Well, my friends, here we go. I thought all of this would be a pretty simple process. The learning curve was sharper then I expected, straight from the start.  Welcome to Part 2 of TFB and LYMANS Bullet Casting for Beginners Series (you can find Part 1, the intro at  https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/08/22/bullet-casting-for-beginners/).  At the end of Part 1, I list all of the equipment you should need to get started.

The US Army’s Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee is looking expand its already massive facility. Run by BAE Systems and US Army Materiel Command, the Holston Ammunition Plant, originally established during World War Two, already currently covers 6,020 acres and spans across two counties in Tennessee.

Federal Premium’s Blackcloud shotgun loads have become a benchmark for many when it comes to waterfowl hunting. The dense, tight patterns and consistent knock-down ensures more birds end up in the boat and less “shoulda, woulda, coulda” stories are told around the water cooler on Monday morning. To make even more hunters happy, Federal Premium is offering their line of Blackcloud FS Steel waterfowl loads in more shot sizes to appeal to more hunters. You can now get Blackcloud FS Steel in No. 1 and No. 3 Shot for both 12 and 20 Gauge.

When it comes to upland bird hunting, we are always trying to squeak the most performance out of our gear. Whether we are hunting grouse, quail, dove, ptarmigan or pheasants we want the best to ensure our tags are filled and our crockpots are overflowing. This can come in the context of buying new shotguns because… I would have dusted that pheasant if my shotgun didn’t fail me! Or new ammunition because… My aim was right on! The ammo never got there! Whatever the case may be (or helps hunters sleep at night), Federal Premium is hoping you look to them to fill any gaps you have in the ammunition department with new options in their HI-BIRD UPLAND shotgun shells.

It you have not had the chance to use a magazine loader/unloader, it is probably time. The new MagLULA that was just announced is an upgraded version of the tried and tested original that fits atop an AR magazine to allow rounds to be easily loaded or unloaded. Like flicking a switch, the arm of the new MagLULA pushes a round (or follower) down to allow for space for a new round to be dropped into place. A simple but ingenious invention that has helped shooters load up more easily for almost two decades.

The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has published a solicitation for development of lightweight machine gun ammunition. The solicitation was published on the website of a US government program called SBIR ( Small Business Innovation Research). SOCOM wants cartridge cases made from materials lighter than brass which at the same time would have higher case capacity, higher pressure ratings, increased corrosion resistance and would be capable of working with standard cartridge belts and machine guns.

Wilson Combat has introduced a new 30 caliber cartridge called .300 HAM’R. It is primarily marketed as a hunting cartridge designed to duplicate the performance of the iconic .30-30 Winchester in an AR-15 platform. In fact, Bill Wilson originally named this cartridge .30-30 AR, then later renamed it using their HAM’R trademark.

We at TFB recently had the opportunity to visit Federal Premium at their Anoka, MN ammunition plant for a factory tour. We were able to discuss a lot of the new products they have introduced this year, and it is a lot! Federal Premium has announced 34 NEW products to the market just in 2018. Everything from…

Welcome to our second series regarding reloading!  The good people of LYMAN have wanted to continue their partnership with TFB, and you the readers. The reloading series was a great challenge, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  This series will be an entirely new challenge. My challenge will be to do series on an aspect of reloading I have never done and until recently knew little about. Casting bullets! Hot molten lead….what could possibly go wrong??

Now before we trigger a bunch of millennials here, I too, had overlooked Federal Premium Syntech ammunition (and technically I am a millennial… sadly). So what is so special about Syntech ammunition? It has a red coated bullet. It is affectionately or un-affectionately called the “lipstick” ammo. Finally, if you check out a United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) match, you will see it everywhere. What do they know that the general shooter is missing? Well, Syntech offers a host of benefits over traditional full-metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition and we will take a look at those benefits.

The 8.6 Creedmoor is a very mysterious caliber inside the firearms industry right now. Hopefully our interview with Ethan Lessard of Q helped shed some more light on it for all of us. Next, we wanted to pick another subject-matter-expert’s brain in David Stark of Discreet Ballistics. They have already been producing some bullets for the 8.6 Creedmoor, but they are not quite ready to be purchased by the public yet. TFB caught up with him and bombarded him with the follow questions to get his knowledge and input on the 8.6 Creedmoor.

