Online Ammo Source Review: ‘Ammo To Go’ is good to go

Years ago in the BC era (before children), I had a lot more time to devote to pulling the triggers in training, practice and recreation. Pretty sure I’m not the first firearm aficionado to suffer from this malady.

Back when I lived and worked in Champaign as an unmarried guy, I got to know my UPS driver by name while he got his exercise carrying cases of ammo. My single-day personal best was five, 1000-round cases of 7.62×51 ordered after the then-Champaign Police Chief claimed that there were about four thousand gang members in Champaign County.

After all, if you don’t have enough bubblegum to go around the classroom, you’re in big trouble, right?

They set me back $120 each, delivered. Man, if I could go back in time… between crypto and ammo, I’d be wealthier than some guy by the name of Pritzker.

Alas we’re in the real world and trigger time slowed down with marriage and now kids.

This fall, the management at Ammunition To Go, an online ammunition supplier based in Houston contacted me and made an interesting proposal. They offered to ship me several hundred dollars worth of ammunition if I’d mention them in at least three product reviews. Intrigued by the unusual offer, I poured over their website and found a virtual cornucopia of different calibers and loads and more, with competitive prices both by the box and by the case. Shipping was quite reasonable too.

“How do you review ammunition?” I kept thinking to myself. I pondered it for a week or two and came up with an idea to try various defensive loads in multiple guns. After all, most of us don’t have C-notes to burn just to explore the subtle differences between loadings on defensive loads. The goal would be not of cosmetics or reliability (although that did become an issue) but to gather overall impressions in how various loads perform from the shooter’s perspective.

Do lighter weight projectiles (bullets) really feel noticeably easier to control for follow up shots? Hint: Yes, but as much as I expected. Do “reduced recoil” loadings impact reliability? Spoiler alert: in some guns they surely do! And how does the newest Speer .45 ACP+P hollowpoint, the G2, handle in full-sized 1911-style guns? Read on for that one.

My story ideas met with the approval of AmmoToGo’s management so I placed an order just as John Q. Public would do with a very special “coupon code.” I remembered to place my order on a Sunday evening – a little over a week after the 10/7 attack upon Israel when ammo sales were spiking nationwide. Within moments, their computer sent back a nice message asking me to upload a scan or photo of my FOID and Driver’s License to comply with our state’s silly laws on ammo purchases. I did. Uploading was easy.

On Monday morning, a real person had reviewed my documents. They emailed to confirm that they put the documents on file (no need to re-send for future orders) and that the product had been shipped.

Late Wednesday I had a plain brown box waiting for me on my doorstep, full of freedom pills. Whoa!

The Speer G2s were first up as I needed some defensive .45ACPs. I’m dabbling in the venerable .45 cartridge guns in case the Illinois State Police wants to play stupid on “readily convertible” magazines. I figure if I have to have fewer rounds in my bubblegum dispenser, they may as well as be thumpers. While a 9mm might expand to .45 caliber, a .45 bullet will never shrink to 9mm.

Sneek peek: I loved how these +P 230gr. JHPs handled out of three different 1911A1 Government Model .45s. So much that I ordered 250 additional rounds for my carry ammo.

Running through the second order, it was almost as easy as ordering from Amazon which I view as kind of the gold standard for online ease-of-ordering. With my magical VISA card and existing customer account, ordering was easy as confirming some information like shipping and billing. Then, on the third or fourth day, my plain, brown box of freedom pills had appeared as if by magic. I felt giddy and then some.

I’m getting old enough that for smaller purchases like a box or five, or sale prices, I prefer my local gun shops for ammo purchases.

However, with the increasing scarcity of brick and mortal shops, that’s not always feasible for many people. Online ordering comes into play in those instances. Yes, you have to pay shipping, but $20 in shipping is the same as $20 in gas plus you save the windshield time and wear and tear on your ride.

I know there are plenty of online vendors where you can order ammunition. Over the last thirty-plus years I’ve ordered from most of them. Some make it pretty easy. Others seem as though they enjoy tossing up roadblocks to navigate because of our ZIP Codes from the People’s Republic. What’s more, some retailers don’t keep track of their inventory real-time and sometimes product gets back-ordered. In my experiences, AmmoToGo has their stuff together and they are every bit as fast or faster then Amazon Prime when it comes to putting product in your hands.

Consider this a big “two thumbs up” for AmmoToGo.com for your online ammo.