PCP Ammunition will show its new 6.5 SOCOM cartridge at the 2018 SHOT Show according to information released by the company. Although details about the new cartridge are scant, it would appear that the cartridge was designed for the new sniper rifle system that the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is exploring. Earlier this…
MEC Shooting Sports, better known in the shooting community as just MEC, announced it was moving into metallic reloading starting with its first single stage press: the MEC Marksman. MEC is well known for its high quality shot shell reloading equipment, but has not really attacked the metallic reloading market. That seems to have changed. The…
Combine the legendary stopping power of the .357 Magnum with modern bullet design and you can potentially create an amazingly effective self-defense round. That seems to be exactly what Hornady had in mind when it developed the Critical Defense load chambered for the classic Magnum.
FK Brno introduced a new cartridge and pistol system a few months back, and some are calling it the fastest handgun cartridge made. But, is it really? Leaving out the handguns developed to fire traditional rifle cartridges, is the new cartridge/handgun combination the speediest on the market? Cartridge Basics The new FK Brno cartridge is…
[Ed. Note: Since I originally wrote this article about HPR Black Ops ammo, the company dissolved. It is no longer available. However, as there is likely some of this ammo still available out there, I am leaving the article up for informational purposes. If you come across any Black Ops 45 or discover the specs…
Perhaps the coolest gadget I’ve seen at the SHOT Show so far this year is the Caldwell AR-15 Mag Charger. Being displayed at the Battenfeld Technologies booth, the Mag Charger is designed to quickly load AR-15 magazines in three easy steps. According to the advertisement, the Mag Charger can load 30-rounds of ammunition from the…
As of December 2013, PCP Ammunition announced they are ready to start commercial sales of a polymer-cased .308 Win round. The new ammo will use a 168 grain Sierra MatchKing HPBT bullet, by far the preferred bullet for law enforcement snipers. Additional specifications have not yet been released. The following is the original article we wrote on the…
If you are looking for 9×18 Makarov ammunition for self-defense, you may have had a hard time finding a load that meets your needs. Unlike the .380 ACP or the 9mm Parabellum (aka Luger or 9×19), the Makarov round does not enjoy a wide range of commercially loaded hollow point ammo.
DoubleTap Equalizer ammo uses two projectiles in a single cartridge to deliver a devastating blow on the target: both game animals and criminal attackers. The projectiles are of different design, each wounding the target in different manners. The exposed bullet is a standard jacketed hollowpoint. The second projectile is stacked under the hollowpoint and is solid lead. Exact…
So…is reloading steel cases possible? Conventional wisdom says you can’t reload steel case ammo, but reality says you can. Sure, reloading brass cases are much easier, but you can reload steel cases. That cheap Wolf 7.62×39 and the surplus 7.62x54r can both be reloaded if you take your time and add a few extra steps…
One of the sleeper announcements from the 2013 SHOT Show was the addition of two .338 Lapua loads to the Winchester Ammunition catalog. In fact, these are the only two .338 Lapua Magnum loads in the Winchester catalog. The first .338 load uses an Accubond CT bullet, which is a polymer-tipped, bonded-core hollowpoint. The bullet…
Remington HyperSonic rifle ammunition promises to “supercharge” centerfire rifle cartridges and deliver up to 200 fps more velocity from standard pressure loads. Remington states the rounds will deliver “laser-flat trajectories” and more energy on target for better performance. The nine new loads cover seven of the most popular hunting cartridges, both short and long action…
Well the new rimfire cartridge is here and it is a smoking hot round: the .17 Winchester Super Magnum. The new rimfire promises “pinpoint accuracy” and the “downrange performance of a centerfire cartridge.” Ok, let’s cut to the chase: the new Winchester cartridge is pushing a 20 grain bullet at 3,000 fps. That is an amazing…
The Critical Defense .32 H&R Magnum is another self defense load announced by Hornady at the 2012 NASGW show last week. Designed for any revolver chambered for the .32 H&R Magnum, the ammunition performs equally as well in .327 Federal Magnum revolvers also. This load uses an 80 grain FTX bullet. The FTX bullet is a…
For 2013, Hornady is introducing a reduced recoil .38 Special load in the Critical Defense line of ammunition. The Critical Defense Lite is a light weight .38 load loaded to standard pressures specifically designed to minimize abuse to the shooters of small, light revolvers. Seemingly everyone carries a snub nose revolver in their pocket. I’ve got…
Ammo for the .32 NAA has been very limited, with very few companies loading for the niche cartridge. However, Hornady is expanding their Critical Defense line of ammunition to include a .32 NAA load. The new .32 NAA ammo will feature the Hornady FTX bullet, which is a hollowpoint tipped with a polymer insert. The…
Several new Hornady shotgun slug loads have been announced at the 2013 NASGW Expo: two Superformance shotgun slugs and an SST Lite Shotgun Slug. The new Superformance slugs will be available in both 12 gauge and 20 gauge. Both loads use a MonoFlex slug. Originally developed for lever guns, the MonoFlex design uses a monolithic…
Hornady Triple Defense ammo is a new load specifically designed for the Taurus Judge and other similar .410/.45 Colt revolvers. This new load is part of the company’s Critical Defense ammunition. This specific round stacks a non-jacketed (bare lead only) FTX slug on top of two .35 caliber round balls. Standard 00-buckshot is .33 caliber…
The new Coonan Silver Bullets are likely the ultimate piece in your anti-werewolf arsenal. Just released, these new .357 Magnum rounds feature bullets that are jacketed in 99% pure silver. Exact specs are not available on the cartridges but assume they are powerful enough to both reliably cycle the Coonan .357 Magnum 1911 and to…
In 2005, Smith & Wesson filed a patent application for a “high velocity ammunition system and firearm.” The abstract stated the bullets fired from this handgun would achieve muzzle velocities in excess of 25,000 fps! Let’s put 25,000 fps into context… When I started reading the patent application, I expected that the 25,000 fps was a…
Federal introduced the Expanding Full Metal Jacket (EFMJ) a few years back, and those rounds have been fairly well received. More recently, the company introduced the Guard Dog line of personal defense ammunition, which uses similar technology. The design concept is to achieve an expanding bullet without using a traditional hollow point. In some pistols,…
