Avoid this ammo

Jason_G · January 29, 2007, 01:56 PM

The brand is Monarch, it comes in a green box. I've seen it a million times, but I've never bought or shot any of it.
Here's a link:
http://www.academy.com/index.php?pag...326-40350-0303
A friend of mine came over to shoot his brand new Para 1911. He brought some of this cheap FMJ ammo with him to shoot, but after just two rounds, he had a FTF. We shot for a while, and about every 5 rounds or so, he'd have another FTF. A little while later, his slide was jammed up. He finally cleared his pistol, and we took it in the house. Under the light I noticed that there were some pretty deep scratches on the copper jackets of the ammo that was in his mags. I looked at the ammo in the box, and sure enough, they were pretty scratched up too. I immediately put some solvent to his barrel, and noticed that the ammo had somehow scratched up his feed ramp. As he emptied the rounds from his magazine, small clumps of grit fell out. The ammo was covered with a thin film of grit, and this is what got in his slide rails and gummed it up. It's probably what scratched his feed ramp, too.
It could've been a bad box, but I doubt it. I'm willing to bet all boxes are similar.
To each their own, but I'll never put it through my guns.
If anyone had a similar or totally different experience with this stuff, by all means, post it up. I'd like for anyone who's never bought this stuff to know what they are getting if they purchase some.

Thanks,

Jason

shooter71 · January 29, 2007, 06:00 PM

sits back and waits on someone to say it was the Para

denfoote · January 29, 2007, 06:06 PM

Thanks for the heads up!!
There's a lot of cheap ammo out there of dubious quality!!!
As the price of ammo goes up, we may be tempted to succumb, but you get what you pay for!!!

Jason_G · January 29, 2007, 06:58 PM

Quote:

sits back and waits on someone to say it was the Para

LMAO!

Quote:

Thanks for the heads up!!
There's a lot of cheap ammo out there of dubious quality!!!
As the price of ammo goes up, we may be tempted to succumb, but you get what you pay for!!!

Yep, no problem. I would be interested to hear from someone else who has tried this ammo to see if they had the same experience.

Jason

ranburr · January 29, 2007, 07:24 PM

I have hundreds of customers use this ammo every week without issue. I find it to be the best of the cheap ammo.

ranburr

Jason_G · January 29, 2007, 07:39 PM

Quote:

I have hundreds of customers use this ammo every week without issue. I find it to be the best of the cheap ammo.

Have you personally tried it? (I'm not grilling you or anything, it's tough to write tone. I'm just curious if you have ever shot it in your guns)
This stuff was incredibly dirty, do you think it was just a bad batch or something?
The crap that was on the rounds was tough to see unless you scratched the cartridge with your fingernail or something. You could scratch off this thin film that had the texture of old cooking oil, kind of waxy. It was yellowish in color, and was gritty when you rubbed it between your fingers. Any ideas on what it could've been?

Jason

JerryS1 · January 29, 2007, 09:24 PM

I've been using it in my CZ-75b lately (it doesn't like blazer aluminum ammo which is the other cheap ammo Academy sells). I had a few feeding issues with it last time out......I attributed that to being too liberal greasing my rails. I've never had a problem with it before and have shot around 500 rounds of the 9mm version. I'll keep an eye on it for QC issues but for now I don't see a reason to change. Us gun nuts complain about everything....and I haven't heard many complaints about this ammo yet.

I personally don't use .45 Monarch, but my .45's are my self defense guns so I stick with shooting only carry ammo through them whether FMJ or JHP (I won't us Monarch for carry purposes). My CZ on the other hand is a great semi auto but it's my range gun.

Jerry

ranburr · January 30, 2007, 01:16 AM

I have probably shot 15,000 rounds of it in 9mm and .45acp. No issues, I find it to be much cleaner than white box, and much more reliable than UMC.

TheotherMikeG · January 30, 2007, 01:53 AM

I've shot Monarch in .45 and 30-30. Both were reliable, and in the case of the .30 WCF, extremely accurate. They are manufactured in Serbia by Privi Partisan. With the price of all ammunition going up, I think the Monarch is an incredible value.

