Finally Found 9mm Ammo that Runs Flawlessly - so far.
 

I'm sure like many, I've been continuously frustrated trying to find ammunition that did not stovepipe, hang up or otherwise misbehave. A few weeks ago I found a couple of boxes of Speer Lawman 124 grain TMJ that I bought at a gunshow during the great "Obama is going to take my guns" period.
A couple of weeks ago I shot that ammo at the range and my byf 42 Luger ran flawlessly.
So I purchased a 1000 rounds last week, received it yesterday and just shot 3 boxes with only 1 mishap; the toggle did not lock back after the last round was fired.
This ammunition seems to be readily available and reasonably priced.

ammo that works!
 

I am always looking for ammo reports on ammo that Lugers love, especially the late mauser byf's... so far, WW 115 gr target, S&B 124 gr. and now your Lawman ammo... Only complaint with WW is it really seems to be a dirty ammo to shoot? best to all, til...lat'r...GT:cheers:

"Speer Lawman 9mm Luger Ammo 124 Grain Total Metal Jacket

35 years ago, Speer Lawman designed a dual line for both law enforcement and sports shooters

Total Metal Jacket is the perfect pick for target shooting, training, or out for the day plinking away at the range

Lawman line is made of a combination of clean-burning propellants, CCI primers and Speer bullets"

MPN - 53651
UPC- 076683536167
Manufacturer - Speer Ammo
Caliber - 9mm Luger Ammo
Bullet Type - Total Metal Jacket
Muzzle Velocity - 1090 fps
Muzzle Energy - 327 ft. lbs
Primer - Boxer
Casing - Brass Case
Ammo Rating - Target & Practice 9mm ammo

What are the desirable characteristics with the ammo listed that enables them to perform so well in P.08s?. In other words what is the secret sauce or is it just trial and error ....and some luck?

yes:evilgrin:

I have an artillery that is a shooter and it will shoot most anything, anytime. I do use a nice Swiss magazine in it.
Other lugers seem to never like anything and some like only a few.
And although not a P08, my Model 38 S&W loves the Remington hollow point in the green and white box, just shoots and shoots.

I always run/crimp my 9mm reloads (and other cartridges too) through a Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD) that guarantees they meet specs for the dimensions of the brass. It may not make a difference, but it certainly doesn't hurt any and I have few if any problems.

Glad to hear that the OP has not only found a good functioning ammo in his Mauser, but that it is also reasonably priced....a win-win.

I took one of my Lugers to the range last Thursday(alphabet 1921 in 30 Luger) This is one that gave me grief for a time in order to get it to perform reliably.....well I/we made it. I didn't shoot a ton of ammo through it(75 rounds), but it was "ammo in....bullet down range....brass out" without a single hiccup. To make it even sweeter, it now likes my handloads with 93gr lead RN bullets. What is not to like?? I found myself smiling after that range trip.....now if I could just shoot a tighter group, but that is not the fault of the Luger or ammo!!

The Speer Lawman seems consistent so far. I've tried S&B 124 grain about seven or eight years ago; it ran perfect. Then the load changed and it was horrible. It was also very dirty.
Then I tried Fiocchi with a truncated 124 bullet; it too had problems and was dirty.
I'm sure after all the years of storage, in different conditions, the springs of our Lugers vary greatly in strength and elasticity.

For factory ammo, I have had good luck with PMC 115gr FMJ in my 9mm Lugers. It is reasonably priced, and available in my neck of the woods. I keep a couple of cases of it around, "just in case".

I guess I'm in a distinct minority. I've shot most of the dozen or so Lugers I own and have never had any reliabilty issues with any 9mm ammo I've bought- Winchester white box, Wolf Military Classic, TulAmmo, Sellier and Bellot, Geco, Privi Partisan all feed, extract, and function as intended.

Bill,

I would consider you to be "Luger blessed"!!!

I have been a member a short time. To make a long story short, I changed with 1941 BYF with a Wolf extra 40 # main spring and it works great with a Federal HST LE 9mm Luger Ammo 124 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point. The tape trick shows show just a hint of a dent under the toggle. Now to dial it up right with the Wolf three set.
At .40 a round that is OK.

