I've been having a couple of interesting days sorting through my ammo stash, re-inventorying and re-packing everything so I know where I stand. I've been astonished by how much I've accumulated in certain calibers and cartridges, particularly the ones I used to use to train disabled and handicapped shooters. I won't have to buy ammo in those calibers for a few years, I should think. Still, it's nice to have a decent-size reserve on hand, particularly if another 'ammo panic' follows the Presidential elections later this year.
I have to give a shout-out to a couple of suppliers (and no, they're not offering me any inducement, incentive or payment to mention them). I needed more .30-caliber ammo cans, which I find very useful for storing smaller quantities of quality ammo, as well as practice ammo in bulk (putting the latter in .50-caliber cans can make them very heavy indeed - too much so for my fused spine's load limit). After much shopping around the Internet and in local stores, I found the best current value for money came from AmmunitionStore.com in Ohio. They offered brand-new .30-caliber metal cans for only $8.99 apiece. Including shipping to Texas, they worked out to $13.51 each, which is only a couple of dollars more than the price of used, rusty and battered ammo cans at a local store. I was happy to pay the difference to get factory-new production cans. They arrived today, and are exactly as described - brand-new and unused, in perfect condition, and well packed against damage in transit. I'll be buying from AmmunitionStore.com again.
When it comes to storing ammunition in bulk in ammo cans (i.e. not in the original boxes), I've found the anti-corrosion bags from ZCORR to be very useful indeed. I bought 10 more of their .30-caliber ammo can liners this week, and have already filled more than half of them. Each, inserted in the can empty, then filled, will hold 1,000 rounds of 9mm. ammo, or 750 rounds of .40 S&W, or comparable quantities of other calibers and cartridges, depending on size. I also toss in a few silica gel desiccant bags. They seal water- and air-tight, so even if the seal on your ammo can is old and worn, its contents will still be protected. They're very useful, and I highly recommend them from my own experience.
There are conflicting approaches to the conditions under which ammo should be stored. Some (including myself) prefer to keep it in climate-controlled conditions, so that it doesn't get too hot, too cold or too humid/damp/moist/whatever. Others argue this isn't necessary unless you're planning to keep it in stock for years, even decades, because quality ammo should be able to take normal summer and winter temperatures for a decade or more without degrading. They point to military ammo storage in containers, in the middle of desert heat in Iraq and Afghanistan, as proof of that. I'm not so sure. I've known ammo to 'go bad' in very hot conditions during my previous military service. Furthermore, degraded propellant can produce dangerously high or low pressures (high in that it can burst the breech; low in that it can lodge a bullet in the barrel, a so-called 'squib load', which makes the next round you fire . . . interesting.) I guess, if you plan to use it within five years, it probably doesn't matter much; but I'll continue to store mine in the house, rather than in the heat/cold/whatever of the garage. I just feel safer that way.
I'd dearly love to know, however, why I've ended up with odds and ends of ammo. How did I come to have 37 rounds of 7.62x54R - a cartridge I haven't shot in years, and for which I don't currently have a rifle in my collection? (Time to get one, maybe? Ducks hurriedly to avoid swat from wife.) And why 79 rounds of 8mm. Mauser, when I sold my rifle in that caliber even before my 2004 injury? As for the half-box of 7mm. Remington Magnum, I've never owned a firearm chambered for it! How on earth did it get into my stash? Oh, well . . . I guess friends who shoot those cartridges and calibers are about to get lucky.
Source: Ammunition, and the storage thereof
Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2016
Ammunition Review - Ammoman
Eric, from Ammoman (your first stop for on-line ammunition purchases) asked me if I would review some of the ammunition that they are selling. I'm happy to do that here on the Virtual Mirage Blog. An excuse to go to the range and shoot? No, I don't need an excuse, but this provides a compelling reason. Feed my addiction AMMO MAN!
In order to conduct the test properly, I traveled to Arizona to shoot. Don't fret, it's a 3 hour drive. It takes me as long to drive 40 miles into Los Angeles during the morning rush as it does to drive 210 miles to Arizona, but I can put cruise control on when driving to AZ in the Ford Raptor, with the music cranked up.
