Ammo Overload!

In the movie Amadeus, Emperor Joseph II listens to Mozart play one of his pieces, then offers this critique, “… And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Cut a few and it will be fine.” Stunned, Mozart mutters, “Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?”

It’s easy to say the same thing today when it comes to ammo selection. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, even a bit dazed, trying to make a selection. No one’s ever said, “There’s too much ammo!” though. But once you read, “Get a premium personal defense load from a major maker and you’ll be good to go,” what does that really mean? It means just what it says.

Today, we’re fortunate to have a marketplace that pretty much vets itself when it comes to quality. Magazines like American Handgunner, a handful of respected forums or blogs and your knowledgeable and trusted friends can help you sort through the chaff. But the lucky thing today is there’s not much chaff out there. Chances are very good if a new ammo company makes it to the national market (which isn’t a cheap thing to manage), they’ve been scrutinized by legions of shooters and are — at the very least — capable of doing a decent job.

So, what’s it all mean? Don’t over-think things too much. Enjoy the explosion of choice we have today instead of fretting about it. When you read, “Buy a good quality personal defense load” it means just that. Select something that catches your eye from any of the major players and you can feel well protected, just as long as you hold up your end of the bargain with training and good equipment. 

Double Tap

Double Tap makes a broad line of hunting, target and defensive ammo. They are also the proud makers of Colt’s new factory-branded ammo. We’re particularly fond of this .45 Auto Rim load. A 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP bullet (solid copper) at an honest 1,195 fps from a 6″ revolver makes it simply perfect for defense, plinking or hunting. One of our writers took a nice Fallow deer with this very load.

Aguila

Aguila (meaning “eagle”) is a line of ammo made in Mexico, but world-renowned for its quality, accuracy and clean burn. We use their Kolibri line of .22 ammo offering quiet, primer-powered shooting. But Aguila offers a broad lineup of rimfire loads along with their centerfire target and defensive options. Their unique 12-gauge Mini-Shotshell provides lower recoil in a very short case. It’s fun to shoot in break-open guns, and there are a few pumps that can handle it as well. After all, the more in the mag tube the merrier!

SIG SAUER

SIG SAUER has continued to build on its early ammo offerings. What we’ve learned after more than a year of shooting it? This is extremely high-quality ammo with very consistent velocities. Newest are the 124- and 147-grain FMJ 9mm loads, corresponding in velocity and weight to their personal defense V-Crown loads. The .44 Magnum (shown) is a great hunting load and would be perfect for whitetail or hogs.

Nosler

Nosler makes bullets, of course, but they also craft exceptional loaded ammo. Their new Defense line covers most popular handgun calibers and employs the company’s bonded-bullet expertise to offer reliable penetration and expansion with polymer — or non-polymer — tips. Nosler’s Varmageddon varmint line is equally impressive. In .221 Fireball (which we shoot a lot) it’s like having a long-distance laser in the Contender (beware you 200-yard squirrels!). The ultra-thin jacket assures explosive expansion every time. It’s simply amazing stuff, all from a family-owned company and made in the USA.

Federal

Federal’s new Premium Personal Defense .38 Special load features a 130-grain HST bullet seated flush with the case mouth. It’s specifically designed for ultra-lightweight compact revolvers. They’ve tailored the bullet weight and cartridge design for optimized efficiency and accuracy in these little guns. The flush-mounted bullet eliminates excess air space in the case and helps the load deliver the most consistent velocities. The HST bullet design is a street-proven one and has been carried by peace officers for years. I carried Federal ammo in my duty auto when I was a cop, and in all the years of qualifying or range practice, I never had a problem. Not once.

PolyCase

Made of a proprietary copper-polymer compound, the fluted ARX bullets in PolyCase ammo are light-for-caliber and fragment against steel. Yet they hold together and penetrate for defensive or hunting use. The higher velocity means flatter trajectories. According to PolyCase, the flutes help to “…transfer kinetic energy from the bullet to soft tissue.” They offer a practice load (Sport Utility Ammo), defensive ammo (Inceptor/Preferred Defense) and a new hunting load in .45 Colt (Preferred Hunting). The hunting bullet has small nubs on the nose allowing “stand-off” should the ammo be used in a tubular-magazine levergun.

