Various 9mm Basic Questions

9mm guy · Nov 28, 2015

I have some more beginner shooter questions regarding handgun target/practice 9mm ammo. I have a Glock 19 (Gen 4) and a Walther PPQ M2 that I use. My questions are:

1. During the post-Sandy Hook difficult-to-find-even-9mm days, I found & bought a couple of boxes of Winchester 9mm NATO rounds. How are these different from regular 9mm rounds? And would you recommend firing this through any of my handguns? Or will the ammo damage my gun in any way?

2. The cheapest practice 9mm round that I can find are the Federal Champion Aluminum cased rounds from Walmart. But since they are aluminum casings and aside from not being able to reload them, do any of you not recommend firing them from my gun? Are they harmful to the gun in any manner?

3. What about steel cased ammo such as Tulammo? Do any of you not recommend using this kind of ammo due to any possible negative effects on my gun, short or long term?

4. Finally, do any of you have any recommended or favorite target 9mm ammo? And what's the reason for your recommendation? Thanks in advance for all your answers.

SHPD_Retired · Nov 28, 2015

1) The difference between the Nato ammo and regular is that the primers are crimped. There is no reason to not shoot these in your gun. It will make absolutely no difference.
2) I see no reason to not shoot these in your guns. I do know one person who actually reloads aluminum cases, one time only though.
3) Some people think that steel cases and hard on your extractors so shooting them, they feel is harmful to your gun. Personally I do not. You would have to shoot a lot of them to damage an extractor, if in fact they would damage anything at all.
4) If I shoot factory ammo for target practice I shoot what is the cheapest that I can find. I reload my own so usually do not shoot factory ammo in my 9mm's. I have a Glock 19, S&W Shield, and S&W 9c that I shoot my reloads in.

B5Ben · Nov 28, 2015

The laquer coating on the steel cases can also eventually gum up your chamber, causing FTE's. It's an easy fix by doing a thorough chamber clean but worth mentioning.

PiratePast40 · Nov 29, 2015

Freedom Munitions is good ammo at a great price, especially their reman stuff. With the low price, it's easy to try out different bullet weights and shapes to see what works best for you and in your gun.
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noylj · Nov 29, 2015

1. During the post-Sandy Hook difficult-to-find-even-9mm days, I found & bought a couple of boxes of Winchester 9mm NATO rounds. How are these different from regular 9mm rounds? And would you recommend firing this through any of my handguns? Or will the ammo damage my gun in any way?

Pressure may be slightly higher, but not enough to be a problem for ANY 9x19 in good shape

2. The cheapest practice 9mm round that I can find are the Federal Champion Aluminum cased rounds from Walmart. But since they are aluminum casings and aside from not being able to reload them, do any of you not recommend firing them from my gun? Are they harmful to the gun in any manner?

Aluminum is find to shoot--that is why they sell it.

3. What about steel cased ammo such as Tulammo? Do any of you not recommend using this kind of ammo due to any possible negative effects on my gun, short or long term?

Steel case ammo is OK, but it can be hard on the extractor and the lacquer can gum things up--but they are used by the militaries all over the world in full-auto mode.

4. Finally, do any of you have any recommended or favorite target 9mm ammo? And what's the reason for your recommendation? Thanks in advance for all your answers.

Recommended or favorite for what?
I don't shoot factory in anything.
For accuracy, I like:
A 124gn JHP and 5.5-6.5gn Power Pistol (6.0gn seems about optimum)
A 124gn JHP and 5.0-5.9gn Silhouette (5.6gn is quite good).
A 115gn JHP and 5.5-5.9gn Silhouette
A 115gn JHP and 6.0-6.5gn Power Pistol (6.1-6.2gn seems about optimum)