FAL-schutter · January 30, 2007, 02:44 AM

'S funny you should bring up Monarch, Jason. Greg Bell started a thread on how he's trying to put so many rounds through his H&K P2000 that it wears out and breaks (see this thread), and he's been using Monarch 9x19mm in bulk. And yes, he does say it's incredibly dirty, but he hasn't described anything like what you do.

MPanova · January 30, 2007, 06:39 AM

Why would you buy that for $12.74 when Wal-Mart still has the Blazer Brass 50 round box for $9.47

I have found the Blazer is cleaner and feeds in everything I have tried it in. Which is alot of different pistols.

ECLIPSE45ACP · January 30, 2007, 06:46 AM

thats why I load my own, rhen I dont gotta worry about it.

Powder_Burn · January 30, 2007, 11:04 AM

I ran 200 through my XD-45 in a recent range outing. Monarch ran fine but stunk up the indoor range w/a sharp ammonia smell and left my gun incredibly dirty. For cheap ammo it's hard to beat regular CCI Blazer. I would temporarily avoid Blazer Brass in the 1911 platform because the bullet crimp is sometimes too weak. They made several large lots of ammo where the bullet can slide backwards in the case causing FTF’s. Supposedly, CCI fixed the issue, but there is still some of this ammo out there.

Don H · January 30, 2007, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Why would you buy that for $12.74 when Wal-Mart still has the Blazer Brass 50 round box for $9.47

Some people refuse to patronize Wal-Mart. Sometimes principle has a price.

Jason_G · January 30, 2007, 11:45 AM

It's starting to sound like maybe my friend just got a bad box. I wish I had taken a picture of the gritty gunk that was coming off of the ammo. Well, I guess once bitten... I won't be buying any of it, but I do believe everyone's testimony as to it being decent ammo.

Thanks for all the replies.

Jason

solz56 · January 30, 2007, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Why would you buy that for $12.74 when Wal-Mart still has the Blazer Brass 50 round box for $9.47

Our Wal Mart doesn't have Blazer. We get the Winchester value packs for about that price. And the Winchester is pretty dirty.

Jason_G · January 30, 2007, 11:50 AM

It's starting to sound like maybe my friend just got a bad box. I wish I had taken a picture of the gritty gunk that was coming off of the ammo. Well, I guess once bitten... I won't be buying any of it, but I do believe everyone's testimony as to it being decent ammo. I still think I'll stick with the WWB for now.

Thanks to everyone for the informative replies.

Jason

shep854 · January 30, 2007, 10:30 PM

At $4.86/box at Academy Sports, I had to try it. My KT P11 and Taurus PT92 don't have trouble with the Monarch.

MPanova · January 30, 2007, 11:20 PM

Is it still that price at Academy today or has it gone up like all the other stuff?

shep854 · January 30, 2007, 11:41 PM

The last time I bought ammo (a couple of weeks ago), that was the pricel. Ammo prices don't seem to change fast here. I'll check and post tomorrow

MPanova · January 30, 2007, 11:51 PM

Please let me know sir

roc1 · January 31, 2007, 08:07 PM

Walmart WWB is up to %15.46 now.Academy still has the Monarch for $4.86
50ct.Monarch shoots great in my CZ"s better than Blazer.
roc1

AZGunLover · February 1, 2007, 01:16 AM

Thanks for the heads up!

hj28rules · February 21, 2007, 10:39 PM

I bought a box of Monarch .380 at Academy to shoot in my CZ83. I had 2 FTF's, 1 misfire (spooky) and the ammo left my pistol really dirty. I won't buy it again. Back to Fiocchi, Blazer or Independence ammunition for me. These have never caused a misfeed or misfire.

ShipWreck · February 22, 2007, 07:35 AM

I still prefer the CCI Blazer at academy. I used it all the time.

But I tried Monarch 2x in 9mm, and never had an issue.

