Buying ammunition as a new firearm owner can be overwhelming, with countless options, specifications, and regulations. However, with some basic knowledge, you can make an informed decision and find ammo that will do exactly what you need it to. At first, ammo can look complicated, but there is not much that can go wrong, as long as you get ammo made for your firearm, there are no wrong choices. Still, a little bit of strategy can go a long way.
This guide breaks down the essentials such as buying the right cartridge, ammo designs, specifications, handling, and purchasing tips. After today, you will know exactly what you are looking for when you’re in the ammo aisle. It may sound trivial, but let’s start with the most important thing to know before you buy ammo for your firearm, what cartridge you need.
Know Your Cartridge
For starters, a cartridge is the entire component that you pull out of an ammo box. It has a bullet casing, a primer, gun powder, and of course a bullet. Caliber is often used interchangeably with cartridge, but caliber is the measure of the bullet’s diameter. Many different cartridge types can have the same caliber, but that does not mean they all work in your firearm.
The correct cartridge for your firearm will be printed on its barrel. To make things more complicated, some cartridges are interchangeable like the 9×19 Parabellum, and 9mm Luger, but generally not many cartridges are. If you are super new and do not want to buy the wrong ammo, get a box of ammo with the same name as what is printed on your barrel.
Understand Ammo Designs & Purposes
Now that you know which cartridge you are looking for, you have narrowed your search in the ammo aisle. Still, there may be two dozen options to choose from. Now we can look at cartridge designs, and see what some of those designs are best used for. There are hundreds of different bullet designs, each with their own caveats, so we will stick to the ones you see most often here.
The one you will see most often is a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). FMJ rounds have a soft lead core encased in a harder copper jacket, usually used for target practice. They’re affordable and reliable but not ideal for self-defense since they are a fast and slender hunk of metal, which leads to over-penetration. They are deadly, and could also go through your target and houses behind them if you are in a self defense situation.
Instead, stick to Hollow Points (HP) or Jacketed Hollow Points (JHP) for self defense. These bullets have a “hollow” tip, which causes them to expand on impact. This deposits a large amount of energy in your target quickly. They provide effective stopping power and are less likely to over-penetrate, which is especially useful for home defense.
For rifles, you will often find soft point spitzer bullets. Soft-point bullets combine the aerodynamics of FMJ and the expansion of a HP, with a soft tip for expansion and better energy transfer. Because of their great performance and relatively low price, soft points are a favorite among big game hunters.
Rifle cartridges come in all shapes and flavors, just like handgun cartridges. Another great bullet is the ballistic tip, designed to shoot extremely flat and it uses its polymer tip to cover its slightly hollowed tip that expands quickly on impact. This design is popular for hunters, but also for range shooters due to their great aerodynamics.
Ammo Quality Matters
While budget-friendly options may be tempting, quality matters with ammo. Like many things with firearms, you get what you pay for. Cheap ammo, like factory reloaded ammo, or steel cased ammo, is going to give you problems eventually. They are great fun on the range, but when it comes down to business, you will want to clean all the residue that those leave behind out of your firearm, and go with a quality cartridge.
Known brands like Federal, Hornady, and Winchester consistently produce reliable rounds. Hornady makes the ever popular critical defense line, which millions of Americans depend on everyday. Myself and many others have relied on Remington Core-Lokt ammo for decades in the deer woods. Long story short, Inferior ammo will eventually fail in one way or another, and the more corners you cut at the cash register, the more likely that is to happen. If you’re using ammo for self-defense, hunting, or competition shooting, stick to reputable brands that have stood the test of time.
With that being said, sometimes you have to buy what you can find. Just a few years ago in 2020, ammo shelves were empty nearly everywhere you went. That was a lot more of a “take what you can get” market. It even forced me to carry regular FMJs in my concealed carry for a little while. Although given the option, you should put a little strategy into your bullet choice.
Have an Ammo Storage Plan
If you are going to the ammo aisle for the literal first time, this may not be a big problem, but if you plan on buying a lot of ammo, you need to have a storage plan. Many shooters store ammo for an extended period. The shelf life of modern ammunition is long, but it can eventually degrade if you store it poorly.
If you are the shooter that only needs a dozen or so boxes of ammo and you buy a few boxes before you get to the range, you can get by with storing that ammo on a simple shelf in your closet. Although if you plan to stock up on ammo and keep it a while, you are going to outgrow that shelf pretty quickly.
In general, you want to store ammo in a cool dry place. Inside your air conditioned and heated home is ideal, but the garage is a popular choice for ammo you don’t plan to have for more than a year or two. Although temperature and humidity levels fluctuate quite a bit in a garage, and over the long term, this will degrade the performance of your ammo. No matter where you store your ammo, you will also want to keep moisture away from it. One way to do that is with an airtight ammo can, other shooters store their ammo in a dedicated ammo safe with a dehumidifier.
Storing your ammo properly will save you money, and it is a good firearm safety practice.
Know Your Local Laws and Regulations
Ammo purchases are regulated by both federal and state laws. Some states have additional restrictions, like magazine capacity limits or background checks for ammo purchases. The odds are good that you are not going to find anything on the local sporting goods store shelf that you aren’t allowed to have. Still, you should familiarize yourself with your local laws before buying, especially if purchasing online, where restrictions will be a bit more lax since they may not be selling from the same state you are buying in.
One common law to know is the age required to buy ammo or different types of firearms in your state. This can often be different for long guns and handguns, but this law changes often from state to state. Most of us are probably old enough not to have to worry about it, but something like transportation regulations, or local ordinances on how much ammo you can store in a home affect everyone.
Tips for Buying Ammo Online
Buying ammo online offers convenience and often better prices but it can come with a few gotchas. The best part about buying ammo online is that you can often find a better price for the same product in your local store. You can get an even better discount if you buy ammo in bulk. However, the biggest catch is shipping. Ammo is heavy, and if you find rounds for 5¢ cheaper than what you can get locally, but shipping costs $50, you would need to buy 1000 rounds just to break even with the store price. Plus, not all states allow ammo to be shipped directly to consumers. Some require shipping to a licensed dealer for pick-up and you may even need to do a background check.
Don’t Over Complicate It
Choosing the right ammo doesn’t have to be intimidating. Remember that different types of ammo have different purposes, but any bullet will be deadly, or punch a target. Still, using a little strategy can go a long way. If you don’t know exactly what box to buy, start with a well known brand. You get what you pay for, and cheap ammo will come back to bite you eventually. That shouldn’t stop you from looking for good deals online though. Just make sure you know all your local ammunition laws and what it is going to take to get that ammo to your doorstep legally. Then make sure you have a solid plan for storing your ammo once you bring it home. You wouldn’t want to put all this money and effort into your ammo to have it degrade before you’re ready to use it!
