EAST ALTON, Ill. May 10, 2018 – Since 2015, deer hunters have been discovering first-hand the incredible effectiveness of Deer Season XP®. Deer Season XP has developed a strong following among deer hunters who love the large diameter polymer-tipped bullet that reliably delivers devastating terminal performance.
Highlights of Deer Season XP include:
Bigger Tip. Bigger Impact® – The large-impact-diameter design expands immediately upon contact to deliver the energy needed to transfer massive knockdown power
Accuracy – Deer Season XP is extremely accurate due to its Extreme Point®polymer tip, tapered bullet jacket and a precision swaged lead core
Price – This combination of high-tech performance is delivered at a value price
Offered in 15 of the most popular deer hunting calibers across North America, Winchester is adding the 117-grain, .25-06 Rem and the 250-grain, .450 Bushmaster loads to its lineup.
Deer Season XP® is available in 20-round boxes. Read more
Cortland, NY….. Redding Reloading Equipment introduces their fourth in a series of “Weight Range Specific” Powder Measures, the Competition PR-50 for the Precision Rifle Market and its specific cartridges.
For years many manufacturers have taken the approach that one powder measure would do everything. It is a fact that any volumetric measuring device carries a sweet spot that is relative to the dimensions of its metering chamber. The greatest precision and repeatability is found within this sweet spot, with an increasing level of consistency degradation happening as charge weights move farther out of its range. Broad range measures are good throughout their range and great at points. Good has never been enough for Redding and while we produce two highly recognized broad range powder measures, we began building specialized measures for a variety for shooting disciplines and cartridge types over a decade ago beginning with the BR-30, Competition 10x and more recently the LR-1000. Read more
ANOKA, Minnesota – – Federal Ammunition is pleased to introduce all-new Syntech Action Pistol, the official ammunition of the USPSA. Shooters who compete at the highest levels need ammunition built for the demands of their discipline. Syntech Action Pistol is specifically designed for the action shooting sports and loaded to power factor requirements with heavy, flatter-nosed bullets for more reliable knock-downs on steel targets in competition. Shipments are being delivered to dealers.
Like all Syntech loads, Action Pistol features the exclusive Total Synthetic Jacket (TSJ), which prevents metal-on-metal contact between the bullet and barrel, eliminating copper and lead fouling as well as reducing damaging heat and friction. Combined with clean-burning powders and the Catalyst lead-free primer, Syntech Action Pistol provides the softest-shooting and most reliable performance possible for high-volume competitive shooters.
Features & Benefits
• Official ammunition of USPSA
• Optimized for action shooting sports’ power factor requirements
• Reduced felt recoil
• Flatter than typical nose profile for better energy transfer to steel targets
• TSJ eliminates copper and lead fouling, while extending barrel life
• Exclusive lead-free primer formulation provides reliable, consistent ignition
• Clean-burning propellants minimize residue
• Drastically reduces splash-back on steel targets Read more
Newington, NH – SIG SAUER, Inc. introduces new, high-performance SIG 365 Elite Performance Ammunition in 115gr 9mm SIG V-Crown® and SIG FMJ loads. Designed for optimal performance in short barrel, concealed carry pistols, such as its namesake – the revolutionary P365™ high-capacity, micro compact – SIG 365 ammunition uses low-flash, clean burning powders for maximum performance and shootablity.
Training the way you carry is paramount, and SIG full metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition is engineered to shoot like SIG V-Crown jacketed hollow point (JHP) personal defense loads – same recoil, velocity and importantly, same point of impact – to ensure a seamless transition from training ammunition to carry ammunition. Corresponding SIG V-Crown and FMJ rounds are loaded on the same machines, use the same brass and are loaded to the same pressures. They use the same clean-burning powder that is consumed before the projectile leaves the barrel, for the optimal mix of muzzle velocity and muzzle energy, while still making recoil very comfortable and manageable.
SIG V-Crown stacked hollow point ammunition is especially effective for personal defense. The proprietary V-Crown bullet delivers exceptional on target energy with maximum weight retention and expansion for ultimate stopping power, and the V-Crown’s coated, nickel-plated cases provide enhanced lubricity, superior corrosion resistance, and reliable feeding and extraction. SIG FMJ training ammunition features durable, copper jacketed bullets that stay with the lead on impact and offers the perfect combination of affordability and performance. Read more
Overland Park, KS – – Butler Creek, maker of smart, field-proven, hunting and shooting accessories, will launch a new product at booth #7530 at the 2018 National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Dallas, Texas May 4 to 6.
The new generation of loading is here. The ASAP Electronic Magazine Loader is the only product of its kind on the market, and made with serious competitors and training facilities in mind. Just fill the 60 round hopper with loose rounds, select the desired round count and press a button. The machine automatically orientates the ammunition and loads your magazine. Magazine loading does not get any easier. Read more
Grand Island, NE – Critical Duty®9mm+P is the new handgun service ammunition of the FBI.
Hornady® has been awarded a Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its 9mm+P Luger 135 gr. FlexLock®Critical Duty® ammunition. In addition to the service ammunition contract, Hornady® training and frangible ammunition was also selected for use on this contract.