Sorry U did

January 29, 2007, 01:56 PM	#1
Jason_G Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,521	Avoid this ammo The brand is Monarch, it comes in a green box. I've seen it a million times, but I've never bought or shot any of it. Here's a link: http://www.academy.com/index.php?pag...326-40350-0303 A friend of mine came over to shoot his brand new Para 1911. He brought some of this cheap FMJ ammo with him to shoot, but after just two rounds, he had a FTF. We shot for a while, and about every 5 rounds or so, he'd have another FTF. A little while later, his slide was jammed up. He finally cleared his pistol, and we took it in the house. Under the light I noticed that there were some pretty deep scratches on the copper jackets of the ammo that was in his mags. I looked at the ammo in the box, and sure enough, they were pretty scratched up too. I immediately put some solvent to his barrel, and noticed that the ammo had somehow scratched up his feed ramp. As he emptied the rounds from his magazine, small clumps of grit fell out. The ammo was covered with a thin film of grit, and this is what got in his slide rails and gummed it up. It's probably what scratched his feed ramp, too. It could've been a bad box, but I doubt it. I'm willing to bet all boxes are similar. To each their own, but I'll never put it through my guns. If anyone had a similar or totally different experience with this stuff, by all means, post it up. I'd like for anyone who's never bought this stuff to know what they are getting if they purchase some. Thanks, Jason

January 29, 2007, 06:00 PM	#2
shooter71 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2006 Location: USA Posts: 129	sits back and waits on someone to say it was the Para __________________ "These are only my opinions"

January 29, 2007, 06:06 PM	#3
denfoote Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 1999 Location: Buckeye Arizona Posts: 5,363	Thanks for the heads up!! There's a lot of cheap ammo out there of dubious quality!!! As the price of ammo goes up, we may be tempted to succumb, but you get what you pay for!!! __________________ Ich bin kein Nationalsozialist!!!!!! Ich bin Republikaner!!!!!!!! Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoset. Arizona: Flush the Johns!!!

January 29, 2007, 07:24 PM	#5
ranburr Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,073	I have hundreds of customers use this ammo every week without issue. I find it to be the best of the cheap ammo. ranburr __________________ ranburr "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking questions".

January 29, 2007, 09:24 PM	#7
JerryS1 Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 2005 Location: Pensacola, FL Posts: 111	I've tried it in my CZ-75 I've been using it in my CZ-75b lately (it doesn't like blazer aluminum ammo which is the other cheap ammo Academy sells). I had a few feeding issues with it last time out......I attributed that to being too liberal greasing my rails. I've never had a problem with it before and have shot around 500 rounds of the 9mm version. I'll keep an eye on it for QC issues but for now I don't see a reason to change. Us gun nuts complain about everything....and I haven't heard many complaints about this ammo yet. I personally don't use .45 Monarch, but my .45's are my self defense guns so I stick with shooting only carry ammo through them whether FMJ or JHP (I won't us Monarch for carry purposes). My CZ on the other hand is a great semi auto but it's my range gun. Jerry

January 30, 2007, 01:16 AM	#8
ranburr Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,073	I have probably shot 15,000 rounds of it in 9mm and .45acp. No issues, I find it to be much cleaner than white box, and much more reliable than UMC. __________________ ranburr "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking questions".

January 30, 2007, 01:53 AM	#9
TheotherMikeG Member Join Date: December 17, 2005 Location: Homewood, AL Posts: 88	I've shot Monarch in .45 and 30-30. Both were reliable, and in the case of the .30 WCF, extremely accurate. They are manufactured in Serbia by Privi Partisan. With the price of all ammunition going up, I think the Monarch is an incredible value. __________________ NRA GOA

January 30, 2007, 02:44 AM	#10
FAL-schutter Member Join Date: October 10, 2002 Location: Auburn, WA, USA (originally Netherlands) Posts: 66	'S funny you should bring up Monarch, Jason. Greg Bell started a thread on how he's trying to put so many rounds through his H&K P2000 that it wears out and breaks (see this thread), and he's been using Monarch 9x19mm in bulk. And yes, he does say it's incredibly dirty, but he hasn't described anything like what you do.

