Hello and welcome back to another edition of  The Rimfire Report!  The Rimfire Report is all about the guns, ammunition, and trends that surround the rimfire firearm world. On new year’s eve, I happened across a video from one of my favorite gun YouTubers – TAOFLEDERMAUS. Jeff often tests obscure and custom ammunition and he doesn’t neglect everyone’s favorite plinking round – 22LR. Jeff decided to test the theory behind a “split point” modified case and compare his results to both standard round nose ammunition as well as hollow point ammunition.

With the dawn of a New Year, it means lots of new products related to the firearms industry for gun lovers like ourselves. It’s like Christmas 2.0 as we see the cascade of new products announced and are contemplating whether we really need two kidneys or not (could probably get by with just one, right). One of the 1st new product announcements to come from Vista Outdoors is Clean-22 Realtree rimfire ammo specifically from CCI. This offering of ammunition utilizes their polymer bullets for a cleaner shooting experience with a unique twist. You can read the complete list of specifications below as presented by CCI:

With regards to night vision, I am pretty much squared away and then some. But when it comes to thermal devices I have yet to get something good. All I want for Christmas is an NVision NOX, SKEETIRx and ammo.

Announced about a week ago, the new Nosler Reloading Guide 9 is now available for purchase. According to Nosler, the 9th edition manual has been in the making for five years and within its 800 pages, it contains comprehensive reloading data generated from thousands of hours of testing conducted in the Nosler Ballistic Lab. Let’s see what one should expect to find in the latest Nosler reloading guide.

Hornady has introduced a new muzzleloading bullet product line called  Bore Driver FTX. These muzzleloader projectiles consist of a polymer base and an FTX bullet both designed from the ground up. Let’s take a closer look at the design of these new Hornady muzzleloading bullets.

Yes, that Vortex, the optics company. Folks at Vortex Nation Podcast started a project of designing a new long-range hunting cartridge. Their goal was to create a 6.5mm (.264″) caliber cartridge for antelope/deer-sized game that performance- and length-wise would fall somewhere between the cartridges like 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum. The result is a long action (3.340″ COAL) cartridge dubbed 6.5 BC (BC semi-officially stands for Bitch Cat).

Hello and welcome back to another edition of  The Rimfire Report In this weekly series we discuss and explore the various firearms, ammunition, trends, and concepts surrounding the rimfire firearm world. This week we’ll be diving into a topic I think gets very little attention but perhaps is gaining some traction due to recent times. The fact of the matter is that we are currently in the midst of one of the greatest ammunition shortages this country has ever seen. All but the most obscure of ammunition is absent from the shelves and even some wildcat calibers are taking on new popularity simply due to their availability. This week on The Rimfire Report we will discuss the value of the humble .22LR round has become for keeping your shooting life alive.

Two years ago Speer Ammunition‘s sister company Federal Premium received a five-year duty ammunition contract from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Speer has now been awarded the joint Nordic Police 9×19 mm duty handgun ammunition contract with their well-known Speer 124-grain Gold Dot.

It’s no secret that the industry is currently facing some harsh times. With ammunition, firearm prices inflated to record highs, firearms enthusiasts of all walks are beginning to feel the stress of the industries growing pains in the midst of uncertainty. Reloaders, a pretty niche subset of firearms enthusiasts, are not exempt from this tumultuous time. If you’ve taken a gander at any sort of reloading components (brass, bullets, powder, and primers) you’d be hard-pressed to find anything in stock at the prices they once were, and even the overpriced stuff seems to be vacant from the shelves no matter what? Primers especially are next to impossible to find aside from opportunistic scalpers who are selling them online for upwards of four times their normal price. So where have all the primers gone?

Federal Ammunition has new premium ammunition called Swift Scirocco II. As you can see from the pictures below, it has a black polymer tip for improved ballistics and reliable low-velocity expansion. According to Federal, the intended customer is a hunter looking for a medium-sized game. The round looks really good, dressed-up in silver-grey, copper and black.

