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Looking at 1000 round purchase of 9mm for upcoming handgun class. I typically have been buying Remington UMC in bulk for target practice. The brands listed below are cheaper than the Remington UMC at my preferred purchase site (targetsportsusa.com).
Wanted to get feedback if anyone has used:
Fiochi
Magtech
Sellier & Bellot

Also at the same price point as the Remington is Speer Lawman which I would consider purchasing as well.

Fiochi all the time when on sale at Atwoods. Very good and always goes bang. No warnings about using in ported barrels like Federal and Blazer. Have never had any commercial ammo that wasn't good but since my wife has a ported Shield I have become more selective and unless you have a box in hand to read you can't tell which ammo is not for ported barrels.

bblhd672 wrote:Looking at 1000 round purchase of 9mm for upcoming handgun class. I typically have been buying Remington UMC in bulk for target practice. The brands listed below are cheaper than the Remington UMC at my preferred purchase site (targetsportsusa.com).
Wanted to get feedback if anyone has used:
Fiochi
Magtech
Sellier & Bellot

Also at the same price point as the Remington is Speer Lawman which I would consider purchasing as well.

I use all 3 for target practice in my 9mm pistols. I cannot recall any ammo failures.

I have used Fiochi and S&B and can't recall any issues with either. I use Fiochi a fair amount as it seems to be stocked where I shop. I don't see the S&B much but it has always worked for me.

Platforms G17, 26, 43, Sub2k. Have run Fiochi through the Walther CCP as well.

S&B is very good. I remember my Dad's HP had those in his service pistol some 40 yrs ago.

I have been pleased with all three when I have used them.

I've never had a problem with Fiochi or S&B, haven't tried the other.

I have shot a lot of Fiochi and S&B, some Magtech but not a lot. No problems that I can recall except while shooting S&B I had several failure to feed, all in the same mag. So I guess it was not the ammo.

I've used all three for years. The only ammo related failure I had was one squib out of a box of Magtech. Sounded, looked, and acted like a primer-only load. I admit that made me a bit leery of Magtech for a while, but have shot it for a couple of years since with no issues. It still isn't my first go-to choice simply because of that one squib, and I very well may inappropriately consider it as possibly Q&C inferior to other brands. So take my experience with a large grain of salt.

I don't know exactly what primers Sellier & Bellot uses, but they have a bit of a reputation for being on the hard side. I've never had a problem with them in 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP with any of my guns. I own only one .380 ACP, and that one definitely did not like the hard-strike primers. Frankly, though, I blame the gun for the light primer strikes, not the ammo. I don't shoot that gun anymore and, in good conscience, wouldn't sell it to anyone, either. I've shot more S&B than the other two brands, and more .45 than 9mm.

Fiocchi has also been reliable for me. It shoots just about as clean as Winchester White Box, and I've had no failures with it; probably six or seven thousand rounds of it total down the pipe.

Based solely on my personal experience with my own firearms, of the three choices I'd probably go with whichever S&B or Fiocchi deal was the least expensive.

I used all those and haven't had an issue with either one, Fiochi, Magtech, Sellier & Bellot.
I order online mostly at SGAmmo.com and their prices are tolerable. If I buy in a store I always check the boxes for water damage or other marking which could indicate improper storage.

Thanks to all who responded!

I went with the Sellier and Bellot 115gr - 1000 rounds for 209.80 including shipping.

I have used a lot of the Herter's brand sold by Cabelas in multiple calibers, including 9mm. It is manufactured by S&B, I have had zero issues.

I appreciate how S&B's packaging doesn't waste any space.

Scott B. wrote:I appreciate how S&B's packaging doesn't waste any space.

Heh! Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Does make it easier to pack more into ammo cans. And their skeletonized trays still seem to do a good job of keeping rounds separated. I save some of those trays for times when I buy ammo in loose bulk: put the loose rounds in the S&B trays and stack into cans.

longhorn86 wrote:I have used a lot of the Herter's brand sold by Cabelas in multiple calibers, including 9mm. It is manufactured by S&B, I have had zero issues.

Well there's a name suitable for Throwback-Thursday. In the 60's & 70's the Herter's Catalog was my 'happy place' and tremendous timesink.

http://gunlore.awardspace.info/gunknow/herter.htm

{obligatory on-topic inclusion} all 3 seem to perform as expected (observation). Have only personally used S&B, in a Glock 17 a very long time ago....