What do you do when you want to like a gun but don't shoot it as well as your main?

[ScotchMan]

I think it is valid to consider factors other than how well you shoot a given platform. That is certainly high on the list, but it is not the entire list. I shoot my 9mm PPQ more accurately than my Glock 19, but I shoot and carry the G19. It's a better size for carry, it is safer AIWB with the use of the gadget, I have many more magazine and holster choices, I feel more comfortable working on them, etc.

You will get better with any platform if you practice with it. Going back and forth between the two might be holding you back on the M&P.

[olstyn]

I buy bulk ammo. I've bitten on a few sub $150 deals per 1k of steel 9mm before. I stack them away. I still have plenty of brass lying around, but for now I save the steel for the M&P and my CZ75.

I haven't bought steel 9mm before, wasn't sure how much it cost. I've been buying S&B brass 9mm from TargetSports for $166 / 1k shipped.

If you shoot enough to buy ammo by the case, you should really look into reloading. My 9mm ammo costs me roughly $100 / 1K, and as an added bonus, I don't even have to think about whether or not steel- or aluminum-case ammo will run properly in my guns. Yes, there is an up front cost, but it is absolutely worth it long-term.

[45dotACP]

Sell it.

The reason I sold all my Glocks and stayed with Berettas and 1911s is that I no longer have any inclination to keep a gun that I don't absolutely love. I was always somewhat "Meh" on Glocks as compared to something else.

I shoot 1911s overwhelmingly because it's a gun that I just love. I'm aware of it's positive and negative aspects.

I do also have a few M&Ps if I feel so inclined. They have aftermarket barrels and can shoot extremely well. Better than most production grade 1911s tbh. I were to go back to shooting carry optics it would be with a M&P (if the 2.0 core models ever get out here).

Also, steel cased ammo is the PBR or Natty light of the gun world. Just don't do it bro [emoji23]

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[Sig_Fiend]

If the choice is only between the two, stick with the VP9 and just use brass.

If you have to use the M&P 2.0 for work, ditch the VP9. Go all-in and stop trying to serve two masters.

Steel / aluminum-cased ammo is like putting 87 octane in a Porsche. Self-imposed pain and mental anguish over a few bucks.

[VT1032]

I would not get hung up on reliability issues when using Russian steel cased ammo. I shot a ton of tulammo and wolf 9mm when I was a poor college kid and I had countless issues in otherwise reliable pistols. Lots of hard primers, i had a casing get stuck in a G26 barrel that had to get hammered out with a cleaning rod, and the last straw for me was when I had not one, but two squib loads in one range session. I stopped using it around 2014 or so and I've had few ammo related issues since. I've had semi decent luck with American made aluminum case ammo, but I mostly just buy quality brass cased stuff online by the case.

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[kwb377]

If you shoot enough to buy ammo by the case, you should really look into reloading. My 9mm ammo costs me roughly $100 / 1K, and as an added bonus, I don't even have to think about whether or not steel- or aluminum-case ammo will run properly in my guns. Yes, there is an up front cost, but it is absolutely worth it long-term.

I was reloading pretty heavily for awhile, then I got on SWAT and became a Firearms Instructor at my agency so I had all the free ammo I wanted...I left my reloading set up at my old house for the new owner when we moved.

Later, between transferring agencies and going through a divorce I wound up a casual shooter for awhile (shooting twice a year at quals). I started shooting again seriously about a year and a half ago, and have started thinking about getting into reloading again. I just don't have the patience and meticulousness I used to, though...

[Duelist]

If you shoot enough to buy ammo by the case, you should really look into reloading. My 9mm ammo costs me roughly $100 / 1K, and as an added bonus, I don't even have to think about whether or not steel- or aluminum-case ammo will run properly in my guns. Yes, there is an up front cost, but it is absolutely worth it long-term.

Time isn’t free. I reload for calibers that the time:money:volume ratio makes sense for; currently, that does not include 9mm when cases of S&B can be had for a few bucks more than Wolf or Tula or Barnaul.

I used to load a lot of 9mm, but quit when I realized how much time I was spending doing it that I’d rather spend elsewhere. Like with the family, on the house, or actually shooting.

I do enjoy reloading, and make all of my hunting ammunition and most of my .38 and .357.

[CraigS]

I have been shooting a lot of CCI Independence aluminum case ammo. No problems at all.

[olstyn]

Time isn’t free. I reload for calibers that the time:money:volume ratio makes sense for; currently, that does not include 9mm when cases of S&B can be had for a few bucks more than Wolf or Tula or Barnaul.

I used to load a lot of 9mm, but quit when I realized how much time I was spending doing it that I’d rather spend elsewhere. Like with the family, on the house, or actually shooting.

I do enjoy reloading, and make all of my hunting ammunition and most of my .38 and .357.

We all have to make our own evaluations of what's worth it for our time. My personal evaluation is that the higher the volume of ammo shot, the more $ there is to be saved, so it's more and more worthwhile to reload. If a case of S&B costs $150 but I can load a case myself for $100 or $105, then it's a very significant savings. Yes, I'm "paying myself" at less than my hourly rate at my actual job, but it's not like I was otherwise using that time to make money anyway, so that type of argument never really seems like a fair comparison to me, and reloading is far from the only thing that I do myself to save money vs paying someone else. What can I say, I tend to be frugal that way. Comes from a lifetime of money being tight, I guess. That said, "I'd rather spend the money and have the time with my family" is an absolutely valid choice, too.

Back in the direction of the thread's topic, though, the point I was really trying to make is that steel- and aluminum-cased ammo, while cheaper than new brass-cased ammo, is still more expensive than loading your own. Someone in the position of the OP - trying to feed an HK cheap ammo - would likely be better served by loading their own than buying steel case. It would be cheaper, and presuming they have decent attention to detail, more reliable and possibly more accurate than steel case.

[Balisong]

Every HK, mine were P30s, that I fed steel case ammo to choked on it. Invariably within the first box, and sometimes within five rounds.
JoshS had two barrels erode and be declined for warranty work because HK determined it was due to aluminum ammo.
Use manufacturer's recommended ammo.


This is 2020. There is a metric ton of good guns on the market. Nobody needs to compromise. Shoot whatever works best for you and forget about everything else.

Wow I never knew this was a thing. How does aluminum case ammo erode barrels?