Category: Ammunition

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Ammunition

Coonan Silver Bullets

Coonan Silver Bullets

The new Coonan Silver Bullets are likely the ultimate piece in your anti-werewolf arsenal. Just released, these new .357 Magnum rounds feature bullets that are jacketed in 99% pure silver.

Exact specs are not available on the cartridges but assume they are powerful enough to both reliably cycle the Coonan .357 Magnum 1911 and to drop the evil undead in their tracks.

The rounds are loaded for Coonan by Atomic Ammunition, a company that manufactures match ammo that is smokin’ hot.  According to Coonan’s Facebook page, these rounds are “…loaded very hot.”

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Ammunition

25,000 FPS Handgun Cartridge

Smith & Wesson Sabot Cartridge

In 2005, Smith & Wesson filed a patent application for a “high velocity ammunition system and firearm.”  The abstract stated the bullets fired from this handgun would achieve muzzle velocities in excess of 25,000 fps!

Smith & Wesson Sabot Cartridge

Let’s put 25,000 fps into context…

  • 25,000 fps is more than 17,000 miles per hour.
  • This is more than 22 times the speed of sound.
  • The .221 Fireball shot from a single shot pistol is the fastest SAAMI-spec handgun cartridge at about 2700 fps.
  • Federal’s 220 Swift load only manages 4250 fps at the muzzle from a rifle.

When I started reading the patent application, I expected that the 25,000 fps was a typo.  It just seemed so far outside the realm of possibility to achieve those speeds from any conventional firearm, much less a handgun.

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Federal Guard Dog Ammunition Video

Federal GuardDog ammunition

Federal GuardDog ammunition

Federal introduced the Expanding Full Metal Jacket (EFMJ) a few years back, and those rounds have been fairly well received.  More recently, the company introduced the Guard Dog line of personal defense ammunition, which uses similar technology.

The design concept is to achieve an expanding bullet without using a traditional hollow point.  In some pistols, a hollow point bullet design doesn’t reliably feed.  Even more, people run into the problem of hollow-point ammunition not being legal in some places (like the entire state of New Jersey).  Another problem with traditional hollow points is that material can plug the hollow point and prevent expansion.

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Ted Nugent Ammo

Ted Nugent Ammo

If you’re into rock-n-roll, shooting, hunting, or you’re into all of the above, then you’ve probably heard of Ted Nugent. For a long time, Ted has been a very outspoken advocate of gun rights and hunting. Some might even raise him to the level of a crusader for the promotion of guns and the right to use them.

Ted Nugent Ammo

In addition to a very successful singing career, Uncle Ted, as he’s affectionately known, has become a familiar face to those who watch the Outdoor Channel or other hunting and shooting venues. Ted has his own hunting show, where he shows off his incredible ranch in Texas and hunts a variety of game animals with an incredible selection of fine firearms and bows.

Well, now Uncle Ted has decided to add his name to a brand of ammunition. Distributed by American Tactical out of Rochester, NY, the Ted Nugent Hi-Performance Ammunition is not going to be a gimmick cartridge. On the contrary, Mr. Nugent has demanded the very best for his name to be associated with.

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Buffalo Bore .38 Special Short-Barrel Ammo

Buffalo Bore Short Barrel 38

Buffalo BoreBuffalo Bore Short Barrel 38 is loading .38 Special ammo specifically for short-barreled guns.  The load uses a Barnes 110 grain TAC-XP bullet, which is an all-copper bullet.  The ammo uses brass cases and a low-flash powder.

Until recently, snubnose revolver shooters made do with standard ammunition and the knowledge that the ammo would not be as effective as if it was shot out of a longer barrel handgun.  The amount of velocity loss varied with the load and the firearm, but generally, it has been understood that short-barreled guns are less potent than longer ones.

There are probably others out there, but the 135 grain Speer Gold Dot load for the .38 Special was the first short-barrel load to really get traction with the public.  The load uses a medium-to-heavy weight bullet for the cartridge (most bullet weights run 110 grain, 125 grain or 158 grain in .38 Special) and a special powder to maximize velocity out of short-barreled guns.  From what I hear the load has been effective “on the street.”

The load was developed by Speer for the New York City Police Department, and it has been adopted by many other law enforcement agencies as the back-up gun ammo of choice. The “halo effect” of police agency use often drives sales in the commercial market, and I suspect that is one of the reasons the Speer load has been popular.

The Buffalo Bore uses a lighter bullet than the Speer load.  In-house testing by Buffalo Bore shows their load makes for more than 1100 fps out of 2″ Smith & Wesson revolvers (1104 fps with a model 340 and 1119 fps with a model 60).  Moving up to 3″ barreled revolvers moves the velocity north of 1200 fps (1202 with a Ruger SP101 and 1210 with a S&W model 66).

By way of comparison, Ballistics by the Inch tested the Speer load and obtained 897 fps from a Smith & Wesson 642 (1.875″ barrel) and 928 fps from a Colt Detective Special (3″) barrel.  Keep in mind that the Buffalo Bore tests and BBTI tests cannot be directly compared, as they were not controlled environments, etc.  But for the sake of discussion, they are interesting.

The Buffalo Bore load is +P rated, and the company states the bullets are crimped, so shooting out of the ultra-lightweight revolvers should not be a problem.  Buffalo Bore also noted very tight groups with the load (check out their website for more information.)