Okay to Purchase 9mm Ammo Gun Show?

[kaybur]

I am new to buying 9 mm ammo. Can I get good 9 mm ammo, cheap, at the Valley Forge gun show?? Good place to buy ammo?

What brands shoud I buy, or not buy. I guess is is okay to buy Wincheter, Federal, and Remington. Are there brands that I shold avoid?

What prices should I expect to spend? Prices seem to vary from $18 to $42 per box on the internet.

thanks ken

[Yoder]

9mm at Walmart is $9/box of 50 Blazer brass. My local gun shop sells Federal for $12.50/box of 50. Anything more than that you are getting totally ripped off. If you want it cheap, try to find a good price on-line and just order it and wait for it to come in. It might take a few months, but you will save a lot. If not, start checking your local gun shops and see if any of them still have some integrity. Winchester white box, Federal Americal Eagle, Blazer brass all good and cheap. Wolf is OK but steel case and dirty, you can't reload it but it should be cheaper than brass case if they aren't trying to screw you. Walmart is the cheapest but you have to get lucky and find a day when it's in stock.

[Guns4Fun]

Will you find a good deal on ammo at a gun show? I don't know. Maybe, but doubtful.

Currently, I think the best deal going on ammo is the 100rnd value packs of Winchester white box (WWB) at Wal-Mart. That is going for just under $20 a pack of 100.

I like federal American eagle in 115 or 124 g too.

I do not like Remington, umc, blazer or wolf in 9mm. No particular reasons, just from my experience shooting over the years and word of mouth from other shooters.

The above is only based on full metal jackets (FMJ) practice ammo. When it comes to personal defense ammo, hollow points (HP) that debate has been going for some time. I'd search the boards and form your own opinions on what bullet you think best suits your needs. HP ammo could set you back as much as $1 per round - and sometimes today even more. Whatever you do, don't just buy one box of it. Buy several and try them out in your pistol to make sure they function 100%. I know some people try to cheap out on this and only buy one box but I would not trust my life on HP's that I have not put at least 500 rounds down range without any failures occurring.

I happen to like HP ammo that uses the speer gold dot bullet. But that's just me - there are plenty of other good options in HP ammo.

Good luck.

[Iron Sights]

Years ago the Valley Forge show had some good stuff. Not only did they raise the admission price, but there are fewer vendors and fewer bargins. This is not to say you can't find something you're looking for. I went one Sunday and there was nothing I was interested in. I should have gone on Saturday to at least try to talk them down in price.

[kaybur]

Hummmm. . . . I guess I did not get such a good deal. I just bought a 9mm S&W M&P from French Creek, and two boxes of 9 mm ammo for $20 per box. I should look elsewhere for ammo . . .

Thanks for your input. . . . . . ken

[XD-Drew]

Well depending which Wal Marts are close to you it may be difficult finding the WWB super pack or the Blazer Brass in stock. I know if I bought a new gun and the only available ammo was a little more than I was used to paying I would still buy the ammo for two reasons. The obvious reason being I want to try out my new gun. The other reason would be if I just spent $500 or more on a gun, a little more for ammo isn't a big deal. Typically when I save to buy a gun I save an extra $100-$150 for any accessories I may decide to buy that day for the gun.

[bogey1]

i just picked up a case (1000) of wolf 9mm for 150.00 (off a friend)

[Iron Sights]

Hello bogey1, need help in shooting that case?

[Grumpa72]

I would be cautious since you really don't have any idea of the quality, age, or the past handling that this ammo has had. In addition, I have read on other forums of shooters having gun show ammo that had reliability issues. With WalMart having WWB available, I have to ask why you would consider this. Finally, in the last 7 or 8 months, I have been to three gun shows and ammo and reloading components were outrageously priced. I could have bought premium self-defense ammo for the cost of the crap that they were selling. I stopped going to gun shows because of the gouging on ammo and guns.

[H Dog 14]

Some guy at the recent gun show in Oaks was selling WWB 100 9mm boxes for over $32 each.

I laughed and walked away.