Best of 2 cheap brands of 9mm

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762Availlability

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Good evening,

I have been buying 9mm of every brand to try out. I have found mutiple brands for 35c+tx/count and recently I have seen sellier & bellot and federal champion going for that price. In your opinion which of the two should I get and why? I have been told that "at that price its pretty much all the same". I doubt it so lets see what you all think.

S&B is 124gr and FC is 115gr.

Thank you for your input,

762
 
Gatehouse said:
I've used both extensively and they both work fine. I prefer the S&B packaging as it's smaller than the Federal but really just go with what is the cheapest and most available. And if they are the same in that regard, just take your pick.
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I did not consider packaging. Now that I am looking at it, some of my 9mm in storage is taking way more space than other brands.
 
GreasyJoe said:
The 100 round packs of winchester 9mm that Cabela's sells, takes up less space than regular winchester 50 round packs. You can fit 200 rounds in roughly the same area as one 50 round box.
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Yeah I dont have a big safe so this makes a huge difference on what I can store. Do you ever repack them ib something else?
 
If you're keeping them in original boxes, S&B is a bit smaller packaging as noted. I know some people bulk dump their ammo into cans... but my OCD won't let me do that :oops: (I have labels on the outsides of all my cans with exact quantities) so unless I want to recount loose ammo at home or keep a log at the range of how many I'm shooting, bulk doesn't work for me

If you don't reload, it doesn't matter much. S&B seems to have slightly smaller (tighter) primer pockets which without chamfering or swaging can be a little tougher to seat new primers in
 
762Availlability said:
Yeah I dont have a big safe so this makes a huge difference on what I can store. Do you ever repack them ib something else?
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Depends honestly. If it's just range plinking ammo once I get enough on hand then I'll start dumping the rounds loose into 30 cal ammo cans. If it's hunting or more quality ammo I just leave them in the box, unless I have enough to fill a ammo can that's from the same manufacturing lot. Honestly you should invest in one of those tool cabinets from Ctire or Home Depot. They make great ammo lock ups. Plus side you can generally ask to order more shelves for the ones sold at Ctire not sure about HD.
 
I’ve always liked S&B for pistol ammo, relatively clean and accurate shooting. If I’m buying factory pistol ammo I usually buy S&B, Blazer or Federal AE, it’s all priced about the same and is reliable and accurate.

As far as reloading goes I like S&B pistol brass, so win win for me.
 
Avoid NATO spec 124 grain. It's super hot.

The softest shooting factory ammo (this will prolong the life of your firearms) is PMC. I shoot 124gr PMC and it can be found for 350 per thousand.

The SB and federal and blazer is usually around 140 power factor. PMC around 135. And the NATO spec around 145 to 150 pf.
 
FarmerDanz said:
Avoid NATO spec 124 grain. It's super hot.

The softest shooting factory ammo (this will prolong the life of your firearms) is PMC. I shoot 124gr PMC and it can be found for 350 per thousand.

The SB and federal and blazer is usually around 140 power factor. PMC around 135. And the NATO spec around 145 to 150 pf.
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I did not know that could be a factor. Imma get do PMC next and check it out. Thanks.
 
I got into reloading about 15 years ago when I shot IPSC and was going through 200-300 rounds per week. The plastic containers from Costco cashews work well for storage. I've seen guys at the range with pickle jars full of ammo.
Reloading allows you to tailor you power factor so that you meet PF, but don't exceed it.
.40 win is generally considered minor PF, but factory ammo is well over the minimum PF and I find it snappy in a Glock. When I load for minor, the snappy recoil disappears and the gun is far nicer to shoot. On the other hand some folks load .40 for major PF and that is a pretty hot load. I think it exceeds SAMMI limits, but I'm not sure.
A nice thing about reloading is that you begin to think in bulk terms and buy tons of components when on sale. Since COVID and retirement, I don't shoot that much, but with the stuff on hand, I can still load 9mm for 12 cents each!
 
Gatehouse said:
I've used both extensively and they both work fine. I prefer the S&B packaging as it's smaller than the Federal but really just go with what is the cheapest and most available. And if they are the same in that regard, just take your pick.
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The S&B packaging is like the Fiocchi packaging - smaller, compact and can store more in my ammo tin when going to the range.

In my opinion, the performance yields and differences between all these brands are marginal at best. They all go bang in all my guns, but I will say a few things...and this is a small sample size so take this with a grain of salt...

I have had only a few dud rounds in my life and they all came from Federal Syntech rounds (2 from a 147gr, 1 from a 124gr) - but I have should thousands and thousands so maybe just hit on a bad batch, as well as Scorpio (more on this below)

Winchester white box 9mm was the absolutely dirtiest 9mm I have shot. Think it was 115gr if that matters, but the brass comes out like my steaks on the BBQ (super charred) and my guns get gummed up with more carbon.

I will avoid the Scorpio stuff. I know, I know, other people say no problem with it, but I have had duds, light primer strikes, feed and ejection issues, and accuracy is noticeably worse. No wonder some retailers have been trying to unload this stuff. I am not impressed. I think they are made by a division or S&B or same parent company, but doesn't matter - I was not impressed with Scorpio.

S&B, Fiocchi, Blazer and Federal / American Eagle all pretty much performed the same, for basic useability. Again, this is plinking and target shooting so hardly a focus on minute accuracy here.

Best overall round in my opinion is PMC Bronze. I will say that as a line, Bronze has been super in multiple calibers. I have never ever had a hiccup on any Bronze round in any caliber and they seem to group slightly better with 9mm from my guns (FX9, FPC currently, previously PC Carbine and Kriss Vector). My guns all are happy with the Bronze line in 124gr. And I believe the Bronze is in smaller packaging as well.
 
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