# What to avoid...



## mikemc53 (Feb 11, 2013)

OK, very new to this and wanting to learn as much as possible.

Obviously ammo is currently very difficult to find and very expensive once it is found. That being said, I would like to know which brands/types of ammo to really avoid. I'm talking mostly for range/target use because for protection I would look at smaller quantities and only certain types - sticking with quality first. But since I want to get in some practice, without taking a loan to buy ammo, or getting some that gunks up the works of the gun, I'd like to know if there are any that I should stay away from and any ideas on decent, affordable (relatively) ammo that might be available.

Any thoughts on Brown Bear? I know it's made in Russia but I don't know anything else about it.

Thanks gang.


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## high pockets (Apr 25, 2011)

I know nothing about Brown Bear ammunition, but I was at BassPro yesterday, and they got in about 30 cases of Winchester 9mm & .40S&W ammunition and it was all marked at regular pricing. The 9mm was $15.99/50 and they had some WWB at $25.99/100. I started to buy some, but then I reminded myself that I just got 2,000 124 grain bullets for reloading, so why was I considering store bought?


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## berettabone (Jan 23, 2012)

Just me, but I won't shoot ANY cheap ammo....Tula, Wolf, etc............and in 37 years of shooting, have never had a FTF, FTE, or any other problems.....coincidence?


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

^ Agree... I refuse to run the cheaper/dirty ammo through my beloved firearms.


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## Broondog (Feb 1, 2013)

i am of the camp that if your gun likes it, feed it to it.

when i buy a new firearm i will buy a variety pack of ammo. then after shooting the gun with the different makes of ammo i will find what it likes and generally try to feed it that on a regular basis.

so if it likes brass cased 124gr ammo it gets it. if it likes 115gr steel cased ammo, i can feed that one cheaper. maybe another likes aluminum case. 

and yes, that means i have a lot of different varieties of ammo around but there is no such thing as too much ammo. and hell, i stock 22 different calibers.


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## Overkill0084 (Nov 28, 2010)

Other people's reloads. Some people are scary, and so is their idea of quality control. There are people in the world who think that blowing up a gun now & then is the "cost of doing business."
I won't use any other reloads than my own. That way I don't get to blame anyone but myself if there is some sort of problem.
I'm not really a fan of those "commercial" reloads you see at gun shows either. Too many stories of poor performance.
The Russian (Tula, Wolf, etc) stuff is less than ideal in my opinion, but in the current crisis/shortage, it may be better than not shooting anything at all. Don't buy a case of it without testing some of it first. Some people have better luck with it than others.


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## Broondog (Feb 1, 2013)

Overkill0084 said:


> Other people's reloads. Some people are scary, and so is their idea of quality control. There are people in the world who think that blowing up a gun now & then is the "cost of doing business."
> I won't use any other reloads than my own. That way I don't get to blame anyone but myself if there is some sort of problem.


this is sound advice.

i also will not let anyone shoot any of MY reloads on the off chance that i made a mistake and something happens. not that a mistake has happened to date but you never know.

and commercial reloads? yeah, about them. i burned up some free ones i got from a cops widow (1970's-ish .38spl wadcutters) and they were THE DIRTIEST damned rounds i have ever fired in my life. my buddy and i thought we had time shifted to black powder days! we had fun but my Airweight and my Mdl 28 both needed some extreme cleaning. in fact the Mdl 28 actually failed that day. it would only cock and rotate through 4 of 6 cylinders after a while. upon cleaning i found powder residue behind the sideplate gunking up the works.

never in my born days had i run across a problem like that.

i still have about a hundred rounds of that stuff left. one day i'll burn it when i feel like spending an hour on the gun bench afterwards.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

high pockets said:


> I know nothing about Brown Bear ammunition, but I was at BassPro yesterday, and they got in about 30 cases of Winchester 9mm & .40S&W ammunition and it was all marked at regular pricing. The 9mm was $15.99/50 and they had some WWB at $25.99/100. I started to buy some, but then I reminded myself that I just got 2,000 124 grain bullets for reloading, so why was I considering store bought?


trust your survival instincts,,lol. buy em when you can get em..maybe you need more Brass,lol?


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