January 30, 2007, 06:39 AM	#11
MPanova Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2006 Location: Houston TX Posts: 658	Why would you buy that for $12.74 when Wal-Mart still has the Blazer Brass 50 round box for $9.47 I have found the Blazer is cleaner and feeds in everything I have tried it in. Which is alot of different pistols. __________________ .45 CALIBER FANATIC!!! "WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG GUN!"

January 30, 2007, 06:46 AM	#12
ECLIPSE45ACP Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 177	thats why I load my own, rhen I dont gotta worry about it.

January 30, 2007, 11:04 AM	#13
Powder_Burn Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Posts: 69	I ran 200 through my XD-45 in a recent range outing. Monarch ran fine but stunk up the indoor range w/a sharp ammonia smell and left my gun incredibly dirty. For cheap ammo it's hard to beat regular CCI Blazer. I would temporarily avoid Blazer Brass in the 1911 platform because the bullet crimp is sometimes too weak. They made several large lots of ammo where the bullet can slide backwards in the case causing FTF’s. Supposedly, CCI fixed the issue, but there is still some of this ammo out there. __________________ Keep 'em in the 10 ring!

January 30, 2007, 11:45 AM	#15
Jason_G Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,521	It's starting to sound like maybe my friend just got a bad box. I wish I had taken a picture of the gritty gunk that was coming off of the ammo. Well, I guess once bitten... I won't be buying any of it, but I do believe everyone's testimony as to it being decent ammo. Thanks for all the replies. Jason

January 30, 2007, 11:50 AM	#17
Jason_G Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,521	It's starting to sound like maybe my friend just got a bad box. I wish I had taken a picture of the gritty gunk that was coming off of the ammo. Well, I guess once bitten... I won't be buying any of it, but I do believe everyone's testimony as to it being decent ammo. I still think I'll stick with the WWB for now. Thanks to everyone for the informative replies. Jason

January 30, 2007, 10:30 PM	#18
shep854 Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2004 Location: Birmingham AL Posts: 354	At $4.86/box at Academy Sports, I had to try it. My KT P11 and Taurus PT92 don't have trouble with the Monarch. __________________ Powder smoke- The Smell of FREEDOM!

January 30, 2007, 11:20 PM	#19
MPanova Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2006 Location: Houston TX Posts: 658	Is it still that price at Academy today or has it gone up like all the other stuff? __________________ .45 CALIBER FANATIC!!! "WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG GUN!"

January 30, 2007, 11:41 PM	#20
shep854 Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2004 Location: Birmingham AL Posts: 354	The last time I bought ammo (a couple of weeks ago), that was the pricel. Ammo prices don't seem to change fast here. I'll check and post tomorrow __________________ Powder smoke- The Smell of FREEDOM!

January 30, 2007, 11:51 PM	#21
MPanova Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2006 Location: Houston TX Posts: 658	Please let me know sir __________________ .45 CALIBER FANATIC!!! "WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG GUN!"

January 31, 2007, 08:07 PM	#22
roc1 Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2005 Location: Lubbock Texas Posts: 232	Walmart WWB is up to %15.46 now.Academy still has the Monarch for $4.86 50ct.Monarch shoots great in my CZ"s better than Blazer. roc1

February 1, 2007, 01:16 AM	#23
AZGunLover Senior Member Join Date: August 17, 2006 Location: AZ Posts: 281	Thanks for the heads up!

February 21, 2007, 10:39 PM	#24
hj28rules Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2007 Location: Texas Cross Timbers Posts: 278	I bought a box of Monarch .380 at Academy to shoot in my CZ83. I had 2 FTF's, 1 misfire (spooky) and the ammo left my pistol really dirty. I won't buy it again. Back to Fiocchi, Blazer or Independence ammunition for me. These have never caused a misfeed or misfire.

February 22, 2007, 07:35 AM	#25
ShipWreck Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 876	I still prefer the CCI Blazer at academy. I used it all the time. But I tried Monarch 2x in 9mm, and never had an issue. Sorry U did