Testing took place between 7:00 and 8:30 am (to avoid heat and the breeze that throws off hyper accuracy, which is what was at stake here). By 9:30, it was 95 degrees and time to pack up and head back for the coast and those naturally balmy breezes that Orange County California is heir to.
Testing Platforms:
1. JP LRP-07 (semi-automatic rifle) (more on LRP here)
2. Barrett MRAD, chambered for .308 (bolt action rifle) (more on MRAD here)
Both rifles have Schmidt and Bender Police Marksman 2 rifle scopes.
The Ammoman testing ammunition:
PMC .308 Win (7.62X51) "Bronze" 147 grain FMJ-BT
PMC 7.62X51 "XTAC" 147 grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) Boat Tail (BT)
Notes: My standard go-to war shots for these rifles is the Federal Lake City Match 175gr HPBT XM118 Long Range primarily because I like to engage paper targets at the outside of the .308 effective range (700 meters +) and the cartridge is designed for that application. I also shoot .308, 168 Grain HP-BT - Federal Premium Sierra Match King Gold Medal. Thus the comparison PMC ammunition.
The lighter 147 gr. bullets had a different Point of Impact (POI) from the Lake City Match (sighted in) as one would expect, but the groupings were impressive at 100 meters with both rifles, achieving an average 1.5 MOI with the LRP-07 and 2.25 MOI with the Barrett MRAD, firing three round groups.
I did not fire 7.62X51 through the LRP. I tested both sets of ammunition through the MRAD and they performed substantively the same. Any variance was likely due to shooter error.
"Although not identical, the 7.62×51mm NATO and the commercial .308 Winchester cartridges are similar enough that they can be loaded into rifles chambered for the other round, but the Winchester .308 cartridges are typically loaded to higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges."
The LRP has a heat sink on the barrel, providing the same results with a hot bore as with a cold bore. The MRAD groupings were made after firing ten rounds, slow fire, to heat the bore and provide uniformity. I am impressed with the PMC ammunition a standard hunting ranges. The test was at 100 meters, but the groupings were good at 300 as well.
To make things a bit more interesting, I fired the PMC .308 ammunition from the LRP at targets at longer ranges (600, 700 and 800 known distance targets). As expected, they did not meet the standard set by the XM118 cartridges, but nobody would expect them to.
Testing platforms:
1. Glock 21 Gen 1 (.45 ACP) with internal modifications including a tougher recoil spring to compensate for +P and +P+ ammunition, a titanium guide rod in the recoil mechanism and a one-inch longer-than-stock Lone Wolf barrel.
2. Kimber Raptor 2 (.45 ACP), stock Kimber, Colt 1911A1 style handgun.
The Ammoman testing ammunition:
Winchester Training Ammunition - .45 ACP 230 grain FMJ
Winchester .45 ACP 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) ("Duty Ammunition")
Going into the testing I wondered how the Winchester FMJ ammunition would cycle in the Model 21, modified to cycle hotter ammunition with more recoil. I have fired standard Orange County (CA) Sheriff's Department range ammunition through that pistol (with the original barrel and the longer Lone Wolf barrel) without any problems, but you never know. The Glock has had well over 10K rounds fired through it.
The Kimber is a newer handgun, tuned for standard .45 ACP ammunition (though I load +P ammo in the magazine for carry purposes as a matter of course)
The focus of the test was to determine whether the training ammunition would print the same as the duty ammunition. One common faulty training habit is to practice with one type of (usually hardball) ammunition and carry a different type jacketed hollow point that has different recoil and POI characteristics from what you train with. It's an economic thing and we all fall prey to that from time to time.
Winchester's solution was to offer two (different price points) types of ammunition that would offer the same recoil for training purposes as it does for combat purposes.
The Winchester ammunition performed as advertised and I found no difference in recoil or grouping between the training ammunition and the duty ammunition. Will I cast off my Hornady Critical Defense +P or my custom load +P+ ammunition for daily carry? Possibly not, but that's just because I want a .45 ACP cartridge that shoots about 200+ FPS faster.
Source: Ammunition Review - Ammoman
In order to conduct the test properly, I traveled to Arizona to shoot. Don't fret, it's a 3 hour drive. It takes me as long to drive 40 miles into Los Angeles during the morning rush as it does to drive 210 miles to Arizona, but I can put cruise control on when driving to AZ in the Ford Raptor, with the music cranked up.
