Ammo Tests

Looking to build an AR-15? What caliber will you choose? .223 is just the start. Before you get into the build, you need to know exactly what you want your rifle to do. You can always stick with the traditional 5.56, but is that the right choice? Here’s a list of the most popular calibers and what they deliver.

Why does .40 get such a bad rap? Is it because of its association with the government? Is it nothing but a dumbed down 10mm? Barnes has some .40 S&W that just might make you change your mind.

As the 9mm guns get smaller, fewer people are carrying their old .380s. But the .380 can be a deadly gun if it is running the right ammo. Today we’re testing out Sig’s new hollow-point .380s. How well do these little rounds run? Read the review…

Winchester’s Train and Defend line is a concept long overdue. Use range ammo to train, but carry the good stuff. And both are the same grain weight. The idea is that you save money, but the ammo performs exactly the same. How well does it work?

This time, we’re looking at the Ultimate Defense 9mm 124 grain load for Full-size handguns. It’s a standard pressure load, not a +P, so especially in a larger handgun, it’s tame to fire. With lower recoil and less muzzle flip, you can get back on target more quickly for follow up shots. So how does it perform? Let’s take a look.

Barnes has offered pretty amazing projectiles to other ammunition manufacturers and reloaders for some time. More recently, they’ve launched their own line of loaded self-defense handgun ammunition. Available in .380 ACP, 9mm +P, .40 S&W, .45 ACP +P and .357 Magnum, we’re going to be trying out most of them over the next couple of [...]

Doubletap’s 9mm 77 grain ammo is designed specifically for short barrel, pocket 9mm handguns. We test it here to see if it expands and penetrates. Is this the perfect load for the new spate of pocket 9s?

While the Sig ammo is a relative newcomer to the market, the people are not. I spent some time talking with Dan Powers, who runs the ammo show, and it’s clear that the folks behind Sig Sauer’s new ammunition division have been there and done that. Because every caliber, load and brand combination is different, we’re going to be testing a number of different Sig Sauer loads over the coming weeks. We’ll start the handgun family with Sig’s Elite Performance V-Crown 9mm load.

Looking for a carry round that will live up to its advertising hype? Yeah–so am I. Companies make some bold claims about penetration and expansion, and these claims get even more elaborate when rounds are engineered for short barreled guns. Today we’re looking at Remington’s Ultimate Defense in .38. Read more….