Wilson Combat

Wilson Combat is famous for their guns, but they decided a few years ago to start loading their own ammo in order to meet their own criteria. We’ve found it to be very reliable and consistent, only using top-quality components. This .38 Super load (there’s a real resurgence in that caliber these days) was 100 percent reliable in our test gun and showed exceptional accuracy — proof of the consistency during the loading process. Besides the Super, Wilson offers a wide range of loads and calibers.

Liberty Civil Defense

Liberty Civil Defense ammo is an ultra-high velocity, lightweight load with a solid copper bullet, very light-for-caliber. The 9mm load features a 50-grain bullet at a rated 2,000 fps. The company claims 2″ groups at 50 yards. While we’ve not tried it at that yardage, it does shoot exceptionally well at 25. The low recoil from the light bullet weight is strangely disconcerting! The .40 S&W offering features a 60-grain bullet at 2,000 fps; the .45 ACP, a 78-grain bullet at 1,900 fps; and a 10mm 60-grain at 2,400 fps (we’ve only shot the 9mm as of yet). Liberty also does rifle-caliber hunting ammo and offers a unique .308 load, pushing a 100-grain bullet at 3,500 fps. That’s definitely pushing the design envelope!

Buffalo Bore

Buffalo Bore is known for hard-hitting ammo, which often pushes the envelope. But they often surprise customers by meeting their defensive needs in unusual calibers like the .32’s, both old and new. Their .45 Colt +P Deer Grenade is something His Editorship Roy has used on Missouri whitetail and it does indeed work like the name implies. I like the low-recoil/standard pressure .45 ACP load (a 185-grain at about 850 fps) because it’s easy to shoot, yet functions perfectly in my autos. The .44 Special Anti-Personnel load is a 200-grain full wadcutter at 1,000 fps, which is safe for any .44 caliber firearm. They have lots more, so check out their website and be prepared to spend some time there.

Black Hills Ammunition

The Hoffmans started handloading ammo decades ago on single-stage presses. Since then they’ve built Black Hills Ammunition into an industry leader in terms of quality and performance. Their new Honey Badger line is named after the fearless creature willing to take on anything it encounters. African wildlife experts say it has “ferocious defensive abilities,” so there you go! Combining the Lehigh Defense all-copper bullet design (with flutes) and the Black Hills penchant for quality and consistency, has yielded a factory load, which might be called an “ultimate” performance round. It penetrates deeply and feeds like an FMJ. It’s in several common calibers — .380 ACP, .38 Special, .45 ACP and .44 Magnum so far. And, of course, Black Hills is also famed for their Cowboy loads, centerfire rifle ammo and special-purpose military contract loads for elite units.

Gorilla

While Gorilla makes a wide range of ammo — much of which can be classed as “specialty” — let’s focus on their Silverback line. In .380 ACP, 9mm, .45 ACP and .300 Blackout, all of the loads use “Swiss-lathe”-turned solid copper bullets that, according to Gorilla, “…expand quickly and with insane precision.” Bullets retain 100 percent of their starting weight, with up to 3X expansion over the original diameter. I’ve shot some of this stuff and it not only looks perfectly made, it’s run 100 percent in the guns we use here. Cases are nickel-coated brass and everything shows careful attention to detail, all the way down to
the packaging.

Browning

Browning’s new ammo line includes the BXP (JHP) and BPT (FMJ) in .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP to give you training and personal defense ammo. It all matches in bullet weight and velocity, so BPT training gets you used to the BXP carry load. The BXP bullet is a JHP with what they call “X-Point” technology, which seems to be a sort of “X” molded into the HP cavity to keep out debris and help with penetration and expansion.

Guncrafter Industries

If you shoot a .50 GI from Guncrafter Industries, you have to buy your ammo from them as well, including reloading components. But their “factory” (it’s got a low production volume) .50 ammo is pretty much like jewelry. They make a 185- and 230-grain HP (solid copper, lathe-turned bullets), a 300-grain JFP and a 275-grain JHP bullet load of more conventional construction. The 185-grain solid copper HP gets 1,200 fps while the 230 nails 1,000 fps from a 5″ gun. Seems to me it would hit like a freight train. Definitely specialty ammo for a very special gun.