SAAMI or the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, have just announced that three new magnum cartridges have been accepted for SAAMI standardization. The newly accepted rounds include SIG Sauer’s 277 SIG FURY (the commercially available version of SIG Sauer’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program round), the 6.5 Weatherby Rebated Precision Magnum from Weatherby and the 6.8 Western from Olin Winchester.

The South African Army has purchased more than 20,000 rounds of Rheinmetall’s a new medium-velocity (MV) 40mm ammunition. These include a mixture of high explosive, high explosive dual-purpose, practice ammunition, practice tracers, red phosphorous smoke rounds and orange target marker ammunition. In total, Rheinmetall have nine different MV ammunition types, with a range of up to 800 metres.

Pheasants better beware as Federal Ammunition have released new 16- and 28-gauge Federal Premium Prairie Storm ammo. The payload mix consists of 70 percent standard copper-plated lead and 30 percent FS Lead and according to the manufacturer, the patterning has been improved. The wad design is also improved and the ammo can be used with both ported and standard chokes.

Okay, which one of you is buying all the ammo? No seriously. As if 2020 isn’t bad enough – viruses, unrest, elections – the lifeblood of the one thing that keeps me grounded in this crazy world has dried up. Forget trying to buy 5.56x45mm, 300BLK or 9mm, even semi obscure calibers are nowhere to be found. And I don’t hear a lot more shooting/training going more than usual. So where is it all? As evidence of the historic demand, Fox Business is reporting that Vista Outdoor is behind on ammunition orders by a year and over a billion dollars. I’m sure my order is in there somewhere.

SAAMI or the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute is an association of the nation’s leading firearms, ammunition and component manufacturers. Founded in 1926, SAAMI is tasked with coordinating technical data, promoting safe practices in manufacturing and firearms use and creating and publishing industry standards for safety, interchangeability, reliability and quality. The institution has now announced that they will be adding a new membership category – affiliated members.

Good afternoon shooters and welcome to a post election November 2020. This is the 150th edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the YHM Turbo K rifle suppressor. Last week, for a special Halloween edition, we went through five strange and spooky suppressor and firearm combinations. This week we’ll go through three top rated AR15 suppressors, each of which have different intended roles and host requirements. Which one is right for you? Probably all of them. Let’s take a look.

This year, Hornady introduced their new “Hangun Hunter” line of lead-free copper alloy ammunition for many popular handgun hunting calibers (and, for some reason, 9mm):

Lapua has a new selection of brass cartridge cases ready for 2021. They will add 6.5 PRC, .284 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 PRC cartridge cases to their 2021 offerings. The new Lapua 6.5 and .300 PRC cartridge cases are intended to provide competitive shooters, hunters and accuracy enthusiasts a premium selection for precision hand loads. The .284 Winchester cases are for shooters who compete to distances out to 1,000 yards. The new cartridges will be available in the spring of 2021.

The Hornady BLACK line of ammunition was established on rifle calibers, of which are typically associated with “black rifles”.  Hornady’s website now has popular pistol calibers listed under the BLACK label and utilizes the XTP hollow point projectiles.  The new BLACK branded pistol caliber ammo is billed for use as defensive ammo across the caliber offerings, with some also being suggested for target/match and varmint hunting. The pistol versions introduced thus far are .380 ACP, 9mm Luger (in 115 and 124 grain), .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.

True Velocity Ammunition have released a statement confirming that they have been selected to progress to the next stage of the Australian Army’ LAND 159 Force Modernization Program. TV will be partnering with Australian company NIOA, who were tasked by the Australian Defense Forces, back in July, with identifying companies to provide next generation capabilities.

