Shooting First Breach Is Cool Even In The Heat

I keep telling everyone I have the coolest job in the world, and I do. I recently tested First Breach 124-grain 9×19 full metal jacket bullets and 9×19 brass.

When I test these kinds of components, I always save the final “run and shoot,” where I rapid-fire my loads, for last. This is why I have the coolest job.

First Breach is an ammunition component company out of Hagerstown, MD. They have only recently opened their doors, and predictably, their components are already in high demand. They manufacture brass, components for bullet making like lead cores, full metal jacket projectiles and other bullet-making products. They even offer custom head-stamped casings for manufacturing.

First Breach is getting ready to go full production on primers, and I can’t wait.

Boring Becomes Fun

The entire First Breach manufacturing facility is in a fabrication plant that once turned out A-10 Thunderbolts. Anyone who understands infantry will know the close air support ability of the A-10. I think using this retooled facility connects First Breach to the roots of its customer base and ammunition manufacturing in general. Their products are 100% U.S.-made.

When I talked to Keith Evans of First Breach, he told me their weight standards for the FMJ rounds are particularly high. I personally have seen variations for 124-grain FMJ that can run +/- 4 grains from some vendors. As a long-time reloader, I can tell you these variances may sound alarming, but most shooters will not notice it in their everyday shooting. Keith told me they’re using modern equipment and manufacturing methods, and First Breach measures variances in tenths of a grain, rather than in grains. They employ visual and laser inspection standards throughout the manufacturing process, and their standards tend to be more rigid than what is considered accurate in the industry.

This is the boring part of my job. I weighed my sample of First Breach 124-grain FMJ bullets one at a time. This does not take hours; it takes days. My three scales flickered back and forth between 123.8 and 123.9 grains on one of the bullets, and another 124.1 grain where my scales couldn’t decide. Hundreds of weighing episodes later, I concluded most of the variance from these bullets was from my scales, which were calibrated each time, rather than the bullets. Throughout testing, I did not see a variance greater than 0.2 grains.

I can name bullet manufacturers that have bullets with similar consistency, but I cannot name anyone with better consistency. First Breach quality is on par with the best of them.

I tried to make my story interesting, but you should know the truth. This is boring. The conclusion is less boring: First Breach quality is better than what we know as the industry standard, and regular reloading scales don’t really pick it up.

I compared the brass to the SAAMI charts and checked the overall concentricity and consistency in case wall thickness.

I also did the same thing most competitors do. They “weight sort” their brass, bullets and cartridges. I weighed the brass for consistency. So far, this is pretty boring, isn’t it? In the same manner Col. Townsend Whelen said, “Only accurate rifles are interesting,” consistent reloading components are boring.

Running And Gunning

Keith Evans told me First Breach maintains an e-commerce site in a grassroots business model. They will likely have competitive shooters in spokesperson roles, or something similar.

The Founder and President/COO, Jordan Low, was a sharpshooter in Unit 51 of the prestigious Golani Brigade, which has a rich combat history. The Hebrew name of Unit 51 translates as “The First Breachers.” They were designed to go ahead of combat units to breach barriers and compounds.

I loaded my First Breach cartridges using Shooter’s World (Lovex) Auto Pistol on my Dillon XL 750. The XL 750 can make quick work of 250 rounds of components. I checked them again with my calipers and headed for the range. I shot a few one-hole groups at 7 yards and then began to play. You know, real component testing isn’t complete without “running and gunning.”

And there you have it. If First Breach components weren’t so fun to shoot, they’d be boring.

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