American Reserve Munitions A.R.M are anything but conventional.  They are based out of Horseshoe Bend Idaho and specialize in exotic ammunition production for their own company as well as OEM production.  Most of their projectiles are lead-free, not for the tree-hugging California reasons but rather for the increased performance that can be attained through the use of solids or polymer/ceramic cores.  

A.R.M’s Rifle Offerings

Ammo loaded with monolithic projectiles. (Photo courtesy of A.R.M)

American Reserve Munitions offers ammunition loaded with lathe-turned solid projectiles in various calibers including 6.5mm, .30 cal and .338 cal. These bullets are specially designed with long-range shooting in mind.  Their bases have a protrusion which they claim reduces turbulence and drag and allows the bullet transition from supersonic to subsonic flight with more stability.  

A.R.M Defensive Rounds

A.R.M’s flagship defensive rounds are loaded with “The Gatekeeper” projectiles.  Available in 9mm Luger, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, .223 Rem, and 12ga all of them utilize a solid projectile.  Here is what A.R.M says about “The Gatekeeper”:

The Gatekeeper” bullets are precision CNC machined, lead free, solid copper expanding projectiles.  The projectile expands to meet FBI penetration requirements while maintaining nearly 100% of its original weight.  Each “Gatekeeper” projectile has been engineered to perform in a given velocity range to provide unparalleled performance across a wide variety of calibers and weapons platforms.  This projectile is used for personal protection, provides equivalent and often superior performance to market leaders such as Speer Gold Dot ammunition. The “The Gatekeeper” projectile is available for both public and law enforcement purchasing.  The bullet is designed to create maximum cavitation upon entry into the body and expend all its energy inside the target. The combination of maximum stopping power with minimal over-penetration makes it an ideal choice for personal protection.

OEM Projects:

Lead core vs Polymer core

Which round weighs 3x more and which one will hit harder?

100 rounds of 230gr 45cal

100 rounds of 60gr 45cal from SIM-X

The good folks at the A.R.M booth also referred me to their partners upstairs at the SIM-X booth, who they are apparently loading for.   SIM-X ammo is an extremely interesting development. While some companies like Seismic Ammo are pushing the upper boundaries for projectile weights in a given caliber, SIM-X is playing on the low end and emphasizing velocity instead.   If you remember high school physics this will make sense to you. (see equation below for kinetic energy) since it is the velocity number that gets squared, a change there has a greater effect on the whole equation. These lower numbers are achieved by doing away with the lead core and replacing it with a polymer/ceramic blend.  The result is a projectile that weighs roughly ⅓ to ¼ as much as their lead core counterparts. This means faster velocities and either a lighter loadout or more ammo, either way, that is a good thing.

It’s science!

to compare muzzle energy try this link: http://www.larrywillis.com/bullet-energy.html

Going Dark

The final project the folks at the A.R.M booth discussed with me was their “Stealth Powder”.  It is an additive designed to severely reduce muzzle flash. Its primary applications are for nighttime operations as it will not bloom out night vision.   Although flashless powders are nothing new, they were used as far back as WW2 in naval warfare. This product seems a little different as they claim they can add it to your desired powder without affecting the burn rate.  I intend to test these claims and report back.  

All in all, I think some pretty interesting things are going on over there in the great basin. For more information visit: https://www.armunitions.com/