag base plates with the pinky extensions don’t help it, either.

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5.56mm ammo AR-556 FDE magazine Magpul RDS red dot Ruger

The Ruger Has Arrived!

Ruger AR-556 in FDE

420 rounds of 5.56 x 45

I picked up the Ruger today on my lunch break.

My immediate impressions:  I’m actually surprised at the fit and finish of the Ruger AR-556.  It looks and feels great.  The pieces fit together without issue, with no large gaps between pieces or segments.  Looks GOOD in FDE, too!  That grip feels great – it has a rubber coating…very tactile.  The trigger is good.  The take-down pins are way too stiff (should loosen up with oil and use, hopefully).  They got rid of the D-ring, too…you twist to get the barrel covers off.  Oh, and there’s like 10 Ruger badges and logos on the rifle…like you’re going to forget that you own a Ruger.

Needed three forms of ID just to pick it up (not two as with handguns in VA).  Still, it only took 5 min to get the background check results back.  I have no background…LOL.

For now, 3 mags are enough (at 30 rounds capacity, each, that’s 90 rounds right there).  I also have a Bushnell First Strike Red Dot Sight, but I plan to use the non-aid sights for a bit, while getting used to the rifle.

I’ll post more as I become more accustomed to the firearm.

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.380ACP Alien Gear ammo CHP Cloak Tuck grip module assembly JHP P320 PP PPK/S Walther Winchester

Sister’s Birthday / P320SC Holster Fitment

My sister’s birthday is today.  She’s 40 years old.  I got tired of trying to guess what she wanted and asked her to tell me if she needed/wanted anything.  She said she wanted ammo.

She has a Walther PPK/S .380ACP.  She has a North Carolina concealed handgun permit and carries as much as she can (she’s also a federal employee, so she can’t carry anywhere near work…she can’t even leave her weapon in her car while on work property).

I bought her 200 rounds of Winchester Personal Protection JHP ammo.  It’s JHP ammo that is designed for defense (it is not range ammo).  I told her to ensue that she shoots 25 or so rounds to ensure the gun can fire the ammo without feed or extraction issues.

When speaking on the phone with her, she also stated she’d been watching my Facebook posts and had gotten herself an Alien Gear IWB holster (the Cloak Tuck 2.0).  I was very surprised, as I thought she was carrying in her purse.  She asked for belt suggestions.  I told her to go back to where she bought her gun (in Fayetteville) and ask them if she could try her 1.25″ belts (she shouldn’t need anything bigger for the PPK/S).  I told her that a good strong belt is essential but she’s already been wearing the holster and says it’s extremely comfortable for her.

On a different note, I saw someone on the forums complaining about their P320 Subcompact’s round trigger guard and the fact that the grip module assembly might not fit in other holsters designed for other sizes of P320 handguns. Well, I’ve a P320 Compact shell for my cloak Tuck 3.0 IWB holster. I’ve the P320 Compact and have the parts to convert it to Subcompact. I converted it and tested fitment in the aforementioned holster…it fits without issue, probably because I’m using the Compact slide with the Subcompact grip module. In that configuration, the slide dictates fitment more than the SC’s trigger guard. That’s a good thing, since I didn’t want any more holsters / shells.

UPDATE:

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ammo battery failure Grand Power P11 Remington sight radius Springfield XD

Range Visit – XD Mod 2 & Grand Power P11

I spent an hour at the range last night and shot 130 rounds out of my XD and 60 rounds out of the Grand Power.

It felt so good to not divide my attention between more than 2 guns, although I did want to shoot one of the 1911s.

I started with the XD first and immediately put 9 of 10 rounds in a close grouping.

7 yards out, using Remington UMC 115-grain JHP

The thing about the Mod 2 is that it shoots extremely well for a subcompact 9mm, as the sight radius of such guns is very small.  This gun still has a small sight radius, but the recoil and snappiness is somewhat negated by the Grip Zone texturing of the grips.  The front fiber optic helps, especially since I’ve problems focusing on the front sight (I wear corrective lenses).

As I shot five different targets, my groupings got progressively worse.  I’m pretty sure it was due to incorrect finger placement on the trigger and not being smooth on the trigger, as I began to impact left of aim.  Still, it was fun to challenge myself.

I also fired the XD better with the shorter magazine (vs. using the longer magazine that has the mag sleeve).  Don’t ask me why that was the case.

The Grand Power was acting wonky.  It didn’t jam or fail to extract, but it may’ve been failing to feed due to a dirty feed ram, as the gun was failing to fully go into battery after expending and ejecting a round.  It was an intermittent issue, though, because it didn’t happen every magazine bu when it did, it was almost back-to-back failures to return to battery.

The weapon was clean when I brought it to the range.  The ammo I was shooting must’ve been extremely dirty to cause issues between 1 and 60 rounds…in fact, the gun was extremely dirty after that range visit…more than I expected for 60 rounds.  The gun was lubed, and I made sure the pivot point on the rotating barrel had lubrication.

I don’t think it was the mags that were the issue.  When I racked the gun slowly, I didn’t notice any binding.  The only thing I can think of is that the feed ramp got dirty quickly and was hampering the feeding of the next round, which would keep the slide from fully going forward.


Possible causes:

  • Ammo that doesn’t have enough powder.
  • Dirty ammo that gets the feed ramp really dirty.
  • Limp wristing (I highly doubt that’s what happened, but I list it anyways, just in case I AM limp wristing).
  • Feed ramp doesn’t like hollow point ammo.
  • Feed ramp needs to be broken in (I doubt this, but read that someone had an issue with a ramp being too polished).

