9mm training ammo question

[Moonshot]

Looking to stock up on 124gr 9mm training ammo - a couple of cases. Saw some "reportedly" European Government contract ammo made for Sellier & Bellot by Ruag in Germany, packaged in a white box (SB9BR). Also saw some S&B 9mm FMJ packaged in their fancier box (SB9B-C). Price was similar, but the European was a little cheaper.

What's the difference, and are either good to go? FWIW, it's for range and class use out of a G26. Current carry ammo is either standard pressure 124gr or 147gr HST. Would prefer recoil and POI to match my carry ammo.

If the S&B is a no go, I can pick up some cases of Winchester 9mm NATO (Q4318), but I suspect this is hotter than my HST and may not be a good choice if I want to mimic recoil and POI to my carry load. PMC and CCI are also avaialble, but prices for these are higher than any of the above.

Any advise will be welcomed.

[blues]

I've got a recent case of the non-gov't contract 9mm 124gr S&B. (I think it was about $10 more.) I must say it has proven excellent out of my Glock 26 and 19.

Not a bad round so far and plenty of oomph. It's good ammo.

I prefer the Speer Lawman 147gr by a very slight margin.

I currently carry the 147gr HST, but also have 124gr standard and +P in GD and HST on hand.

[Wondering Beard]

Looking to stock up on 124gr 9mm training ammo - a couple of cases. Saw some "reportedly" European Government contract ammo made for Sellier & Bellot by Ruag in Germany, packaged in a white box (SB9BR). Also saw some S&B 9mm FMJ packaged in their fancier box (SB9B-C). Price was similar, but the European was a little cheaper.

What's the difference, and are either good to go? FWIW, it's for range and class use out of a G26. Current carry ammo is either standard pressure 124gr or 147gr HST. Would prefer recoil and POI to match my carry ammo.

If the S&B is a no go, I can pick up some cases of Winchester 9mm NATO (Q4318), but I suspect this is hotter than my HST and may not be a good choice if I want to mimic recoil and POI to my carry load. PMC and CCI are also avaialble, but prices for these are higher than any of the above.

Any advise will be welcomed.

While I haven't used this particular S&B load, I've never encountered any problems with S&B in the past (in 9mm, 40 S&W and 45ACP).

Q4318 isn't particularly hot, especially compared 124gr +P HST. I find it comparable to most 147 gr loads.

As to POI, that's going to depend on your gun. Most of the time, the difference, in practice, is too small to matter but some individual guns can be finicky about such things and you won't find out until you shoot. That said, unless your practice is about shooting small groups at 25 yards, I wouldn't worry too much about POI differences and you should be served well with the S&B ammo.

[Kyle Reese]

I'm chewing through my second case of white box Ruag, and it's good to go. I have three more cases en route.

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[That Guy]

In my experience accuracy has been poor with the S&B bulk 9mm that I've shot. Which is a pity as it's otherwise great ammo. I did use to shoot a whole bunch of it and it never gave me any trouble - other than on longer range shots, that is.

Sorry, can't really say anything about the recoil. I find it difficult to feel differences in 9mm ammo - none of it seems to kick all that much to me. Guess it's that five years I spent primarily shooting a light weight .45 and my interest in big bore revolvers?

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[Moonshot]

I am really not worried too much about recoil. More concerned about POA vs POI. I want something that closely mimics my standard pressure 124gr and 147gr HST.

So far, in my hands, HST has been pretty low recoil and pretty accurate, so I don't want to deviate from this by much. I don't expect range ammo in bulk to mirror high end SD ammo, but I would like it to be close.

For those who rate S&B as excellent - is that for reliability, accuracy, or both? For those who don't, are there any other recommendations?

I suppose I should just pick up a box of each and see for myself, but I was hoping to get these cases soon - I have a high round count class in the works and time is limited.

[VT1032]

Looking to stock up on 124gr 9mm training ammo - a couple of cases. Saw some "reportedly" European Government contract ammo made for Sellier & Bellot by Ruag in Germany, packaged in a white box (SB9BR). Also saw some S&B 9mm FMJ packaged in their fancier box (SB9B-C). Price was similar, but the European was a little cheaper.

What's the difference, and are either good to go? FWIW, it's for range and class use out of a G26. Current carry ammo is either standard pressure 124gr or 147gr HST. Would prefer recoil and POI to match my carry ammo.

If the S&B is a no go, I can pick up some cases of Winchester 9mm NATO (Q4318), but I suspect this is hotter than my HST and may not be a good choice if I want to mimic recoil and POI to my carry load. PMC and CCI are also avaialble, but prices for these are higher than any of the above.

Any advise will be welcomed.

NATO 9mm is generally stouter then standard pressure, but not quite +P. I think it comparable, pressure wise to good, stout standard pressure defensive ammo, so it's probably actually a pretty good match for standard pressure 124gr hst. According to Winchester's data, the Q4318's advertised velocity is 1160fps and Federal lists the P9HST1 at 1150fps.

I carry the 147gr standard pressure (P9HST2) and I've found Speer Lawman 147gr to be a decent match. American Eagle 147gr is also good.

The Ruag manufactured ammo is really good ammo for what it's worth. Very clean shooting and accurate for me. I've only shot a few boxes so far, but I'll be buying more if it's still around when I buy next.

Also for what it's worth, winchester nato ball is some of the dirtiest 9mm I've ever shot, but accuracy is decent.

[okie john]

I've had excellent luck with S&B 115-grain and 124-grain ammo in Gen3 and Gen4 Glocks, but I haven't used any of their bulk stuff. I find that if a gun shoots S&B well, then it tends to shoot it really well. Kind of all or nothing, but S&B is a good place to start. I keep 2-3 cases on hand most of the time.


Okie John

[Malamute]

SGammo has a number of US made 9mm ammo choices available in the $180-$190-ish/1000 price range.

[M2CattleCo]

For a high volume class, I'd go with American Eagle or Lawman 147. To me, little pistols are noticeably snappier with 124s vs 147s.

All of my pistols are zeroed for 147 grain HST and I've never had a problem switching between various brands of 124 and 147 grain training ammo. It may not be perfectly on, but usually close enough that I don't notice.

[DC_P]

I posted this in another thread. This http://www.sgammo.com/product/federal/1000-round-case-9mm-luger-federal-american-eagle-147-grain-subsonic-flat-nose-fmj-am plus the 25% rebate is a great deal.

[peterb]

I posted this in another thread. This http://www.sgammo.com/product/federal/1000-round-case-9mm-luger-federal-american-eagle-147-grain-subsonic-flat-nose-fmj-am plus the 25% rebate is a great deal.

Rebate: https://www.federalpremium.com/downloads/promotions/FP1412_AE_25Summer_Promo_Coupon_web_f.pdf

[LtDave]

I’ve shot the S&B Ruag stuff in several guns. It functions fine, but hasn’t been stellar in the accuracy department, 2.5 to 3.5 inches is about as good as it gets for me at 20 yards. Aguila 124 grain FMJ has shot sub 2” groups for me across a wide range of guns.