Ammo selection

[jojojones]

Just got a sig 229 in .40 S&w and was wondering if anyone had ideas on ammo for just plinking as well as self-defense. Looking for good accuracy at a resonable price. I know that some guns are more picky than others when it comes to ammo and if the p229 was one.

Thanks,

Jojo

[blkA4alb]

WWB is the way to go, I just got a 226 and put 1000 rounds through it in the last 2 weeks. Love it.

[BigAL]

All these loads will perform well for self defense in .40 cal. Infor taken from Tactial forums. I prefer Win Ranger-T or if that can't be found the Speer gold dots.

.40 S&W:
Barnes XPB 140 & 155 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP (53961)
Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3)
Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA)
Winchester Partition Gold 165 gr JHP (RA401P)
Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1)
Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1)
Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP (53966)
Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T)

[m1371]

For self-defense look around for the Winchester Ranger. Performs well and is in use by a lot of local SoCal PD's. The GoldDots aren't a bad choice either, you probably will be able to find them easier than the Ranger (cheaper too).

Remember to run several boxes of whatever you choose through your pistol to ensure reliability. Most recommendations are 500rds but that can get pricey pretty fast.

For plinking & range use? Winchester White Box, as suggested. It's either that or the Armscor stuff. It's fairly reliable and not too expensive. Avoid the range reloaded stuff.

[RT13]

For plinking and range use, I love Blazer brass and aluminum. WWB would my next choice, I just don't like the fact that it's dirty. For SD/HD I use Speer Gold Dot HP.

[Gnote]

Used to use the WWB but stopped because they were dirtier than I liked. Didn't like the idea that I was breathing in the stuff. They were good though and I never had a misfire. I shoot Blazer now. Bought in bulk a while back. Also shoot the Fiocchi. I like those too. Get those in bulk as well.

For home defense, I've use the Rangers as others have mentioned. I think these are the next best thing to the Talons that Winchester used to make. I agree that you should put many rounds through your gun to ensure accuracy. Sig P series are definitely reliable but I would use a couple of boxes of my defense ammo of choice just to make sure I didn't have one that didn't my ammo of choice. Local stores sell the 20 round boxes but internet site (Google is your friend) will have the 50 round boxes for not much more. Even with shipping you'll come out ahead.

Good choice for a handgun. I like our 229 but love our 226ST more.

Take a look at this thread on Sigforum.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/410601935/m/319108016

[jojojones]

thanks

Thanks for the info...I'll be picking it up thurs and taking it out that day. Sounds like you can feed just about anything by a mainstream manufacturer through it. I am going to test a couple a different braqnds to see if there is accuracy difference.


jojo

[m1371]

For home defense, I've use the Rangers as others have mentioned. I think these are the next best thing to the Talons that Winchester used to make. I agree that you should put many rounds through your gun to ensure accuracy. Sig P series are definitely reliable but I would use a couple of boxes of my defense ammo of choice just to make sure I didn't have one that didn't my ammo of choice. Local stores sell the 20 round boxes but internet site (Google is your friend) will have the 50 round boxes for not much more. Even with shipping you'll come out ahead.

Don't confuse the Winchester Ranger-SXT with the LEO Ranger-T ammo. It's two different things.The current LE Ranger-T are essentially an evolution of the old Winchester Black Talons, just a "friendlier" name. Unfortunately the "Black Talon" was a victim of the mainstream media who latched onto an evil sounding name.

More info here: http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs12.htm

Winchester Black Talon Revisited

There appears to be continuing confusion surrounding the different versions of the Black Talon bullet, its legality for possession by private citizens, as well as its alleged "cop-killer bullet" armor-piercing capability. Here's the lowdown:

Black Talon SXT: The original Black Talon handgun bullet. It was introduced in 1991. The cartridge consists of a black colored bullet seated in a nickel-plated case. The black paint-like coating on the bullet is a Winchester proprietary lubricant called Lubalox. The bullet has six serrations on the rim of the hollowpoint cavity (meplat), and six talons. The talons deploy when the bullet expands. They are described by Winchester as: "six uniform, radial jacket petals with perpendicular tips." Winchester voluntarily discontinued sales of Black Talon SXT to the general public in late 1993/early 1994 due to intense negative media and political pressure. Some political activists derisively referred to it as "Black Felon" ammo. Black Talon is packaged in boxes of 20 cartridges.

Ranger SXT: Ranger SXT is a less expensive version of the original Black Talon cartridge intended for the law enforcement market. It consists of a black Lubalox coated bullet seated in a brass case. The bullet has six serrations on its meplat, and six talons. Ranger SXT is packaged in boxes of 50 cartridges marked "Law Enforcement Ammunition."

Supreme SXT: Redesigned "civilian" version of the original Black Talon bullet. The cartridge consists of a copper-jacketed bullet seated in a nickel-plated case. The bullet has eight serrations on its meplat, and no talons. Supreme SXT is packaged in boxes of 20 cartridges.

According to Olin-Winchester public relations, the Supreme SXT bullet design has not been factory tested in standard ordnance gelatin because it was not designed to meet police ammunition performance specifications. As a result, there's no valid and verifiable performance data available from Winchester or the FBI.

We find Winchester's attitude troubling because they're marketing a personal defense bullet (a life safety device) in which they confessed to us that they've no idea how well (or poorly) it performs. Therefore, we advise you not to buy and use Supreme SXT until Winchester gets its act together and coughs up performance data for this cartridge.

Ranger Talon: The second generation version of the original Black Talon SXT bullet. The cartridge consists of a copper-jacketed bullet seated in a nickel-plated case. The bullet has six serrations on its meplat, and six talons. Ranger Talon is packaged in boxes of 50 cartridges marked "Law Enforcement Ammunition."

There is no Federal law that prohibits a private citizen from purchasing or possessing any of the Black Talon bullet variants. Additionally, there is no Federal law, which forbids private possession and use of "law enforcement" handgun ammunition, except specifically defined armor-piercing handgun ammunition. Black Talon, Ranger SXT and Ranger Talon do not meet the criteria for armor-piercing handgun ammunition as defined by Federal law. However, there may be State or local laws that ban private possession of Black Talon and its variants.

The negative media frenzy of late 1993 produced untrue assertions that Black Talon was an armor-piercing "cop-killer" bullet. We've fired both 9mm and .40 S&W Black Talon bullets into threat level IIA soft body armor and the armor easily stopped the bullets. The "armor-piercing" myth may have originated from the markings used on certain military small-arms ammunition. U.S. military cartridges with a black painted tip indicates the bullet is armor-piercing.

(Federal Nyclad ammunition is often mistaken as armor-piercing ammunition too, due to the blue-black nylon coating on the lead bullet.)

The black Lubalox coating on the Black Talon bullet is meant to reduce in-bore friction and chamber pressure. Once the bullet leaves the muzzle, the mission of the coating is completed. Lubalox does not give the bullet any special property that allows it to blast through police soft body armor.

There's a fellow out in SC that I get my Ranger-T ammo from, decent prices and easier than scouring the gunshows for the stuff. If anyone is interested shoot me a PM for his contact info.

[C.G.]

Congrats to your 229, my next handgun acquisition.

[rips31]

great gun. my p229 eats whatever i feed it, incl wolf ammo, which my hk p2000 jams on. anything will work, just about.