Projectile with a Purpose

Fort Scott Munitions is a manufacturer of bullets and complete loaded cartridges, specializing in solid copper spun (SCS) bullets designed to tumble upon impact, hence the acronyms TUI and SCS applying to their projectiles.  They’ve sought to make a bullet that couples a lot of penetration with the trait of tumbling upon impact with soft tissue.  Their bullets are also engineered to retain over 95% of mass after impact.

The projectile itself is designed to keep its original shape for the most part, dealing damage via hydrostatic shock and tumbling inside the tissue to create large temporary wound cavities.  The debate over the effectiveness of both phenomena is not something I will get into in this article, however, for brevity’s sake.  I can report that Fort Scott Munitions has tested their ammunition during hunts and found it to be effective in killing with one shot.

Recently, FSM was gracious enough to send TFB some rounds for testing.  The first two loads tested from FSM (Fort Scott Munitions) were .300 Blackout and 9x19mm, both were 115gr SCS TUI loads.

Working 9 to 5

FSM’s 115gr 9mm comes 20 to a box.  The box itself is quite nice, and aside one will find 20 9mm rounds nestled in one of the more sturdy plastic trays I’ve encountered in ammo packaging.  Also in the box is a nice added bonus:  A keychain tag with the first and 2nd amendments to the U.S. Constitution printed on it.

9mm Specs:

Caliber	9MM
Grain	115
FPS	Avg: 1140
Bullet Design	Solid Copper Spun (SCS®)
Size	OAL: .547”; COAL 1.165”
SAAMI Standards	Yes
Count	20

MSRP: $25.19

An addition note to the specs: Though I was unable to recover a fired round from the ballistic gel, I was able to measure the bullet length using a bullet puller.  Cosmetically, I noticed the driving bands on the bullet.  Driving bands are used to better seal the gas behind the bullet, and to reduce friction as the bullet moves down the barrel.  It measured .713″ in my calipers, vs .595″ for a standard ball 115gr 9mm FMJ round from Remington.  It definitely is a longer, pointier bullet than your run of the mill 9mm.

I tested the 9mm ammo in a variety of platforms:  A 9mm Colt carbine with 16″ barrel, an IMI Uzi Model A SBR with 10″ barrel, a CZ Shadow 2, and an HK P2000.

These represent a good variety of barrel length and rifling to test the ammo with.  Primer and powder reliability was flawless, with zero failures to fire.  Velocities were as follows:

• 16″ Barrel: 1303fps, std dev 17.8
• 10″ Barrel: 1285fps, std dev 18.6
• 4.89″ Barrel: 1213fps, std dev 12.5
• 3.7″ Barrel: 1152fps, std dev 13.1

These are pretty standard velocities for 9mm ammo, and I would not describe it as “hot” or +P+ loaded ammo.  Felt recoil was standard for a 115gr 9mm load.

Accuracy was very good, with the 16″ barrel Colt turning in the best 5 shot group of .135″ measured center-center at 25 yards, roughly .54 MOA .  Their claim of “match-grade” is certainly verified.

BLACKOUT!

Fort Scott Munitions’ .300 Blackout 115gr supersonic load (they also make a 190gr subsonic load) also comes 20 to a box, in a plastic sleeve.  Included in the box is a keychain card with the 2nd amendment printed on one side and a 2A-related quote on the other.

.300 Blackout Specs:

Caliber	300AAC BLACKOUT
Grain	115
FPS	Avg: 2219
BC	0.240
Bullet Design	Solid Copper Spun (SCS®)
Size	OAL: 1.032”; COAL: 2.036”
SAAMI Standards	Yes
Count	20

MSRP: $29.99/box

I was able to recover a fired round from a water jug placed in back of the gel block.  The recovered round measured 1.032″ exactly, and showed almost no deformation.

I tested the .300 Blackout load with an older 8″ CMMG upper mated to a Sig M400 pistol lower.  The shorter barrel explains the loss in velocity.  Velocity average for 5 shot groups were as follows:

• 2099fps, std dev 28

Accuracy at 100 yards was in the 1.5 MOA range, which is about the best I can wring out of this upper with any other load that I have tried.  Therefore, I was very satisfied with the accuracy of this round.

Are you Gellin’?

Due to Fort Scott Munitions being kind enough to send me some blocks of 10% ballistic gelatin from Clear Ballistics, I was able to somewhat verify their claims of the rounds tumbling on impact.  Please bear with me, readers, as I am not as well-versed in gel testing or photo/videography as TFB’s resident expert Andrew (also of The Chopping Block).

The 9mm and 300 Blackout loads completely penetrated the 16″ blocks from all barrel lengths at a distance of 25 yards.  The 9mm loads demonstrated a large temporary wound cavity commencing at roughly 6″ of penetration and a tendency to yaw upwards.

The .300 Blackout demonstrated 2 large temporary wound cavities commencing roughly at 5 inches, and would yaw upwards or to the side.

Based on these findings, their claims and videos on their site of large temporary wound cavities can be confirmed.  Below is a video of tests and a hunt with a one-shot stop conducted with the .300 Blackout 115gr TUI round.

(Content Warning:  If one has an aversion to seeing an animal harvested, do not view the video)

Overall Impressions:

Fort Scott Munitions SCS TUI offerings in 9mm and .300 Blackout present a good option for hunting and/or self-defense use in a short-range platform.  I found their 9mm and .300 Blackout ammo to be 100% reliable.  The 9mm performed exceptionally well across varying barrel lengths, feed systems, and rifling types.  Sure, the price is premium, but it is in line with many other specialized hunting and self defense loads.  Overall, I found the quality of manufacture, consistency of velocity, and accuracy to all be deserving of the “Match Grade” title they give their ammunition.  The only minor quibble I have is that I would not necessarily use a solid copper slug in a home defense scenario due to hard media penetration concerns.  Other than that, this is great ammo.

For more information, please visit Fort Scott Munitions

Stay tuned to TFB for Part 2, in which we test Fort Scott Munitions’ 5.56 and .308 SCS TUI loads.

A huge thank you to TFB’s Andrew for your expertise on the subject matter

Many thanks to Fort Scott Munitions