Duty Ammunition — Performance And Selection
If there is one thing gun guys (and gals) will argue about, it is ammunition. In what ways, you ask? Caliber, bullet weight, design, manufacturer, velocity, you name it. They (ok, we) will argue about it. How do you go about choosing the best-performing ammunition for your needs? Ideally, you will go out and test. Because doing your own testing, to standard, in your environment (altitude, temperature, humidity, equipment) is the best choice. Unfortunately, [...]
AMMO INC’S | Streak Tracer Pistol Ammunition
This March, during a stint at Gunsite, I had a chance to try out two new pistol caliber offerings from Ammo Inc.
WADCUTTERS WILL WORK
Revolvers soldier on as defensive weapons because they perform certain tasks very well. As deep cover carry guns, small revolvers are arguably superior to semiautos. The revolver’s lack of sharp angles lends itself to concealment and minimizes printing. Small revolvers tend to function more reliably than small autos when used [...]
BIANCHI & BEYOND | Revolver Loading Strips
It’s been fifty years since John Bianchi introduced the first plastic/rubber loading strip for revolvers. Available in the early 1970s, the “Speed Strip” was made from rubber with a spring steel center. The steel insert was eventually dropped, and the composite changed to urethane to become the Speed Strip that [...]
RELOADING FOR PRACTICE AND DUTY
For years many people have said that it is unwise to carry handloaded ammo for defensive purposes. This is based mostly on two elements—both of which I believe are mostly myths. The first point of contention is that handloaded (reloaded) ammunition is unreliable. First, let me say that you may [...]
SWAGING SATISFACTION | DIY .22 to .223
I have been reloading for over 45 years and casting my own bullets for almost as long. The main reason I got into loading and casting, like many others, was to make my shooting dollars go farther. Over the years that first single stage RCBS Rock Chucker—that I still [...]
Speer Gold Dot CarryGun
Founded in 1943, Vernon Speer provided rifle bullets, and later, handgun bullets to reloaders from his small ammunition company. In the 1960s he began loading those bullets for what would become the famous Speer Lawman series. Following the 1986 Miami FBI shootout, Speer developed Gold Dot — a revolutionary step [...]
Norma MHP Ammunition – Most Expandable?
The folks at Norma have been busy in the secret ammo lab. I’ve always admired their rifle and rimfire offerings, but haven’t followed developments in the handgun area as closely. A new for 2020 self-defense load is the MHP — Monolithic Hollow Point. The MHP projectile is a solid copper [...]
Practice & Defend With Federal
As a cast-bullet shooter for more than 30 years, I’ve found myself shooting nothing but powder coated loads in recent years. A baked-on polymer coating, powder coating acts as lubricant for the projectile, allowing softer alloys to be driven faster and more accurately without leading a barrel. The concept and [...]
Norma Hexagon Match Ammo – Aerodynamically Sound
If it looks like a hollow-point, is shaped like a hollow-point, and has a hole in the front end, is it always a hollow-point? Not necessarily. You might know Norma from their long-standing reputation in the rifle and rimfire categories. They have a hard-earned reputation for precision and fail-safe performance. [...]
Black Hills Honeybadger Ammunition
Like the famous internet meme, Black Hills HoneyBadger ammo don’t care about expansion-limiting tough barriers. This self-defense load is topped with a solid copper projectile — with a twist. Literally. The deep flutes act like a propeller in organic tissue, creating a wound channel larger than bullet diameter. With light-for-caliber [...]