by Tom McHale With the ever-shifting threat environment, it seems that much of the concealed carry community is making another quantum shift towards the Wonder Nine. Today’s self-defense ammunition isn’t your daddy’s ball ammo anymore, and if you take and honest and very objective look at actual performance metrics like one-shot-stop percentage, lethality, and the … [Read more...]
by Tom McHale There’s a lot to be said for finishing the job. When it comes to .45 ACP expansion performance, and I’m talking about the heavy and comparatively slow 230-grain varieties, reliable expansion can be an iffy thing. What starts as a projectile capable of leveling a city block often ends with some percentage of unexpanded slow but heavy bullets. Whether or not … [Read more...]
by Tom McHale 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 … [Read more...]
by Tom McHale I’ve always been a big fan of .357 Sig caliber. Yeah, I know, it’s got more recoil and muzzle blast than 9mm. On the other hand, it comes darn close, and sometimes matches, the performance of the classic 125-grain .357 Magnum round. It’s hard to argue with the effectiveness of that cartridge. The good news is that .357 Sig is a whole lot easier to manage … [Read more...]
by Tom McHale .380 ACP is a pain in the butt. It’s convenient, and you can make obscenely small and handy guns that can handle the caliber, but it’s a borderline cartridge in terms of performance. I’m guessing it gives ammo manufacturers fits. Why? It’s a light bullet. Generally, 380 ACP rounds are about 90 grains in weight, or roughly ¾ the weight of a 9mm self-defense … [Read more...]
