9MM at Dicks

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Ballistic Engineering

look at the names that you have said, blazer, umc, federal, etc. They are all made with the cheapest of components possible. That is why accuracy is not so good. (take a look over the net and see how the ratings from actual users are!).

it's practice ammo...not match ammo, not self-defense ammo. i have shot many tens of thousands of UMC ammo alone (and tens of thousands more of the others combined)...the accuracy and function is just fine for its intended purpose.

This is also why there is a great difference in prices through out the ammunition scale.

of course, but this thread is just about UMC practice ammo...and dick's charging a ridiculous price for it. it wasn't about small vs. big stores--as dick's is a very large retailer, it wasn't about practice vs. match or self-defense ammo, it wasn't about $10 vs. $11 dollars.

my comment, which i completely stand behind (frankly, because i am plain and simply right in this case), was that $13.99 (i think that's what it was) is wayyyyyyyy too much to pay for 50 rounds of practice 9mm ammo.

For instance, I load for accuracy and expansion. Therefore, using cheap powders with the wrong burn rate would be useless.

if you are using that for practice, imho, you are wasting your money. if you can afford to use that for practice you are either a lot wealthier than i or you are not practicing enough, imho.

These are all great if all you want to do is load the clip and pull the trigger not worrying about where the bullet is actually going.

have you ever really done much practical handgun shooting? (not bulls-eye, but practical shooting...like practicing for self-defense, IPSC, IDPA, etc.)

everyone i know who does this type of shooting uses the cheapest ammo they can find that reliably goes bang or they reload--with the cheapest components they can find that always go bang.

the accuracy of all of the above mentioned ammo is quite fine for practical shooting. you do not need 1 MOA accuracy for that type of shooting. 2 to 4 inch groups at 25 yards is fine.

if you want to switch the discussion to premium match or self-defense ammo, then, yeah, of course the price points change. but this thread is/was about practice ammo.

[TXDMERC73]

i rather buy a box of AE from my gun store its 15.95 a box then buy UMC for 14.99 my gun shop always gets some every month. AE is the best FMJ ammo in my opinion 2nd place is WWB.

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by TXDMERC73

i rather buy a box of AE from my gun store its 15.95 a box then buy UMC for 14.99 my gun shop always gets some every month. AE is the best FMJ ammo in my opinion 2nd place is WWB.

assuming you are talking 9mm, that's way too much to pay for either of those.

if you want to support that shop, cool, but you are getting ripped off.

paying $11 instead of $9 to $10 to support a local gun shop is reasonable.

paying $14 or $15 is, imho, letting yourself be taken advantage of (to put it nicely...getting butt-raped would be more accurate).

[he11zna]

Originally Posted by AdvancedArms

I have never seen +120 more on a Glock with a local/mom & pop store.....

All the local shops in our area, including mine.....beats the pants of Cabelas, Gander, Big Box stores on gun prices, magazines, accessories, optics.

I've never been to your shop, but I was referring to stores in Philadelphia or the surrounding suburbs.

Trying to get $599+ for a plain jane G19 and milking a $30 PICS check when the customer is purchasing the gun there??? A bit ridiculous if you ask me.

I guess it may be a "city" thing...

[Ballistic Engineering]

LittleRed,
I agree with what you said to an extent. I know this topic got off topic somewhere on the way.
I differ in opinion on the reasons for pulling the trigger. (My beliefs) are that you should learn to better your shot. Whether it be self defense, target, match, hunting, doesn't matter. There are alot of people that just want to go to the range to hear the blast and the famous shoot and spray. I guess what I am trying to say is that you need to practice with the ammo that you are going to use for the cause in that weapon. (hope that makes sense)

Back to topic. You are 100 percent right, If I was picking between the two brands, the cheaper of coourse. If I was picking Dicks or Walmart and they are right next to each other, Walmart.

gene

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Ballistic Engineering

I differ in opinion on the reasons for pulling the trigger. (My beliefs) are that you should learn to better your shot. Whether it be self defense, target, match, hunting, doesn't matter.

what "bettering your shot" means depends on the type of shooting, though. self-defense shooting--and the practical shooting games like IPSC and IDPA that evolved out of the idea of practicing for it--requires a balance between speed and "accurate enough". if, in this type of shooting, you are taking long enough to shoot one ragged hole at even 7 yards, you should probably be going faster. fist sized groups at 7 to 10 yards are quite adequate.

There are alot of people that just want to go to the range to hear the blast and the famous shoot and spray.

very true...that is not what i am talking about, though.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you need to practice with the ammo that you are going to use for the cause in that weapon. (hope that makes sense)

it does make sense and is great in theory. however, unless you have a lot of money, using speer gold dots or something like that for practice is likely to mean you will not be able to afford to practice enough.

certainly, one should practice with a mag or two of their carry ammo from time to time, but, ideally, one should be shooting at least 200 rounds a month for practice (many IPSC/IDPA shooters and people who are just fairly serious about training for self defense go through 5 times that much), imho (in addition to routinely dry firing). buying that much premium ammo is cost prohibitive for most people, though. thus, one has to make a bit of a compromise and do most of one's practice with cheap practice ammo.

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

Dick's in Wyomissing had six boxes of Ultramax .45 Colt on Friday, for $49.99 a box. Crazy.