HANDGUN AMMO

DEGuns stocks a complete range of handgun ammo for everything from practice to hunting and self-defense. Shop our full selection of full metal jacket (FMJ), soft point (SP), hollow point (HP), and lead projectile (LP) ammo below, or filter the caliber & ammo type by using the chart below. We keep a large stock, including most bullet types, so you can refill your ammo boxes at a moment's notice. With over 20 ammo suppliers and calibers to choose from, we’re sure to have high-quality ammo for sale.

Get the Right Bullet Types for Your Needs

Shopping for popular ammo such as 9mm ammo or finding ammo for sale is exciting. Whether you’re a prepper, hunter, range shooter, or collector, getting fresh ammo boxes from DEGuns is an exciting experience. It’s also easy, even for beginners! The first thing to consider is getting the right types of bullets for your needs. Regardless of the caliber, you want ammo that is specially designed for the task at hand.

Full Metal Jacket Handgun Ammo

FMJ ammo is characterized by a soft metal bullet that’s completely encased in a hard metal shell. It’s one of the most popular types of bullets available today both for its affordability and the benefits it provides over unjacketed ammunition. The jacket does more than create a flashy presentation. Unjacketed ammo is prone to leaving residue in the barrel. This residue, or fouling, isn’t easy to clean. FMJ ammo also reduces your exposure to lead. Full metal jacket handgun ammo is very popular for training, practicing, and range shooting. It’s a great cheap ammo that you can use to hone your skills and reduce the leading buildup in your barrel.

There are some arguments out there that if you’re using your handgun for self-defense, you should only use ammo that is specifically manufactured for self-defense. This is partially true. However, you can certainly use cheap ammo to practice and get the feeling for your gun. Once you’ve dialed into the feeling of how the particular handgun operates overall, then you can load some high-quality personal defense ammo to see if there are any marked changes in your firearm’s operation. Before that point, it’s completely fine to practice using cheap FMJ ammo or other range ammo.

Soft Point Handgun Ammo

Soft point ammo is closely related to full metal jacket handgun ammo. However, when looking at a soft point round, you’ll notice an exposed lead tip at the end of the bullet. This helps the bullet expand more on impact, making them better for hunting or self-defense. Soft point handgun ammo offers a balance between expansion (more damage to soft tissue), and penetration (ability to penetrate obstructions between the bullet and soft tissue).

From a technological standpoint, soft point ammo is only slightly newer than full metal jacket ammo. Full metal jacket ammo was invented in 1882 and soft point ammo came 8 years later in 1890.

Hollow Point Handgun Ammo

On the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find hollow-point handgun ammo. As you can imagine, these types of bullets are designed to expand greatly on impact. They are less likely to over-penetrate (shoot all the way through and potentially hit what’s behind the target) a target and instead do more damage to the soft tissue of your actual target. These are the bullets that expand into that iconic “flower” shape on impact.

Hollow point handgun ammo features an easily recognizable hollowed-out dimple at the tip. Due to their propensity to cause more damage or more suffering, there has been quite a bit of back and forth regarding their approval for military use. The Hague Convention (1899) prohibited the use of bullets that flatten easily on impact in instances of international warfare. That even predates the Geneva Conventions. Many countries agreed to the Hague Convention; however, the United States didn’t agree to that particular article. That said, the U.S. military refrains from using this ammunition except for scenarios where overpenetration would cause a risk of unwanted collateral damage.

Some states have specific laws on if and when you can possess hollow point handgun ammo. For example, New Jersey allows for the possession of these bullet types only in your home, or only while hunting (and traveling to and from your hunting location), and only to hunt specific types of game. Due to how the hollow point ammo handles less-than ideal shooting scenarios, it’s one of the more common ammunition types used by police officers and civilians with guns for personal defense.

Most Popular Ammo for Sale

Of course, the type of handgun you own will dictate the caliber and types of bullets you can use. DEGuns is home to the most popular and biggest selection of handgun ammo, all conveniently online and in-store. If you’re looking for ammo near me, check DEGuns first. 

The Rise of 9mm Ammo

Among popular types of bullets like the  9mm, 5.7, and 10mm ammo, 9mm ammo is by far the most popular. Since its inception, it’s become one of the most standard formats available for ammunition, like how CDs, DVDs, and Cassette Tapes became standards in their generation. However, 9mm ammo touts a much longer and more illustrious resume.

Despite its current popularity, 9mm ammo saw combat in WWI; however, the soldiers using it preferred the punchier .45 caliber ammo because of its stopping power. When more hollow point ammunition arrived, suddenly, 9mm ammo gained some solid footing in the ammo market. The hollow point ammo provided the extra kick that standard 9mm ammo lacked. Due to its smaller size, 9mm rounds provided less recoil for the shooter with added stopping power. This increase in effectiveness, coupled with the affordability and easy learning curve, allowed the 9mm ammo type to quickly take the reins.

Other features that make the 9mm ammo format so popular are its overall affordability. The small ammunition uses less of everything in manufacturing and, as a result, is excellent cheap ammo. The smaller size also allows more rounds to fit in magazines, meaning more chances to protect yourself if you miss. Law enforcement officers use 9mm ammo, and civilians often use that as a standard when making purchasing decisions.

5.7 Ammo, or 5.7x28 Ammo

Both 5.7 ammo and 5.7x28 ammo are ways to say the same thing. There is no difference. The 5.7 of the “five-seven” round is a small-caliber, high-velocity round. The 5.7 ammo variety was developed in 1990 by Fabrique Nationale. Initially, the ammo variety was thought to be a replacement for the 9mm when NATO was considering using a different ammo type in standard-issue handguns.

Despite being one of the most popular types of bullets available, 9mm ammo has the drawback of being stopped by most of the body armor worn by military personnel. By comparison, 5.7 ammo is much more capable of penetrating body armor. So much so that some lobbyists attempted to have the ammo type banned. However, those attempts have failed, which led to an increase in popularity, and more gun manufacturers began making guns that fire 5.7x28 ammo. Despite the higher penetration capabilities of this bullet type, NATO never adopted 5.7 ammo as a replacement for 9mm ammo formats.

Here are a couple more interesting facts about 5.7 ammo. Because the bullet flies so fast, it’s incredible at short-to-medium distances. It drops only a couple of inches in the span of 200 yards (depending on your barrel length), which is a significant difference from the drop of over 2 feet in the same conditions 9mm ammo faces.

380 Ammo

This ammo type was first introduced by Colt in 1908 alongside the Colt Model 1908 pistol. It was a hammerless semi-auto pistol and is a widely used handgun for self-defense. The design itself was kept as simple as possible to reduce costs and increase accessibility. The 380 ACP pistol was popular in both World Wars but was phased out in the 60s by NATO for the 9x19 ammo formats. Today, pistols firing 380 ammo are popular as concealed carry weapons due to their small size. Some examples of handguns that shoot 380 ammo include the Glock 42 and Sig Sauer P238. 380 ammo shouldn’t be confused with 38 special ammo, which is longer range, more powerful, and typically used in revolvers.

Popular Ammo Brands

When it comes to ammo brand selection, you may not find a better selection than you do today. Regardless of the use case there are plenty of brands with ammo for sale at all price points. Today, some of the best-selling ammo brands include Federal ammo, Hornady Ammo, and Magtech.

When it’s time to fill your ammo boxes with 10mm ammo, 9mm ammo, or any other caliber you’re looking for, be sure to check out our ammo for sale first. We always carry a massive inventory of bullet types.