MPN P9HST1
UPC
Manufacturer FEDERAL AMMO
Caliber 9MM AMMO
Bullet Type HST-Jacketed Hollow Point
Muzzle Velocity 1150 fps
Muzzle Energy 364 ft. lbs
Primer Boxer
Casing Nickel Plated Brass
Ammo Rating Self-Defense and Personal Protection 9mmAmmo


Robert

Shot yesterday with, for the first time, Fiocchi 7.65 Parabellum in both soft point and full ball form. Out of 100 rounds fed into my Luger, over 20 malfunctioned in one way or another - stove pipes, jammed on feeding, live round stuck partway into the chamber, you name it. Most of the hiccups occurred with the softpoint ammo.
While this experience markedly reduced my cost of ammunition fired per hour, I'll not be using this brand again. By contrast, the Partizan brand has been flawless so far! Viva Serbia!
John

Similar results are often reported by others including myself; Fiocchi just is not hot enough , nor long enough for most .30 lugers to function reliably. But, some batches are and some lugers will shoot anything!:eek:

I found a site to locate ammo it's Ammoseek.com Through this site I was directed to a site that I was able to order PPU Shipped to upstate NY. The only thing is what is FMJ flat point and has anyone had experience with it in a 7.65 luger? I also have had bad experience with FIOCCHI but some Winchesters I ran across worked very good.

I just ordered a few boxes of PPU that were advertised as flat nose, but when they showed up they were standard round nose. I imagine it's just a mixup of terminology, I'm not even sure they make a flatnose bullet in .30 Luger.

I have a byf 42 that so far has run any and all ammo i have put through it. Wwb remmington federal etc the only that i stopped using was perfecta as some boxes were mild loads while others would produce alot more recoil and muzzle flash. The best price vs reliable ammo thats clean and well made was lax ammo its under 200 for 1000rds. Ps i only use 115gr

I have bought flat nose 45 acp - but don't remember seeing flat nose 9mm :)

I've shot WWB, Blazer, Federal, PMC, and American Eagle and never had a problem. Lucky, guess.

Found definition on PPU bullet design

I agree with ttarp, no PPU in .30 L with a flat nose.

Fiocchi does load a fmj truncated cone 9mm, no better and maybe worse than the RM fmj. I thought it might work better through a drum, but it does not.

Range day yesterday with my '42 BYF Luger & my '44 cyq P-38 went well.

Been having problems with FTF & FTE using reload FMJ round tip so I thought I'd run an experiment.
Bought some inexpensive Remington 115 grain UMC (Round tip, FMJ) and Federal 115 grain (Round tip, FMJ).

Learned a few things along the way!
1) Leave the reloads for the modern guns.
2) Stick with factory ammo for the old War Dogs.
Side by side, the Remington ran a little better than the Federal ammo.
Zero FTF or FTE with both guns, but I had a few failures on the Luger to lock open on empty magazine using the Federal ammo.
All in all, I was surprised to see such a noticeable difference between reloaded ammo (impossible to know what powder, amount, quality of workmanship, etc.) and decent quality factory ammo.
Of course, it still comes down to what a person deems "quality" in factory ammo, but judging by all of the previous posts, I'm narrowing down to a few brands.
Again, thanks for all of the great info provided here fellas!
Zk

P.S. For all it's worth, my old Tokarev ran fine on the soldered box of ancient surplus ammo I fired through her.
That old flame-throwing nag will eat anything I feed her!

Funny, my reloads work perfectly. Maybe that's because I tailor my reloads to the specific handgun I'll be shooting them in, instead of trusting someone else's guesses... :p

Ya spends yer money and ya takes yer chances... :D

Never had a problem with reliable function of any commercial ammo I've tried in my Lugers. From 100 gr bullets up to 147 gr. They all fed, extracted and ejected without problems.

Were they all accurate? No.

Currently using Geco 124 gr. It's accurate enough. But shoots a tad high. I have to aim at the bottom of the target to get the X ring at 25 meters.

For clarification...
The reloads I was referring to were generic gun show purchased reloads I bought in bulk.
No idea if they were rolled by a purple haired 16-year old or a seasoned reloading professional.
Price was cheap, so I'm guessing the guy had hair and it was likely purple...
My "duh" moment; what was I thinking sticking mystery rounds in my prized Messerschmitt?!?!?
Thx all
Zk
(not the sharpest tool in the shed...)