The Unofficial P64 Resource Forum

Hello I am a new owner of a 1968 P-64. Any ammo I should try or stay away from? I know I will try a few brands. Thanks for any opinions.

I'm also the new owner of a P64 (1975). From what I've read, avoid Wolf Ammo. I haven't shot it yet, but I'm going to the range for the first time tomorrow. I just bought some Silver Bear. I'll let you know how it goes.

hvacken wrote:Silver Wolf.

Did you mean Silver Bear?

I sure did! Thanks for catching that!

Wolf- worst
MFS- favorite(hard to find now)
Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Barnaul works just fine and plentiful.

i love silver bear never had a problem. ive had a few jams with seller &benoit but otherwise its good

Anything in the 95gr range will work usually, but as said earlier use Wolf at your own risk.

Favorite: For me its MFS, good stuff, its rated +P but I have my doubts.
Worst: Wolf, in Polish I believe its called "Bzdury"

Best: Sellier & Bellot (aka. S&B). Nice brass, I haven't had any FTE/FTF/etc. yet, and I use it almost exclusively for my P64 (until I start reloading). Only downside, a bit on the spendy side. But I personally count this in "get what you pay for" territory.
Worst: Barnaul. Marked Barnaul, in a blue box. Nicknamed "stank ammo" by my roommates when I came back from a range after finishing off the box ("Woah man, what's that smell?"). Dirty, acrid stuff, had my eyes watering with the first mag, and has been the only ammo to FTE in my Makarov (and my Bulgy Mak eats just about every brand of 9x18 like candy).

I put 100 rounds of Fiocchi through my P64 at the range the other day. They wouldn't let me use my Silver Bear because the casings aren't brass. Anyway, worked great, no problems.

hvacken wrote:They wouldn't let me use my Silver Bear because the casings aren't brass.

Ahhhh, that is so frustrating. I am really nice about most everything, but nit-picky stuff like that drives me up a wall.

Most likely the range sells the casings to reloaders and since steel can't be reloaded..... Wonder what they say about blazer (aluminum) casings.

daytonaknight wrote:Most likely the range sells the casings to reloaders and since steel can't be reloaded

It's still crap, I'm not too worried about them making another penny off me. Selling my brass for them to make more money is kind of garbage. They make a killing just selling you range time while they sit back and b.s. with other customers. Must be the life.

hvacken wrote:I put 100 rounds of Fiocchi through my P64 at the range the other day. They wouldn't let me use my Silver Bear because the casings aren't brass. Anyway, worked great, no problems.

Was it an outdoor range? If it was indoor its because it was steel core ammo. Most of the backstops in indoor ranges are ground up tires. And in the very unlikely event that 2 steel core bullets strike they could spark. Ever seen burning tires before? This is just what I was told be a indoor range guy... But who knows.

forcefed wrote:And in the very unlikely event that 2 steel core bullets strike they could spark. Ever seen burning tires before? This is just what I was told be a indoor range guy... But who knows.

I personally find the spark thing a bit far fetched. That's like the POL (petroleum oil lubrication) guys at work getting nervous around JP-8 jet fuel. (I'm a hydraulics specialist on the KC-135 R/T Stratotanker - Air Force). I guess diesel fuel and tires aren't really the same thing. I just figured it was because the steel core just tears up stuff. However, it is illegal to even have steel core handgun ammo. It is either A, B, or Both.
A.-They don't like the steel cases because they can't be reloaded or
B.-Brown Bear uses a bi-metal jacketing that contains a nano amount of steel along with the copper and it's because of this nano amount that they get their panties wadded up in a bunch over.