50 Rounds of 115gr FMJ 9mm Ammo by Red Army Standard

There are two groups called “CIA” that should be on your radar. One is watching you through your webcam as you read this, and we personally only have kind things to say about them because they possess … well, let’s call them “interesting” photos of us.

The other group is called Century International Arms, which imports the ammo they brand as “Red Army Standard” straight from the source in Russia. As is the case with most Russian ammo, this 9mm cartridge represents significant savings by substituting a lot of copper for steel.

This 9mm cartridge’s 115 grain bullet has a bimetal jacket. On the inside it’s made of solid steel, which is more than rigid enough to keep the lead core from deforming under the fiery pressure of ignition. On the outside it’s copper, so it still helps to avert rapid barrel fouling. Will this round’s bullet attract a magnet? Without question, which is why many indoor ranges won’t allow it.

This 9mm round’s casing is made of pure steel. That makes it way more affordable than a brass cased round, yet it still reliably cycles through a semi-auto thanks to Red Army Standard’s heat resistant polymer coating. Its Berdan primer is also non-corrosive.

The two primary drawbacks with a steel case is that it (A) is non-reloadable, and (B) has a tendency to accelerate carbon fouling of the action. The worst that most shooters have to put up with when they fire steel cased ammo is spending a little longer cleaning their firearms, but for the thrifty that’s hardly a great setback!