4o cal. ammo...

**Amazon Hunter** · January 5th, 2011, 01:01 PM

Can anyone point me in the right direction for good ammo for a 40 cal. semi pistol. I am getting the Ruger SR40. I've priced some ammo and had some prices ranging in the 18 - 20 dollar per 50 range. I don't want to break the bank on ammo but I would just like to hear some opinions on what knid and what brands to go for. It will be used for target shooting and CC.
Thanks.

**Steve_NEPhila** · January 5th, 2011, 01:16 PM

There is a big performance difference between what one should use at the range and what one should use for self defense. Defense ammunition is very expensive, yet it performs very specifically. Range ammunition is cheaper and the bullets are not designed for limited penetration. You should spend some time reading up on the difference between range ammunition and defense ammunition.

For range use I use anything that is inexpensive and readily available. WalMart usually has .40 cal ammo for 15 or so USD per 50 round box. Brand does not matter very much when it comes to range ammo for me.

For defense there are a number of directions to go. I prefer the Hornady Critical Defense line for self defense. This is superb ammunition loaded with low flash powder and fantastic bullets that reliably penetrate to 13 inches without fragmenting.

**Truckman** · January 5th, 2011, 01:17 PM

Walmart has some good deals. Otherwise watch for sales at the big chains.
Look for target ammo, it is usually cheaper. Sometimes you can find deals in the "sale" bins at the local shops.
If buying online, be sure to include shipping costs, which usually end up costing you as much as buying from a local store.

**Amazon Hunter** · January 5th, 2011, 01:57 PM

Yea, once I get this gun I definately want to take it to the range. I would like some cheaper ammo to shoot it in at the range. I don't mind spending a little extra bucks for the self defense rounds. I will get both so I can sight it in with the good ammo as well. Hopefully they both shoot the same. Thanks guys, keep the suggestions rolling in. I will be buying this gun by the end of January. Got my LTCF two weeks ago. I already ordered my crossbreed supertuck holster and I have some Cabelas Bucks that I want to order some ammo with. I will have the holster and ammo before I have the gun.
Nothing like being prepared. I am "siked" up about getting this gun if you can't tell.

**GreenBlood10** · January 5th, 2011, 02:03 PM

As Mr.Steve already said, make sure you know the different in the way that both rounds are going to preform. For range ammunition I'll usually go with whatever I can get cheapest at ammoman.com. It may be Wolf or American Eagle. Depends on the sales.

For a SD round I go with the Hornady Critical Defense round. Buy an extra box or two to take to the range to make sure they feed flawlessly through your firearm.

Not sure if you are a new shooter or not but I would also invest in some good quality training to go along with the holster and other gadgets new LTCF holders often forget about.

Best of Luck to you and be safe!

GB

**Edg** · January 5th, 2011, 02:23 PM

If your going for store bought cheap stuff Id choose magtech over most of the others with WWB being last.
Magtech seems to give me tighter groups and a lot less fouling inside the gun. The remington reman in the yellow box is probably second best.

**Edg** · January 5th, 2011, 02:29 PM

For self defense I go with double tap, or store bought Winchester Ranger 165gr for my .40. It is a well designed hollow point, you can get talon or non talon (these decended from the black talons. They are slightly modified and no longer have the black lubricant coating that everyone pretended was teflon to kill cops). The perform wonderfully in all my tests expanding to .78 or greater every single time thru milk jugs and a box of denim. For the same price as most "defensive ammo" you get 50 instead of 20. I Found them for 14.99per 50 a few years back so I bought 1000rds its good stuff. In the wintertime I switch to Hornady TAP for better penetration.

**Edg** · January 5th, 2011, 02:33 PM

left to right
.40sw
165 black talon
165 ranger non talon
150 corbon powerball
135 corbon 1650fps

**32 Magnum** · January 5th, 2011, 06:08 PM

S&B (Sellier & Bellot - Czech Republic) puts out some pretty hot FMJTC ammo at reasonable prices, usually find it for less than $20 per box. Because of the higher MV, it performs pretty much like SD ammo, with respect to POI. I purchase a couple boxes when I can find it. Other than that, I've tried pretty much all the other stuff available, including MINUTE MAN remanufactured ammo (that's only found at gun shows and is usually a couple bucks cheaper than any other ammo) and found them all to be suitable. MagTech (Brazil) works well. Privi Partizan and Hot Shot is cheap, but I've seen varying power/powder levels within boxes, as well as between boxes. SPEER Lawman is excellent practice ammo but pricey.

p.s. NICE PICS, EDG!

**rwb1500** · January 5th, 2011, 07:43 PM

What Steve said above is very important. There is a BIG difference between target ammo and self defense ammo. Target ammo, FMJ (full metal jacket) or ball as we like to call it is cheaper, and does not expand, so it penetrates, a lot. Self defense ammo is usually a hollow point design. These are designed to expand.

You don't wanna shoot SD ammo at targets usually, because it's expensive. However, you should test a good number of the self defense rounds of your choice to assure reliabilty in your gun.

Hornady Critical Defense is good stuff, so is the TAP stuff, Double Tap makes good SD ammo, so do most major manufactuerers.

For range ammo I usually go with the cheapest stuff I can get at Wal Mart. They usually have the best ammo prices around, believe it or not. My WM carries Tulammo, which is steel cased Russian stuff. It smells like crap and is dirty, but it's super cheap, and I'm not worried about my extractors...
Brass cased target ammo runs a little more, Winchester White Box (wwb) is like $20ish for 50 rounds of .40, and Remington UMC is right around the same, maybe $18 or $19. The steel Russian stuff is $12.47 at Wal Mart. I have no complaints about it, except for the occasional extra hard primer. Some people will tell you its hard on your extractor. You can buy a new extractor pretty cheap (like sub 10 bucks) so I don't worry about it, and haven't seen any negative effects yet. YMMV.