I had no idea you can sort of reuse primers. This video, by ammosmith.com, explains how to “reload” your primers with the ignition compound found on matches. It is a slow process, not 100% reliable and the priming compound is corrosive. Part 1 Part 2 [Read More…]
Caleb wrote an interesting blog post last month about the the different in pressure between the SAAMI spec’ed 9mm loads (9mm Luger / Parabellum) and the NATO load (9x19mm NATO). I had forgotten to mention it here until I was browsing his blog today. The ammo [Read More…]
Because of demand from customers have Federal have brought back the .22 Long Rifle UltraMatch Rimfire Target load. Two Gold Medal loads are now available: UltraMatch and Match. Both are standard target loads (40 grain subsonic).
Reader WarWolf emailed me this photo. It looks like it is a 5.56mm NATO round loaded with a semi wadcutter shaped lead bullet. weird. Can anyone identify the round and/or read the writing? Would the ridge not cause chambering problems? Maybe the intended use is in a [Read More…]
In the past tungsten has been considered non-toxic and more environmentally friendly than lead at shooting ranges. Recent research has shown that Tungsten is in fact toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Danger Room reports: There have been growing concerns about tungsten [Read More…]
An Albanian woman was hit by a stray bullet 12 years ago during civil strife. The doctor incorrectly thought it passed through her cheek and it was only discovered last week. The BBC reports: But doctors told her the bullet passed straight through her cheek and simply [Read More…]
The 180 year old Czech ammunition manufacturer Sellier & Bellot has been acquired by Brazilian firm CBC. CBC also own Magtech Ammunition and Metallwerk Elisenhütte. From the press release We are pleased to announce that CBC has acquired Sellier & Bellot, an [Read More…]
Extreme Shock Ammunition are producing a .50 BMG projectile that can penetrate 1″ of meal and yet will not over penetrate soft tissue. The Fragmenting High Velocity (FHVL) round is made up of a propriety tungsten powder/flake compound. From the press release: [Read More…]
AmmoEngine.com is a very useful website that indexes ammo prices from a variety of online retailers allowing you to easily compare prices and find good deals. Listing .380 ACP
The infamous fake news / satire website The Onion have made a video entitled “Manufacturer Recalls Hollow Point Bullets That Fail To Explode Inside Targets”. It is pretty funny, even though it is making fun of us and that they do not know the difference [Read More…]
It looks like the ban has been lifted. Brass casing sold for domestic use will not require mutilation. Georgia Arms have updated their website: Dear Loyal Customers, Thanks to your voice, DOD has rescinded the order to mutilate all spent cases as of 4:30 pm on 3/17/09. [Read More…]
Blaser, in partner ship with Norma, will be introducing a new line of magnum cartridges later this year. They are not giving out any detailed information until May, but they have said these are completely new cartridges, not based on any previous designs. 7mm Blaser [Read More…]
These photos are apparently of a Palestinian using some sort of homemade grenade launcher. It looks like it could be a 40mm grenade in the barrel, or maybe some type of 40mm less/non-lethal grenade like round, such as tear gas. It appears to work by striking the firing [Read More…]
The Defense Logistics Agency, the DOD logistics support agency, has decreed that all fired brass sold off by US Military will need to be mutilated (ie. turned in scrap brass). thanegrooms @ ar15.com has been keeping a forum thread updated with news about this [Read More…]
These photos are of a Springfield XD .45 was blown up after a squib load (a low powered load that does not have enough energy to push the bullet out the muzzle) blocked the barrel and another full power loaded round was fired. The pressure generated blew off the top of [Read More…]
Very cool, it is even star-crimped. $97.77 at GreatBigStuff.com.
In my recent article about the Norwegian H416 rifle, Mauken, a Norwegian soldier, posted a link to this article at aftenposten.no (I have translated it into english using google): Soldiers may have been sick of the military’s new rifle Army turns the alarm after a [Read More…]
A blog named Odd Russia has photos of what they claim are a French and Russian bullet that hit each other during the Crimea War. Odd Russia has many more photos but no link to the source of the images. It could be true, or it could be a hoax. I think both the French [Read More…]
Last month Sven Ortmann wrote an article on The Firearm Blog about small arms cartridges. His European perspective generated some controversy on the blog but it generated a great discussion. He has written a follow-on article on his blog. He told me that this article is [Read More…]
SayUncle reports that Alliant Techsystems are laying off workers for the second time from their Federal Cartridge Ammunition plant in Anoka. Apparently their order backlog is at an end. At first glance this seems insane given the availability of reasonably priced ammo. [Read More…]
I have blogged about the S&H 2 Bore cartridge before. The problem is visualizing such a massive cartridge with no reference. I asked Jay at Schroeder & Hetzendorfer if he could take a photo featuring a 2 bore and a common cartridge and he kindly obliged. 9mm [Read More…]
At SHOT magpul have displayed their new EMAG and a 7.62mm PMAG. There is not much information available and some of the forums I have read are saying contradictory things. This is my take on it, I may be wrong and if I am I will update this post with the correct [Read More…]
Freedom Arms are producing reloading equipment for what is probably the first new cartridge of 2009. The 224-32 FA is a .327 Federal Magnum necked down to .224. The result is a high velocity rimmed revolver cartridge suitable for varminting. It is was not rimmed it [Read More…]
Wow, that is not a blog title I expected to ever write. Federal have unveiled .410 “Personal Defense Handgun” ammunition designed specifically for the Taurus Judge .45 Colt / .410 revolver. Two 2.5″ buckshot loads will be available. The first load is [Read More…]
Remington have released two types of lead free ammo. The first is the Disintegrator Varmint in .223 Rem and .22-250 Rem., both with 45 grain bullets. Disintegrating ammo is normally lead free so that in itself is no special. It is a pity they have confined their [Read More…]
Jay emailed me a link to The Brass Fetcher Online. It looks like it has been around for years but I never came across it. It is amazing. They have gel test results, including photos, for a while range of cartridges, often more than one brand. Everything from .17 HMR to [Read More…]
[ This article was written by Sven Ortmann of Personal Defence Weapons Central, an excellent small arms resource. ] by Sven Ortmann, [email protected], 2008-01-05 There are too many misleading anecdotes and rumors about military rifle calibers floating in the air (and in [Read More…]
Winchester is offering a new type of bullet that Winchester describes as a “bullet within a bullet”. The bullet has two jackets, one within the other. When the the bullet mushrooms it creates a devastating shape with 12 “petals”. The outer petals [Read More…]
Alliant Lake City Small Caliber Ammunition Co., LLC is a subsidiary of Alliant Techsystems (ATK) who among other things manufacture military and commercial ammunition. They own the CCI and Federal premium brands. In the fiscal year 2008 ATK’s annual report says [Read More…]
Blackfork is trying to develop subsonic loads for his .223: I looked on the Hogden site and found a subsonic load: 3.1 grains of Titegroup and a 55 grain bullet. I tried 3.1 grains of Titegroup under a Nosler 69. It works, doesn’t cycle the rifle but it’s [Read More…]