“Being awarded this contract by the FBI is a significant moment in our company’s history,” said Jason Hornady, vice president of Hornady Manufacturing Company. “We’ve worked tirelessly to develop the finest law enforcement ammunition products on the market. Knowing that the FBI relies on our ammunition is a testament to the innovation and tenacity exhibited by all the hard-working people at Hornady. We’re extremely proud to be selected by the FBI.”
Built around Lyman®’s new 2018 reloading presses, the Brass Smith Ideal™, Victory™ and All-American 8™, are new reloading kits that provide everything to get started on a rewarding new hobby.
Lyman Products Ideal Reloading Press Kit
Middletown, Conn. – Lyman® Products introduced three new reloading presses in 2018: the Brass Smith Ideal™ Press, a single-operation press featuring plenty of options; the Brass Smith Victory™ Press, a foundational press with a straight line primer feed; and the Brass Smith All-American 8™ Turret Press for increased efficiency of reloading quantities. Read more
Kent’s new Elite Pro Target™ loads use clean burning custom blended ball powders for consistent velocity and reduced felt recoil. Kent’s proprietary Diamond Shot® technology uses a new revolutionary polishing process for consistent, uniform patterns and superior target breaking performance on the trap range. The shells feature a 10mm nickel plated head for smooth and reliable ejection. Read more
Anniston, Ala. – Creedmoor® Sports, the leader in precision rifle equipment and gear, is pleased to announce that Aztec Mode Software from Annealing Made Perfect is now available for purchase. This patent-pending, brand new software was debuted by Annealing Made Perfect at the 2018 SHOT Show and is considered a major upgrade in the way the annealer operates, allowing customers to calibrate their own annealing settings without sending samples to New Zealand. Read more
“Where the rubber meets the road” are lyrics coined by an old Firestone tire commercial with a simple meaning: For anything with wheels and rubber, handling and control come down to the tires. Similarly, all the shiny steel and fine optics of a firearm come down to one moment of truth: when the bullet strikes its target. This all-important aspect of hunting – specifically deer for the purposes of this discussion – is often overlooked by some relatively savvy hunters.
Recently, I took the opportunity to compare results of two completely different styles of ammunition for the enormously popular .450 Bushmaster caliber. As you may know, several Mid-Western states, including Michigan, have adopted hunting regulations allowing the use of size-limited, straight-wall-case cartridges in areas heretofore primarily relegated to shotguns. The .450 Bushmaster is near the maximum allowable length and provides ethical hunters a viable option. Although the caliber got its beginning in AR platform rifles, economical bolt –action rifles are now flying off the shelves in an effort to accommodate the growing demand.
Specifically, the Ruger American was the first one to hit the market, because of the prompting of Randy Brown of Randy’s Hunting Center in Bad Axe, Michigan to produce it for the clamoring whitetail deer hunters. Ruger subsequently cornered the market and Randy became famous for his efforts.
Factory ammunition, however, has been limited in selection with Hornady taking over the lion’s share of sales with its Flex Tip, 250-grain offering. This sledge hammer of a round leaves the muzzle at 2200 feet-per-second (fps) developing a whopping 2686 foot-pounds of energy and has become the go-to ammo for sportsmen and women. Personal anecdotal evidence, plus that conveyed to me, bears out the inherent accuracy and effectiveness of the powerful combination of the handy rifle and load.
Always striving for something better, I was interested to learn of a new ammunition offering in .450 Bushmaster produced by ARX with its 158-grain Inceptor bullet at a substantially faster 2620 fps and 2409 ft. lbs. of energy.
L-R: ARX Inceptor, Hornady Flex Tip, and Recovered Flex Tip bullet
This non-expanding bullet, comprised of copper particles blended with a polymer, is engineered for maximum hydraulic displacement and terminal energy transfer to targets through fluted bullets with lateral dispersion creating a venturi effect. Initially, this frangible bullet had been developed to disintegrate upon impact with hard targets such as steel to eliminate ricochets in competition shooting, or to avoid over-penetration in self-defense situations with handgun calibers.
My unscientific test to compare the two different styles of ammunition involved the Ruger American rifle and a stack of soaked newsprint catalogs. Fortunately, I was able to locate two shoulder blades found as remnants from a deer that had obviously expired many years ago and placed them in front of the catalog expansion medium. Here’s where the “rubber met the road.”
At close range the ARX Inceptor bullet struck the bone and proceeded through some 2200 pages of wet pages – one complete catalog plus 10 percent of the next one. The Hornady Flex Tip bullet hit a corresponding bone and traveled through two complete catalogs and well into a third one.
The experiment concluded with a search for what remained of the two bullets. The recovered Inceptor made a violent entrance and completely disintegrated to its final resting place where only a tiny fragment of the original projectile was found – not even enough to bother weighing! On the other hand, the Hornady Flex Tip was peeled from well over 4,000 layers of paper, weighed 170 grains and had mushroomed to about 50-percent more than its original diameter of .452 inches, although the copper jacket had separated from the lead core.
The conclusion is that velocity and energy are only important if they can deliver a better wound channel and the less-expensive Hornady ammo and its Flex Tip design provide a much more appropriate transfer of said energy for a big-game hunting round.