Lever-action fans, cowboy action shooters, and ranch hands, this one is for you. As first teased at SHOT Show 2020, your lever guns are getting some new food. One of the industry’s premier ammo manufacturers, Federal Ammunition, has partnered with Henry Repeating Arms to research and develop rounds that are purpose-built for your classically Wild West-style rifles. Federal’s new HammerDown line is now shipping in five calibers: 44 Rem Magnum, 45-70 Government, 30-30 Win, 327 Federal Magnum, and 45 Colt. A sixth flavor, 357 Magnum, is slated to come on line soon as well. To announce the official introduction of these newly-available yeehaw rounds, Federal has issued the following press release:

Extreme accuracy reloading is how you determine just how accurate your rifle truly is.  Last year I reviewed the Ruger Precision Rifle Magnum in 300 PRC.  During that review, I was averaging 0.6 MOA groups using Hornady 300 PRC 225 Grain Match Ammunition.  I purchased the rifle shortly after that review, and several months later spotted Hornady’s new A-Tip projectiles on shelves. Keen to see just how accurate this Ruger could be with these new projectiles I promptly bought a box and set off to work up a precision hand load for this rifle.

Bear Creek Arsenal has released a guide to the Perfect Hunting Calibers and their associated game. Most of you are probably enjoying the fall weather with the lush green forests starting to turn to autumn colors and all manner of critters starting to prepare for the winter months. For us hunters this means dusting off our old reliable hunting rifles, shoring up our tree stands, and replacing the batteries in our game cameras. So what does Bear Creek say as far as what the perfect hunting calibers are for what game? Let’s find out!

A Venice Florida home was recently set ablaze during a reloading disaster which resulted in over 10,000 rounds of ammunition being burned away in the blaze. According to the Fox 13 news report, the two-alarm fire was brought under control as neighboring houses were evacuated using remotely operated tools.

Winchester has just completed its first historic ammunition delivery for the United States Warfighter by means of shipments of both 5.56x45mm NATO and 50 BMG ammunition departing to various armed forces locations across the globe. The Lake City Ammunition Plant has been producing ammunition since 1941 and this first shipment is part of a 7-year contract with the United States Army that was awarded in 2019.

Varmint hunters that use 22 WMR now have a new choice from CCI Ammunition. The new CCI Maxi-Mag Clean-22 .22WMR ammo uses a 46 gr. Segmented Hollow Point (SHP) bullet designed to transfers as much energy to the target as possible. To reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do afterwards, the bullet has a polymer coating that CCI claims greatly reduces copper and lead fouling in your barrel, without leaving any residues.

True Velocity are joining the board. The Texas-based hybrid ammunition manufacturer is set to join the Board of Directors of SAAMI – the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute. If you’re unfamiliar with SAAMI they are an organisation, founded back in 1926, that creates technical, safety and performance standards for US ammunition manufacture. Made up of representatives from major US ammunition manufacturers, True Velocity’s joining of the board as a voting member is a significant achievement for the company that specialises in lightweight hybrid ammunition that makes extensive use of polymers.

Baschieri & Pellagri was established in Marano di Castenaso (Italy) in 1885 and manufactures premium shotgun ammunition. I’ve used their ammunition in several IPSC shotgun championships, and like their buckshot loads in particular.

If you’re hunting medium game, Federal Ammunition has a new Fusion Soft Point 10mm Auto for your handgun. From a 6″ barrel, the 200 gr bullet of the new Fusion 10mm ammo reaches a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps. As we talked about in an article titled “ An Open Letter: Ammo Manufacturers, Please List Your Test Barrel Lengths“, it’s great to know the barrel length any particular load was tested in. Below you can see what the new Fusion 10mm Auto looks like, and further down what it looks like expanded.

Austin Thomas Jones is an Aerospace Engineer with a less than favorable view of Federal Firearms regulations. It is this attitude that caused Austin to depart from the aerospace industry and enter the firearms industry with the goal of resurrecting armor-piercing ammunition in order to provide equality under the law with regards to armor-piercing ammunition. Austin and Atlas Arms have worked hard to produce what he calls the Dagny Dagger – an unrestricted Armor Piercing ammunition that skirts around the ATF regulations to give “the common” access to reliable AP ammunition.