# What’s the real difference?



## gnet158 (Feb 5, 2009)

Between range ammo (blazer brass/Winchester) and home defense ammo? 

Dumb question but that's the only way we learn right?


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Range ammo is used at the range, and home defense ammo is used at home.

Just kidding. But it's a fairly accurate description, even though I was being silly. Range ammo is generally "ball" ammo while home defense ammo is generally hollowpoint ammo. Aside from that, they generally use different types of powder in range vs. HD ammo. Sometimes, range ammo is also "once fired" brass, or remanufactured brass. As I understand it, Winchester's White Box ammo is manufactured in Mexico (not sure if that really affects anything as they are done with high speed machines). There's a start for ya I guess.


Zhur


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

Cost, Performance and advertising hype.

Holes in paper don't require a great deal of performance so very little is offered in cheap ammo.

Performance characteristics matter to some extent but cheap target ammo will kill a person just as dead as the high priced stuff.

Last years favorite design is normaly just about as effective as that which is in favor this year and costs a bunch less.

That is my opinion.

tumbleweed


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## CookieLady (Apr 5, 2009)

*Grains?*

Since we are on the subject, can someone explain the grain differences to me?
Specifically, for mine, there seem to be three options as most popular.
115 grain
124 grain 
147 grain

As far as I can tell, the higher the grain, the pricier the ammo.
But, from the specs, it seems the higher the grain the less feet per second (slower?)

Why would anyone want slower ammo and then pay more for it?

BTW, I am only talking about FMJ for my question. I haven't seen HP come in less than 147 as a general rule even though I suppose it does.


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## gnet158 (Feb 5, 2009)

Thanks for the replies.


TOF,

That's exactly what I was thinking.


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

CookieLady said:


> Since we are on the subject, can someone explain the grain differences to me?
> Specifically, for mine, there seem to be three options as most popular.
> 115 grain
> 124 grain
> ...


grain is the weight of the projectile. The heavier the projectile the slower it will travel given the same amount of powder (without getting too much into volume vs burn rate vs powder type and so on) You'd pay more because there is a bit more material (not enough to charge for it IMO) but mainly because it delivers more energy to the taret, again inconsequential when poking holes in paper. With one exception, if you normally carry 147g bullets for defense, it could be said that practicing with the same weight bullet would be good as range 147g bullets will still be cheaper than Hollowpoint 147g bullets.

Zhur


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

zhurdan said:


> grain is the weight of the projectile. The heavier the projectile the slower it will travel given the same amount of powder (without getting too much into volume vs burn rate vs powder type and so on) You'd pay more because there is a bit more material (not enough to charge for it IMO) but mainly because it delivers more energy to the taret, again inconsequential when poking holes in paper. With one exception, if you normally carry 147g bullets for defense, it could be said that practicing with the same weight bullet would be good as range 147g bullets will still be cheaper than Hollowpoint 147g bullets.
> 
> Zhur


It also comes down to economics. There is much more 115 and 125 produced, so it costs less.

147 goes slower, but recoils less. I reload/shoot 147s for competition. Some guns are more accurate with heavier/slower round, and some with lighter/faster rounds.

In general, the heavier the bullet, the deeper it penetrates. Faster rounds expand more, and expand faster. They all make bad-guys wish they'd chosen a different line of work. When PLACED correctly.

JW


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

If you are into using a silencer the 147 Grain bullets yield more energy at sub sonic velocities. 

tumbleweed


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## literaltrance (Dec 24, 2008)

CookieLady said:


> Since we are on the subject, can someone explain the grain differences to me?
> Specifically, for mine, there seem to be three options as most popular.
> 115 grain
> 124 grain
> ...


That is correct. As it has already been mentioned, bullet weight is measured in grains. More weight means more material, so it costs more. And in many cases, as JeffWard said, if a product is more common, that will also regulate the price somewhat...definitely more 115g 9mm around than 125 or 147g.



CookieLady said:


> Why would anyone want slower ammo and then pay more for it?
> 
> BTW, I am only talking about FMJ for my question. I haven't seen HP come in less than 147 as a general rule even though I suppose it does.


That's a tricky one actually. Heavier bullets tend to retain more energy over the course of their travel. Heavier bullets will also be less likely to be deflected by brush or other minor obstacles. However, heavier bullets will "appear" to drop faster than their lighter counterparts. Physics actually proves otherwise; both a light bullet and a heavy bullet will fall to the earth at the same speed, but because of the slower velocity, they will hit the ground at closer distances than lighter bullets.

Lighter bullets are faster, and because of this expansion is more likely. That being said, they are also more prone to being deflected by minor obstacles. Lighter bullets also have a flatter line of travel; in many cases they are considered to be more accurate. Lighter bullets also reduce recoil.

They both have pros and cons. IMO, I would (and do) carry the heavier grains available for my carry caliber. It is very rare a person need to take a shot over 25-30 yards via handgun in self-defense, so bullet drop is a non-issue. The only reason I'd see carrying lighter bullets is if recoil is a major problem for the shooter.

My two cents....!


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## CookieLady (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful. It makes much more sense now and finally I understand how to put it all together. 

It's far more satisfying to know WHY I am buying something and what the science behind it all is rather than just what the sales person recommends to me. :smt115


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