I’d been feeding my range money for their range ammo – I’d been buying ammo from Cabelas, but there’s no need of Cabela’s ammo prices are similar to my range’s ammo prices.
Even so, I usually try to buy ammo in bulk (1000 rounds). I used to buy from Bereli, mainly because they included shipping fees in the ammo pricing, but their prices have dramatically increased, from $230/case to $295/case!
I ended up buying Magtech zinc-plated steel case 115-grain for $199, with $12 tax and $29.95 shipping, for a total of $242.
Why Magtech? Magtech is good ammo (made in Brazil). Why steel cased? Why not? I’ve used steel cased ammo without issue in the past – mainly Blazer and Tula. I’ll post up if I’ve issues, though.
Per Gemini:
Magtech uses zinc coatings on their steel-cased ammunition primarily to prevent corrosion and to improve reliability. The zinc plating acts as a slick, protective barrier that ensures smooth feeding and ejection while leaving less fouling in your firearm’s chamber compared to traditional polymer or lacquer coatings. [1, 2]The main reasons for this zinc coating include:
- Corrosion Resistance: Zinc plating protects the raw steel casing from rusting, even in humid environments or during long-term storage. [1, 2, 3]
- Smooth Functioning: It creates a sleek, low-friction surface. This allows the rounds to slide smoothly out of the magazine and extract flawlessly from a hot barrel without the gummy residue left by lacquer coatings. [1, 2]
- Cleanliness: It burns cleaner than traditional coatings, reducing the amount of carbon buildup and gunk in your firearm. [1, 2]
- Easy Cleanup: Because the casing is plated in steel/zinc, you can conveniently use a magnetic sweep-up stick to quickly gather your brass at the range. [1]
Because of these benefits, Magtech’s zinc-coated steel rounds are highly favored as affordable training and range ammunition. [1, 2]