OK to practice light?

[OldLincoln]

Is it really important to practice with what you carry? I'm beginning to see 9mm / 115gn on shelves. What are your thoughts on taking that to the range but carry heavier for SD?

[Bawanna]

Is it really important to practice with what you carry? I'm beginning to see 9mm / 115gn on shelves. What are your thoughts on taking that to the range but carry heavier for SD?

I'd have no issues with it. See where it hits compared to what you normally carry and shoot at least a little bit of your usual carry stuff and it should be fine.
All the fundamentals are the same. The best ammo is free ammo or as close as you can get.

[jfrey]

I practice with 115 gr. ball ammo all the time. I have shot enough of the Hornady CD ammo through my CW9 to know it hits dead center at 10 yds. The ball ammo shoots about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high at that distance but I know the difference between the loads and what to expect with each of them. I have well over 1000 rounds through my pistol so I am pretty confident in it at this point. The carry ammo is obviously expensive to do a lot of range work. I normally shoot 100 to 200 rounds in a weekend so that would add up very fast.

[medezyner]

115 ball all the time, BUT at the same range session, I'll shot about 10% SD ammo (124 gr +P) just to remind myself of the muzzle flip for follow up shots. I practice draw & trigger control with 115 from pocket & IWB; it's how I carry. I figure the 124 will mostly affect double tap so thats how I practice that load. Would be great to practice with more SD, but I already sold the kids to pay for the PM9.

[steve666]

When I carried a 9mm I used 115gr JHP for carry and practice. Now I carry a .40 with hot, Cor-Bon 135gr. JHP. For practice I use either 165gr or 180gr FMJ depending on which I can find cheap, along with any Cor-Bon which has been around for a while. I like to rotate fresh ammo in on a fairly regular basis.http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-misc-027.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php)

[Shawn Dodson]

As long as there isn't a substantial difference in recoil and muzzle flip. The risk is that you may become conditioned to less recoil and muzzle flip, compared to your full power defense ammo, which might affect your ability to perform during a defensive shooting. You may be less prepared to deal with increased effects (muzzle blast, recoil and muzzle flip), if any.

I load my PM-9 with Speer 9mm 124gr +P Gold Dot JHP for defense. For training I handload a 124gr FMJ bullet at the same velocity as the Speer factory load, which allows my training ammo to duplicate the recoil and muzzle flip characteristics of my defense ammo.

Good luck!

[joshh]

oL, ive been wondering the same thing as ive been buying the 50pk 115gr federals from walmart for $9.95 but carry the 147gr win pdx. i havent shot enough of the pdx to notice a difference, but at $25/box of 20 i cant see shooting too many of them! i cant find a cheap 147gr target round anywhere.

[Shawn Dodson]

joshh:

I purchase my defense ammo from Streicher's for about $25/50 rds: Ammunition from Federal, Winchester, CCI, Speer, Hornady and Magtech (http://www.policehq.com/Ammunition)

They take and fill orders from private citizens.

Cheers!

[joshh]

not according to their site they dont. not the winchester rangers. also im not sure if the ranger and pdx are same round? they do look the same but thats a huge price difference.

[Shawn Dodson]

Sorry about that. I forgot that Winchester requires legitimate Winchester ammo distributors to sell Ranger handgun ammo only to law enforcement. If you're that interested you can purchase it in 50 rd boxes from other sources.

But if you don't jump through hoops to obtain Winchester Ranger ammo then I suggest you click on the Federal ammo link at Streicher's and consider HST or Gold Dot ammo, both of which are excellent ammo choices. As I mentioned earlier I use Gold Dot and I have absolute confidence in it.

[OldLincoln]

How long does it normally take them to fill a back order on HST?

[joshh]

found out that the pdx is actually a newer version of the ranger t. The pdx is open to public sale (for now) and is supposed to be a better round. i'll stick with them for carry but would like to find a 147gr target round. they are listed on win's site but cant find em anywhere.

[Shawn Dodson]

OldLincoln - I don't know how long it takes Streicher to fill backorders on HST. I've never ordered HST, although I believe its slightly superior in terminal performance than Gold Dot. (I've just stuck with Gold Dot because I know it functions flawlessly in my guns. If I were to choose HST then I'd have to spend extra money for enough ammo to function test it for reliablity. I'm good to go with Gold Dot so I just stick with it.)

joshh - I used to shoot 147gr exclusively, both defense ammo and handloaded training ammo, but I switched to 124gr because 124gr FMJ bullets are cheaper than 147gr FMJ bullets.

Good luck tracking down 147gr target ammo.