UPDATE:  Well…look at this  –>  http://www.handgunforum.net/beretta/30881-failure-feed-px4-storm-compact-9mm.html.  This looks similar to my bullet list above…looks like I am on the right track.  How does this relate to my P11?  Well, the small Beretta PX4 Storms have rotating barrels as well.  It seems that these type guns might not like lighter ammo and might be prone to limp-wristing as well.

Of the two guns, I fired the XD better.  That wasn’t the case the last time I took the P11 to the range.  Blame the failures to go into battery.

I did not get any video footage, as my camera wasn’t charged before I left for the range.

I fired 100 rounds of Remington UMC 115-grain JHP, 20 rounds of Remington UMC 115-grain FMJ, and 10 rounds of Remington HTP 115-grain +P.

I’m looking forward to the next range visit so I can put more rounds through the XD and become more proficient with it.  I’m not quite looking forward to re-experiencing issues with the P11, though.

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+P ammo cartridge casing FMJ grain JHP round

Defensive Ammo

One thing I never ask about in gun forums is ammo recommendations.  Why?  Because the answers you get will be highly subjective in nature, and although there are some guys who want to play as scientists and provide ballistics research articles, charts and other such resources, what it boils down to is this:  there are no humans that are bullet-proof on this earth.  When a bad guy breaks into your home at 2am, more than likely he’s not wearing armor, so shoot what you’re most comfortable with, ammunition-wise.

The suggested choices are JHP (or, jacketed hollow points), though.  This is because JHP is designed to do damage to flesh, but will also be less likely to over-penetrate (ie, go through the targeted body and into another person or object that might contain a person — house or car or other room).  Some people actually prefer FMJ, or full metal jacketed, but unless you know the backdrop, that is a dangerous ammunition to use for self or home defense, as the over-penetration potential will be high.  The danger is that a round could over-penetrate an aggressor and be a danger to others in the house (or even a danger to your neighbor in his or her own home).

The question I would’ve asked on a gun forum is, what type of defensive ammo would you use and why?  This question wouldn’t pertain to ammo brand, but more of what grain bullet would be preferred.  Grain refers to the weight of the projectile, not the amount of powder in the casing.  Some ammo makers use lighter-grain projectiles, as since they weigh less than standard bullets.  For example, standard .45ACP ammo is 230-grain.  I bought 20 rounds of 185-grain .45ACP…while the round might not be hotter (ie, more powerful due to additional powder in the cartridge), the 185-grain round will travel faster than a 230-grain round with the same powder charge, since it weighs less.  As well, the round will fly straighter.  The heavier round will have more penetrating power since it would have more mass than a lighter grain projectile.  There are also heavier non-standard rounds.  For example, standard grain for 9mm is 115-grain and a heavier grain is the 124-grain or 147-grain 9mm round.

To be honest, it won’t matter what type of round you use.  What counts more is shot placement.  In a typical defensive scenario, if you hit center mass 5 times, a bad guy isn’t going to be walking away no matter what type of round you’re using, JHP or FMJ, 115-grain 9mm or 147-grain 9mm.  Even .22LR pistols can kill if shots are accurately placed (I’ve read several articles where people have killed intruders with .22 caliber handguns).

I’ve some +P JHP that I mean to experiment with (bought them from Gander Mountain in both .45ACP and 9mm…I believe it’s Remington).  +P usually means more powder than normal is within the cartridge.  I’m not sure if it is actually needed, but if I decide I want more, I know where to pick it up locally.

I also have that .22TCM 1911.  Many people assume that this gun shoots .22LR.  Uhmmm….no.  This round is a shortened and necked-down .223.  It has a lot of powder and when shot from a 5″ .22TCM 1911, muzzle velocities are well over 2000 feet per second (or FPS).  Commander-sized 1911s will shoot the round a bit slower (a tad under 2000 FPS).  Rock Island Armory also has a .22TCM rifle…when shot through that barrel, the muzzle velocity for this round exceeds 2800 FPS!  The round is JHP, but will still punch through 3/16″ steel with ease (video here).

Several good ammunition articles are here and here.

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ammo ammunition Cabelas Dicks magazines P220 SP2022 Walmart

My Magazines Have Arrived!

A few days ago, Cabelas had an online-only Sig Sauer magazine sale…$22.49 for each magazine in stock.  Since Sig mags tend to be expensive (running around $50 each), I decided to get three to augment what my P220 came with.  It came with 2 x 8-round magazines.  I bought 1 x 8-round mag and 2 x 10-round magazines.  Note that this sale ended yesterday.

They arrived this afternoon and I immediately cracked them open and loaded them with rounds so that they’d break-in.  I also marked all five magazines (I numbered them), in case I needed to track mag failures.  Of the five, I loaded one with my Hornady JHP 185-grain rounds (which reminds me…I need to find an outdoor range so that I can test the JHP to ensure the gun will shoot them.

I also ordered 2 x 15-round magazines for my Sig Sauer SP2022 9mm that hasn’t arrived yet.  This is the gun that people have a difficult time finding mags for, so I wanted to take advantage of the sale…once I saw that they had them in stock, I ordered two.  The SP2022 only comes with one magazine, so I probably needed to get extras anyways.  I haven’t bought 9mm ammo yet…I’ll buy a box or two of FMJ and a box of JHP in 9mm when I pick up the gun from the FFL.  I marked these mags, too.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to go shooting this weekend and try out the new gun and extended P220 mags.

My next project will be to find an online store where I can order ammo in bulk, to cut costs.  I buy my ammo from Dicks since they’ve been having holiday sales, but I think I can do better by buying online.  I’d check Walmart but I’ve never been able to get someone to help me in the firearms section.  :/