Hornady

There are so many interesting loads and calibers available from Hornady, it’s tough to know where to start. But with today’s “handguns” built on the AR platform and the various single-shot handguns out there (Contenders, Freedom Arms, etc.), let’s take a look at their Superformance Varmint line. Our own Contender in .222 Remington delivers superb accuracy (can you say 1″ at 100 yards?) using Hornady 50-grain V-Max ammo. We’ve had to prove our claim to doubters on more than one occasion. This sort of consistency is what you’re looking for in any ammo — personal defense, hunting or otherwise. And frankly, Hornady delivers the goods in every category.

CCI/Speer

CCI/Speer knows what they’re doing when it comes to ammo. Their Blazer line is price-point ammo loaded in non-reloadable aluminum cases (just toss ’em into the recycle bin). Their newer Blazer Brass is essentially the same thing, but loaded in brass cases, which are very much reloadable. The company’s Lawman ammo is a brand going back decades and is made up of loads closely resembling the Speer top-end defensive ammo, issued by countless police agencies. Many agencies use the Lawman brand as practice ammo, and maybe you should too! All are available in a wide range of calibers and loads.

Armscor

Armscor is known for their reliable guns, but many shooters don’t realize they are huge in the ammo-making department as well. Their line of .22 ammo is widely available and is in the “very affordable” category. Their proprietary .221 TCM family of cartridges delivers ultra-high velocity and lightweight bullets in a 1911 platform. It’s sort of a “miniature” .223 load (although not quite that fast). Their practice ammo — like this .45 ACP 230-grain load and .38 Special 158-grain load — is reliable and capable of winning a match any day. Another family-owned company, with much of the ammo loaded right here in the USA.

Winchester

Winchester’s lineup of ammo is legendary, but we’re concentrating on a .22 Long Rifle offering here. The bulk pack M22 (500 rounds) features a unique 40-grain “black-copper” plated bullet. Sure enough, the bullets are a dark gray to black (we’re not sure why, but there you go). Velocity is listed 1,225 fps from a rifle and it’s called “target & plinking” ammo. The M22 subsonic is nifty. Loaded with the same style of bullet but in a 45-grain weight, it’s made specifically for suppressor use and is labeled for “target, plinking & suppressors.” It’s all very high-quality ammo and very clean to handle. It’s good to see .22 rimfire back on the shelves.

CCI

Just because it’s made by CCI for the Savage A22 .22 Magnum semi-auto rifle doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of this great load and good packaging idea (200 rounds) for your handguns. We have a .22 Magnum Contender in the Huntington household and it dearly loves this 35-grain JSP load. It delivers about 2,100 fps from the rifle, but we haven’t chrono’d it from our 10″ Contender barrel. Accuracy, however, is great, and we suspect the bullet will hold together a bit better at the lower velocity from the T/C’s barrel.

Fiocchi

Having started back in the late 1800’s, there’s not much Fiocchi doesn’t know about ammo of all types. Today, with U.S.-based offices, they offer a dramatic range of ammo, including about any handgun caliber you can think of. Need some 7.62 Nagant, 8mm Gasser or 9×18 Ultra? How many do you want? They’ve got it. But there’s also a broad range of more common calibers for every application you can imagine — practice, plinking, target, hunting or defense. And it’s still family-owned! Now it’s time for us to dust off our .455 Webley and 9mm Steyr because, well… guess who has ammo for ’em.

Magnum Research

Magnum Research makes those great “boomer” Desert Eagle semi-autos we’ve covered several times. But they also supply the ammo for the .50 AE in 300- and 350-grain loads with different bullet styles. The ammo is custom-loaded for them by Hornady, so it’s assured to be top-quality stuff. We have a feature pending on the new .44 Mag/.50 AE combo gun from Magnum Research, so we’ll be using some of this ammo during testing. Stay tuned.

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