True Velocity and Sierra Bullets have partnered to introduce composite cased commercial ammunition that should be available in 2020. The cartridges will be composed of True Velocity’s steel-base polymer cases loaded with Sierra bullets. This ammunition will be initially available in .308 Winchester with more caliber options such as 6.5mm Creedmoor to be added in the future.

The cartridges shown at SHOT Show 2020 Industry Day at the Range were loaded with Sierra Tipped MatchKing (TMK) and Sierra MatchKing (SMK) bullets, most likely with 155, 168 or 175-grain ones.

The primary advantage of polymer cased ammunition is the reduced cartridge weight which will allow carrying or transporting more ammunition at a given weight, or having a lighter load at a given amount of ammunition. Another advantage is the better thermal isolation of the propellant and its burning process from the chamber walls which in turn should result in a slower heat transfer to the barrel and also decreased likelihood of cookoffs. And last but not least, these polymer materials should be (or will eventually become) way cheaper and more easily obtainable than brass.

One of the drawbacks of this ammunition is that the cases are non-reloadable. However, from a military standpoint or for those of you who don’t reload your ammo anyways, that should not be a huge concern. This ammunition is also often criticized for not being environmentally friendly. While technically it is true, I think during wartime the negative impact on the environment caused by polymer small arms ammunition will be negligible and a needed sacrifice for gaining the huge advantages provided by this type of ammunition. In terms of training, the military drills are normally held in controlled environments so the issue with contaminating your own soil will be relatively easily alleviated. For the civilian applications, should you need to clean an area from fired cases, the steel bases of these cartridges are, obviously, magnetic allowing to easily collect them with a magnet similar to how shotgun shells are collected.