Remington Golden Saber Black Belt Ammo

2013…2014…2015… What’s old is new again.

Remington will show the new Golden Saber Black Belt ammunition at the 2015 SHOT Show. If you think you’ve heard of this information before, you would be correct. They also announced the ammo at the 2014 show…and at the 2013 show.

I don’t think this ammo ever made it into production. I’ve never seen it grace the company’s main website, nor the Remington law enforcement site. I have not seen it for sale anywhere.

Let’s take a look at the latest information on these “new” rounds…

The ammunition boxes have been given a brand new color scheme to fall more in line with the existing commercial products. Previously, the press release photos showed the ammo in black and white boxes that suggested it was going to be marketed mainly to law enforcement.

The announced load offerings have fluctuated through the years, but have seemingly settled down to five loads across three calibers:

caliber	bullet weight	velocity	muzzle energy	barrel length
9mm	124 gr	1125 fps	348 ft-lbs	4"
9mm +P	124 gr	1180 fps	383 ft-lbs	4"
.40 S&W	165 gr	1150 fps	484 ft-lbs	4"
.40 S&W	180 gr	1015 fps	412 ft-lbs	4"
.45 ACP	230 gr	875 fps	391 ft-lbs	5"

These loads look to be the same as the loads that were announced in 2013, but fewer than those talked about in 2014. Confused yet?

The bullets used in these loads are similar to the original Golden Saber bullets. However, Remington added something called a Mechani-Lokt belt that squeezes the bullet in the middle. The device is black – hence the Black Belt name.

http://youtu.be/FqKSSr96YH0

During expansion, the Mechani-Lokt belt holds the core and jacket together. Many people believe that a bullet that does not separate the jacket from the core during expansion offers better “stopping power.”

Here is a recently released video showing the ammunition hitting a thin block of ballistic gel:

Hopefully, the company will follow up with additional videos of how it performs in longer blocks of gel also.

Previous Information

The following information was previously written based on information provided by Remington in 2013 and then in 2014. I think it is important to maintain this information for historical purposes. It can also serve as a look inside a large company where marketing and engineering may be operating on two different timelines.

The new Remington Golden Saber Black Belt ammo was announced at the 2013 SHOT Show.  Since the original article, I have obtained additional information on the ammunition.

The initial calibers the Black Belt ammunition will be loaded for are 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .357 SIG and .380 ACP.  This pretty much covers all of the popular self defense and law enforcement calibers on the market.  Several of these calibers have multiple loads available (more on those below.)

The Black Belt is named for the distinct black Mechani-Lokt belt used by Remington to lock the jacket and core together.  This is a mechanical process that gives the bullet an hourglass shape.  The Mechani-Lokt pulls the jacket into the lead core much like a tight corset would pull in a woman’s waist for a similar hourglass figure.

This band prevents jacket separation which is a much demonized issue.  In the theory espoused by many, if the jacket and bullet stay together, stopping power is increased.  While I don’t think this factor alone means much, there is no doubt a heavy bias by many in the law enforcement and self defense communities toward “bonded” bullets.  So, if you are in the market of selling ammunition, you have to come up with a process of preventing jacket separation.

Like the original Golden Saber bullets, the Black Belt bullets use a brass jacket, not a copper jacket.  Also, the nose of the hollow point has spiral cuts, which Remington states creates “…reliable and predictable expansion through clogging barriers such as wall board and heavy clothing.”

The cases are nickel-plated, which is supposed to reduce corrosion.  The ammunition uses a reduced flash propellant and an optimized primer that is also supposed to help reduce muzzle flash.

The Remington Golden Saber Black Belt ammo will be available in both 25 and 50 round packages.

From Remington:

Remington Arms Company, LLC, (“Remington”) is proud to announce a new line of law enforcement ammunition with innovative bullet design – the Golden Saber Black Belt.

At the heart of the new line of ammunition is the ground-breaking Black Belt™ bullet.   The Black Belt bullet was designed utilizing the stringent FBI Barrier Test Protocol for optimum performance.  The bullet features an hour glass shape and the innovative MechaniLokt^™ belt that locks the core and jacket together producing controlled expansion and penetration with high weight retention for optimized terminal performance.  In addition, the belt provides a bearing surface for loading and engraving the rifling in the barrel.

Like the venerable Golden Saber, the bullet is constructed of a brass jacket in time-proven bullet profiles for reliable feed and function.  The spiral nose cuts and hollow point cavity are optimized for predictable and reliable terminal performance through clogging barriers such as wall board or heavy fabrics.  The lead core of the bullet is mechanically locked to the rear of the bullet furthering the prevention of jacket/core separation in even the toughest of barriers.

The Golden Saber Black Belt ammunition features flash suppressed propellant and primers for minimal muzzle flash and nickel plated shell cases for corrosion resistance and reliable feed and function.  The initial offerings will include loads for 40 S&W, 45 Auto, 9mm Luger and 9mm Luger (+P) cartridges.

Initial offerings

Golden Saber Black Belt

25 Round Pack

Index Number	 RAMAC	Bullet	Grain	Cartridge
GSN40SWA	29441	BBJHP	165	40 S&W
GSN40SWB	29443	BBJHP	180	40 S&W
GSN45APB	29449	BBJHP	230	45 Auto
GSN9MMB	29421	BBJHP	124	9mm Luger
GSN9MMD	29425	BBJHP	124	9mm Luger (+P)

Golden Saber Black Belt

50 Round Pack

Index Number	 RAMAC	 Bullet	Grain	Cartridge
GSN40SWAB	29367	BBJHP	165	40 S&W
GSN40SWBB	29437	BBJHP	180	40 S&W
GSN45APBB	29417	BBJHP	230	45 Auto
GSN9MMDB	29348	BBJHP	124	9mm Luger (+P)