Testing took place between 7:00 and 8:30 am (to avoid heat and the breeze that throws off hyper accuracy, which is what was at stake here). By 9:30, it was 95 degrees and time to pack up and head back for the coast and those naturally balmy breezes that Orange County California is heir to.
Testing Platforms:
1. JP LRP-07 (semi-automatic rifle) (more on LRP here)
2. Barrett MRAD, chambered for .308 (bolt action rifle) (more on MRAD here)
Both rifles have Schmidt and Bender Police Marksman 2 rifle scopes.
The Ammoman testing ammunition:
PMC .308 Win (7.62X51) "Bronze" 147 grain FMJ-BT
PMC 7.62X51 "XTAC" 147 grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) Boat Tail (BT)
Notes: My standard go-to war shots for these rifles is the Federal Lake City Match 175gr HPBT XM118 Long Range primarily because I like to engage paper targets at the outside of the .308 effective range (700 meters +) and the cartridge is designed for that application. I also shoot .308, 168 Grain HP-BT - Federal Premium Sierra Match King Gold Medal. Thus the comparison PMC ammunition.
The lighter 147 gr. bullets had a different Point of Impact (POI) from the Lake City Match (sighted in) as one would expect, but the groupings were impressive at 100 meters with both rifles, achieving an average 1.5 MOI with the LRP-07 and 2.25 MOI with the Barrett MRAD, firing three round groups.
I did not fire 7.62X51 through the LRP. I tested both sets of ammunition through the MRAD and they performed substantively the same. Any variance was likely due to shooter error.
"Although not identical, the 7.62×51mm NATO and the commercial .308 Winchester cartridges are similar enough that they can be loaded into rifles chambered for the other round, but the Winchester .308 cartridges are typically loaded to higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges."
The LRP has a heat sink on the barrel, providing the same results with a hot bore as with a cold bore. The MRAD groupings were made after firing ten rounds, slow fire, to heat the bore and provide uniformity. I am impressed with the PMC ammunition a standard hunting ranges. The test was at 100 meters, but the groupings were good at 300 as well.
To make things a bit more interesting, I fired the PMC .308 ammunition from the LRP at targets at longer ranges (600, 700 and 800 known distance targets). As expected, they did not meet the standard set by the XM118 cartridges, but nobody would expect them to.
Testing platforms:
1. Glock 21 Gen 1 (.45 ACP) with internal modifications including a tougher recoil spring to compensate for +P and +P+ ammunition, a titanium guide rod in the recoil mechanism and a one-inch longer-than-stock Lone Wolf barrel.
2. Kimber Raptor 2 (.45 ACP), stock Kimber, Colt 1911A1 style handgun.
The Ammoman testing ammunition:
Winchester Training Ammunition - .45 ACP 230 grain FMJ
Winchester .45 ACP 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) ("Duty Ammunition")
Going into the testing I wondered how the Winchester FMJ ammunition would cycle in the Model 21, modified to cycle hotter ammunition with more recoil. I have fired standard Orange County (CA) Sheriff's Department range ammunition through that pistol (with the original barrel and the longer Lone Wolf barrel) without any problems, but you never know. The Glock has had well over 10K rounds fired through it.
The Kimber is a newer handgun, tuned for standard .45 ACP ammunition (though I load +P ammo in the magazine for carry purposes as a matter of course)
The focus of the test was to determine whether the training ammunition would print the same as the duty ammunition. One common faulty training habit is to practice with one type of (usually hardball) ammunition and carry a different type jacketed hollow point that has different recoil and POI characteristics from what you train with. It's an economic thing and we all fall prey to that from time to time.
Winchester's solution was to offer two (different price points) types of ammunition that would offer the same recoil for training purposes as it does for combat purposes.
The Winchester ammunition performed as advertised and I found no difference in recoil or grouping between the training ammunition and the duty ammunition. Will I cast off my Hornady Critical Defense +P or my custom load +P+ ammunition for daily carry? Possibly not, but that's just because I want a .45 ACP cartridge that shoots about 200+ FPS faster.
Source: Ammunition Review - Ammoman
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