Whats the best 9mm ammo for accuracy?

[edzackley]

Premium rounds are often more accurate. On two separate occasions years ago when I was taking classes as a student while shooting drills all of the sudden my "groups" really tightened up compared to how I had been shooting... as in going into one ragged hole at some distance.

After the drill concluded & being a little puzzled cause we had been shooting all day & you kind of learn how you shoot, I dropped out my mag. & let out a small burst of light profanity... the Instructor came over & asked what was wrong.
I said," I just shot my frickin' Hydra-shoks that cost me $1 each!!!" I had been shooting Wolf which back then cost me $5.99 per box of 50.

The Instructor & the rest of the class thought my discomfort to be quite humorous.

No disagreement there. But most of us need to shoot 5 - 10k rounds of the cheapest ammo there to get trigger control and mechanics correct, vs buying $30 a box premium ammo and shooting it. In your example above, it was shooting ALOT of cheap Wolf ammo that made difference, not shooting one box of Wolf and then one box of Hydra-shoks. Ammo makes some difference, but not as much as repetition and lots and lots of trigger time.

 

[mtgldr]

Got me a new Beretta 92fs Mod.M9A1 feels great.Picked up a Box of Wichester 115 gr FMJ target loads at Wally World.Their not very accurate dont group worth a hill of beans.Just wanted to shoot.LOL Now im ready to order good ammo.So whats the opions.Targets & Defence

Sorry but but a 92 is about as accurate as you need to be at 30-50 feet. You should be able to hit a 2" Bullseye repeatedly unless the gun has issues with just about any quality factory ammo. You should load your mags with dummy rounds and see if your pushing, pulling, flinching etc... Or
Dry fire it facing a white wall. If the barrel moves it's not the gun. A 5" barrel is pretty accurate if you are steady with your hands.

 

[protective measures]

No disagreement there. But most of us need to shoot 5 - 10k rounds of the cheapest ammo there to get trigger control and mechanics correct, vs buying $30 a box premium ammo and shooting it. In your example above, it was shooting ALOT of cheap Wolf ammo that made difference, not shooting one box of Wolf and then one box of Hydra-shoks. Ammo makes some difference, but not as much as repetition and lots and lots of trigger time.

Usually we can get that dialed in for students after 300 -500 rds. at the worst, but if someone is not looking at a self-defense context and is only concerned with testing their gun & ammo compatibility, they can use a benchrest & sandbags to check the accuracy of their chosen rounds, much like a rifle shooter does, to see how they "group" with different brands of ammo.

Obviously, the closer to the target you are, the less significant the compatibility of gun & ammo ( assuming its at least reliable) & I do agree that people do need trigger time to master the fundamentals but we encourage lots of dryfire practice as well as the use of either .22 conversion kits on your chosen platform or at least a rimfire pistol that has the same sights & operating controls as your defensive use pistol to get "cheap" trigger time & lots of repetition if at all possible.

No, it's not the same as shooting the larger calibers but the fundamentals are the same whether you are shooting a .22 or a .454 casull... if you can't do it consistently with the smaller caliber you won't be able to do it with a larger one.

 

[protective measures]

Sorry but but a 92 is about as accurate as you need to be at 30-50 feet. You should be able to hit a 2" Bullseye repeatedly unless the gun has issues with just about any quality factory ammo. You should load your mags with dummy rounds and see if your pushing, pulling, flinching etc... Or
Dry fire it facing a white wall. If the barrel moves it's not the gun. A 5" barrel is pretty accurate if you are steady with your hands.

Good observations "mtgldr".
Most of the 92's I've seen were more accurate than their shooters. They have a pretty long sight radius for a combat pistol but that long double action first shot usually makes a lot of less experienced shooters "throw" the first shot until they get used to it.

 

[Chuckdog]

Without getting technical, the best ammo for your pistol is a matter of trial and error. You buy some of this and some of that, and see which one works best for you. There are many bullseye shooters including myself that have the opinion that ammo does make a difference even at close range. It's my measure of what I consider to be a good group, and point of aim versus point of impact that may change dramatically with different loads. This is all defined by what your expectations are. My advice is to try as many as you are able to in the price range that you're comfortable with. The weakest link will always play its part, so test every aspect of you're shooting, including the shooter. Buying a top of the line piece of any type and feeding it crap, doesn't add up for me. Putting a $99.00 scope on a rifle that you just paid $1K for makes me scratch my head. Expecting top accuracy from promotionally priced ammo is ridiculous. Now you may get it, so it's worth a try, but to expect it is asking for frustration. Shoot from a rest, get a known good shooter to shoot you piece and watch your form. Get a buddy to load the pistol for you and leave an empty chamber from time to time to see if you stay on target when you squeeze the trigger. Many folks are really surprised by how much they anticipate the recoil. Slow fire @ 11 steps I can tear ragged holes with most properly fed pistols. There's definitely a difference in accuracy @ 11 steps when I shoot different loads through the same pistol. I know what my experience is, I can't speak with the authority that some on this forum have. "And I consider that a good thing." The weakest link will usually play the biggest role.

 

[iiiijrockiiii]

This argument/debate should have never left the front page of this thread (like most)--- BUY SOME AMMO (ONLY SHOOT THAT AMMO)--"IF YOU WANT PROFICIENCY" -and i say that loosely, PRACTICE AND "(YOU)" GET ACCURATE with the ammo that you choose---(((AND KEEP THIS IN MIND)))YOU CAN ALWAYS HAVE A FAILURE IN "ANY" AMMO-----SO THAT "MONEY SHOT" IS IRRELEVANT---Just hope that you dont get put in a situation ((and try not to get in a situation)- this is for all the idiots out there) where you have to count on SO CALLED ACCURACY