by TheGunMag staff
Browning will unveil a full line of ammunition at the SHOT Show.
Firearms without ammunition are like cars without gasoline; they may look impressive, but they’re not much on performance.
There’s some hot new ammo on the horizon for everything from predators to personal protection. Among the biggest developments are new proprietary ammunition lines from three companies that have well-established names in firearms. TGM had reported in November that two of the gun firms had signed agreements with ammunition manufacturers.
Browning will be unveiling a full line of ammunition for rifles, handguns and shotguns. There are rimfire and centerfire loads in the mix, and shotshells for waterfowl. This is a cooperative effort between Browning and Winchester.
The other entry is from Ruger, which has announced the following loads: .380 ACP/56-grains, 9mm/74-grains, .40 S&W/107-grains and .45 ACP/118-grains.
They feature a unique patent-pending ARX PolyCase bullet design made from copper-polymer. It’s a non-expanding bullet that penetrates yet fragments upon striking solid backstops, so they are ideal for indoor gun ranges. The bullet features flutes in the ogive.
Winchester will offer USA Forged steel-cased pistol ammunition and is adding a .380 ACP load to the Pistol Range packs that hold 200 rounds. There’s a new Rifle Range Pack that holds 180 rounds of 5.56mm ammo with 55-grain FMJ bullets.
Also Winchester is adding two new loads to its Super Clean range ammo lineup: a 9mm round with a 90-grain bullet and a .40 S&W load with a 120-grain pill. In addition, there are three new loads in the Deer Season line including .30-30 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington and .300 Blackout.
In the shotshell arena, Winchester has a new 28-gauge Upland load in No. 5 or 6.
There’s a new 20-gauge shotshell entry from Federal, joining their 3rd Degree shotshell line.
It offers a 1 7/16-ounce three-stage payload with 20 percent No. 6 FliteStopper pellets, 40 percent copper-plated No. 5 pellets and 40 percent No.7 HeavyWeight shot. The combination is designed to create a longer shot string for wing shooters.
Federal Premium will offer a Tactical Ballistic Tip round in .223 Remington and .308 Winchester. The .223-caliber bullet weighs 55 grains and the .308 weighs 168 grains. They’re designed for use in AR-type rifles.
For those who wonder where all the rimfire ammunition has been hiding, CCI will be offering the Copper-22, a .22 Long Rifle load that complies with California’s new lead ammo ban. It is topped by a 21-grain projectile consisting of a blend of copper particles and polymer. The bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1,850 fps.
The folks at Nosler will be introducing a new .30-caliber cartridge at the SHOT Show, with sizzling downrange performance. Expect to hear more about it immediately after the show, and in the months ahead. Initially it will be offered with 180- and 210-grain loads.
New from Sig Sauer are loads in .38 Super, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .300 Blackout. All three handgun rounds are topped by 125-grain bullets, while the .300 Blackout comes with a 220-grain bullet loaded to 1,000 fps for subsonic performance.
More .300 Blackout loads are being offered by International Cartridge Corporation. Added to the Green and Gold Elite training line is a 100-grain supersonic unjacketed frangible, a 108-grain supersonic semi-jacketed frangible for suppressed firearms and a 147-grain supersonic FMJ. All are training rounds. There’s a 110-grain supersonic jacketed frangible, a 110-grain supersonic solid copper load, a 120-grain supersonic jacketed frangible, a 140-grain supersonic frangible jacketed open tip round, a 180-grain subsonic solid copper expanding round, a 190-grain subsonic solid copper expanding round and a 220-grain subsonic with a Sierra MatchKing in the Duty and Defense lineup.
Black Hills Ammunition has announced a hot .38 Special for use in snub guns that will reportedly get better than 1,000 fps out of a 3-inch barrel. The load has a non-expanding bullet that was developed with the cooperation of Lehigh Defense. See gel test photo, below.
There are lots of new introductions from Century Arms, including a .380 ACP load with a 91-grain FMJ bullet, steel case and Berdan primer, and a .45 ACP with a 230-grain FMJ, steel case and Berdan primer. There are also new 9mm loads, one with a 115-grain bullet and the other with a 124-grain pill. A third 9mm/115-grain FMJ load is also available.
For rifle shooters, Century is introducing a pair of .223 Remingtons, one with a 55-grain FMJ bullet and the other with a 55-grain hollowpoint; as well as a 7.62x51mm with a 146-grain bullet and brass case; a 7.92×57 (8mm Mauser) with a steel case; and a .308 Winchester with a 150-grain FMJ.
