If you are taking a firearms course with a shooting prerequisite (which is most of them) then you’ll usually need to purchase some ammunition before your class day. If you’re not familiar with ammunition, this can be confusing. What type of ammo do you need?

For the purpose of learning to shoot, you should avoid complicating the matter. Ammunition like hollow-points or ballistic tip are more expensive and are usually not best suited to the practice range.

Our suggestion is to look for ball ammunition, or simply put; full metal jacket ammunition. You might see it written on the box as “FMJ.” This is a traditional cartridge with a rounded nose, much different than hollow-point or other kinds of ammunition. Ball ammo is usually the cheapest to purchase, but that sometimes makes it the hardest to find when bullets are in short-supply.

Don’t be afraid to ask the clerk at the counter for assistance if you’re not sure what to get. All you really need to know is what caliber your firearm is. “I need some ball ammo for a 9mm pistol” is usually enough to get you pointed in the right direction.

While we’re at it, I’ll make one more suggestion – be sure you get “brass” ammunition, not steel. Most steel ammo is cheap ammunition – cheap in quality, not price is what I mean here. Brands such as “Tull” or “Wolf” ammo (in our opinion) should be avoided. Your mileage may vary…

What’s the difference?

Different ammunition has different purposes – so much so that we could never go into it all here in this FAQ. What you see here to the right is called “hollow-point” ammunition. It’s called that because of the obvious hollow hole in the end of the bullet. As mentioned previously, hollow-point ammunition is usually slightly more expensive, so it’s overkill for the training classroom.

 

 

 

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