[bigdogmax1]

I'm fairly new to handguns and will be purchasing my first one next week (Sig P226 .40 cal) and I want to know what's a good round to shoot for targets. I noticed I can buy Fiochi FMJ's for around 15 dollars a box on Sportsman's guide by the bulk. However I don't want my gun to stovepipe. Also, which casings should I stay away from? Should I use brass, aluminum, or steel cased ammo?

 

[Asylum Keeper]

You should probably start by buying a little bit of everything. Run it all through your gun to see which it likes the best. For target/pleasure/plinking basic FMJ bulk "cheap" stuff should do just fine. As for case type. I try to stay with brass because even though I do not reload I can sell the casings to someone who does. Only trouble I have had with aluminum was with magnums sticking in the chambers. And only problem I have had with steel was having a case split and get stuck in the chamber pretty bad. I run Wolf(steel) in my SKS all the time and ZERO problems. Sometimes use Wolf in my .45's and no problems yet. Use the Blazer aluminum stuff in my .45's all the time and zero problems.

So it boils down to what the gun likes and what you like. Also keep in mind that a brand new firearm may have a few "hiccups" while it breaks in and may not be completely the fault of the ammo.

 

[WDBradley]

I agree buy the cheap stuff in fmj for practice, almost all major mfg's should work fine. I like winchester white box and find them to be competitive priced. As for casing bras is always the best in my opinion.

 

[Roadkill Bill]

None of us can give you an absolute answer. Two guns that come off the line, one right behind the other, will shoot differently, handle different loads differently, and function differently. This is true in all guns, but automatics are even more picky than revolvers. One might shoot Gold Dots without a problem, the next one off the line might have trouble extracting Gold Dots and jam a lot with them. One might put Hydra-Shoks in one jagged hole, the next gun might spew them out like a shotgun pattern. Ya just never know. So like Asylum Keeper said, ya just gotta shoot different brands through your gun and see what shoots the best. Which ones a reliable, which ones are accurate, and which ones are both. Trial and error.

Have fun! Good shootin' to ya.

 

[SmokinTom]

Roadkill bill has to be the smartest X dealer in the good old USA. We call him Smart Bill up north. There ain`t nothen Bill don`t know. Go Bill Go