Remington Arms Company announced a pair of new shotgun rounds for the Ultimate Defense line. Both rounds use 00 buck pellets.

The first load is a standard, or full power, load. It uses nine lead 00 pellets in a 2 3/4″ shell. This load is rated for 1,325 fps at the muzzle.

The second load is a “managed recoil” load that uses eight 00 pellets. Remington downloaded the velocity on this one to 1,200 fps. The lighter payload with reduced velocity results in less felt recoil. It is also in a 2 3/4″ shell.

Remington claims the rounds “deliver dense, devastating patterns” and that “short range patterns in smoothbore barrels are tight.” No specifics are given, so I would like to see how these pattern at 7, 15 and 25 yards. The wording seems to suggest that patterns are only tight close in.

Other than the packaging, I’m not sure how these rounds differ from existing 00 buck loads from Remington and other companies. While I expect both rounds to be very effective when properly employed, I don’t see anything new here. Perhaps Remington will follow up with additional information and let us know if this is more than a marketing effort.

Speaking of Remington’s marketing, the company recently announced it would be closing its Mayfield, Kentucky manufacturing plant. The company issued a press release using terms like “strategic decision,” “synergy” and “overhead leverage” to couch the firing of approximately 200 employees. The company will move the production lines from the Mayfield plant to its Huntsville, Alabama facility. Unfortunately, it does not appear the company will be employing an additional 200 people there, resulting in a net loss of jobs.

In happier news, you can follow Phil White’s tour of the company’s ammunition production facilities here.