Ammo

I first saw the Q LLC “Fix” rifle at the 2017 SHOT show. It was a unique design that immediately grabbed my attention. A bolt action rifle that challenged the carbon fiber stocked mountain rifles in weight but also had characteristics of the chassis style precision guns that were taking the market by storm. Q [...]

Why do we die-hard gun nerds do what we do? Sure, we pontificate about self-defense applications, civil unrest, and the pending end of the world. But what really is it that drives this preoccupation we all seem to have with cool dangerous toys that are sleek, black, and oily? I would assert that despite our [...]

There’s no real way to know what you or your firearm are capable of without adequate training. As Jim Mora so famously quipped after his football team suffered a blowout loss, “You think you know, but you have no idea.” And that’s exactly what you find as you start to train with others more competent than yourself — you were never aware of just how much you didn’t know.

Freedom Munitions has been one of the success stories of the last decade, moving from a tadpole start-up to an industry leader. They are constantly breaking new ground, and always a pleasure to see what they have dreamed up now.

Hornady has continued to dominate the market in ammunition this year, always surprising with incredibly accurate factory loadings. I personally have been very impressed with the 6.5 Creedmoor loadings, including the American Gunner line. New for this year, Hornady has several new options.

We got our hands on the SIG M17 at range day, the actual military model. If you are a P320 fan and or a collector, you are going to want one of these. You could buy a gun that was in the MHS trials right now, or you could by the winner in the spring when the M17 is released for public sale.

There were enough new ammo introductions at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas to cover ever shooter’s palate, from the long-range warrior to the competitive pistol champion. Several manufacturers introduced brand-spanking new offerings for newly developed cartridges, like Hornady’s Precision Hunter in 6.5 PRC and Federal Premium with the 224 Valkyrie. There’s been quite a few exciting additions for competition shooters, too, with range-friendly loads from Federal and Inceptor that are capable of knocking down steel targets while reducing splash back from projectiles. There was even quite an assortment of new shotgun loads for wingshooters and turkey hunters.

Among the unicorns of handguns, perhaps only the Bren Ten surpasses the .44 Auto Mag in the world of “ Guns that should have made it.” The Auto Mag has a long and storied history, with less than 9,000 total guns produced. It could easily be described as a great idea, poorly executed, with some bad business plans tossed in the mix. It is estimated that the original Auto Mag cost the company $1,000 in losses for each gun that went out the door. The last of the original Auto Mag chambered in .44 AMP was assembled in 1982. In 2015, a new company formed the Auto Mag LTD. Corp.purchased all the rights to the bring it back to the market.

Syntech Ammunition was launched a few years back, specially designed as a high-quality training round. It keeps a lead core, but the jacket is polymer. The bullet is encased to keep any lead on steel contact from inside the gun, eliminating aerosolized lead and overall making a cleaner to shoot round. The construction also reduces splash back from steel targets.