If you have not heard of “ Q,” frankly, where have you been? They are the company with the BEST named silencers in the firearms industry with options of the Trash Panda, Thunder Chicken and Erector just for some examples. The company who has the mantra of  Live Q or Die does not just have extremely witty marketing, they also produce stellar products. Along those same lines of quality, they try to push the industry forward in new, innovative ways constantly. That innovative nature is personified through their “ The Fix” rifle and its new caliber of 8.6 Creedmoor kicks it up another notch as well.

Images appearing on Burmese media networks have revealed that the Burmese state-run Defense Industries corporation has prototyped at least three different anti-materiel rifles (AMR), putting at least on of them into production and getting them into Tatmadaw service. Older Burmese field manuals indicate that every battalion has a sniper “squad” that is allotted up to 8 precision rifles. Previously these were the 7.62x51mm NATO BA63 precision variant (Burmese licence-produced G3 Rifle) but these have since been replaced by the MAS (Myanmar Army-Sniper) and subsequent MAS MK I, MK II (a future TFB post will be written on these precision rifles). So where this new anti-materiel rifle falls into the Burmese infantry structure isn’t known at the current time or if they are even with the sniper sections of the battalions. Many militaries treat larger 12.7mm rifles as a class separate from a precision weapon because they usually aren’t as accurate (older Barrett M82s held 3 MOA) and are better employed against fortified positions or light skinned vehicles.

In today’s episode of TFBTV, we test the myth that 9mm is weaker out of a revolver due to bleed off. We compare ballistics for the 9mm Ruger SP101 agains the S&W 9mm Shield to put this urban legend to the test.

Rising ammo prices have been the norm for quite a few years now. It seems like every time I go to order more rounds, the prices have gone up … again. (Though it’s still not enough to make me want to invest all the money necessary to set myself up as a reloader.)

I screwed up. I reported inaccurate velocities for this load. This video corrects the error and we cover the gel performance. We shoot Speer 10mm 200gr Gold Dot ammunition from an EAA Witness with a 4.5″ barrel into Clearballistics ballistic gel to measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight.

In this segment of Photo-of-the-Day (POTD), one of my co-writers Hyracha tipped me off to this very interesting story that you will soon read. Accurate Ordnance LLC, a company out of Georgia, shared this entertaining, but concerning tale on their Facebook page.

Sierra Bullets has announced a new reloading bullet into their fold that will be a Gamechanger, literally! Their new Tipped Gameking bullet has been dubbed the “Gamechanger” and is initially being offered in 5 different caliber tips and grain weights exclusively through Midway USA. At the moment, if you want to give these potentially very impactful bullet tips a try you will be forced to spend your dollars with Midway USA, but this will not be a permanent sales move by Sierra Bullets. Beginning on September 1st, you will have the ability to purchase these bullets from all of your traditional reloading component retailers as well.

Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) has published three new cartridge and chamber drawings for the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5mm Precision Rifle Cartridge and .300 Precision Rifle Cartridge. Let’s take a brief look at each of these SAAMI certified cartridges.

Silencer and National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons distributor Allen Arms Tactical has partnered with Discreet Ballistics to sell the New Hampshire based company’s line of subsonic ammunition. The move gives Allen Arms’ national network of dealers access to high quality suppressor food – a fact I can personally confirm. “I don’t buy ammo often, but when I do, it’s Discreet Ballistics.”

We shoot Nosler .300 AAC Blackout 110gr Varmaggedon ammunition from an 8″ AR15.com AR upper with a 1:7″ twist barrel into Clearballistics ballistic gel to measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight.

Buy it at Ventura Munitions:
https://www.venturamunitions.com/ventura-tactical-9mm-115gr-tmj-hp-ammo-250-rounds/

Let’s take a few minutes to play the game Opposite Day – hopefully you can follow along. I think Bullpup Firearms are the best invention to ever grace the shoulder fired firearms market. When I go to the rack to grab a rifle, my first choice is always a Bullpup. I also use my thumb to load cartridges one at a time into magazines like a proper gentleman. So while I love Bullpup rifles like the STEYR AUG, I’d rather slowly load magazines with grace than use a simple, effective and elegant tool built to jam mags quickly.

One of my favorite perks of working here at The Firearm Blog is not the guns or ammunition – it’s the access to industry leaders who are intelligent, dedicated and passionate about making quality gear. So, when I’m given the chance to talk to people who have literally changed the course of the firearms industry, you bet I’ll take it. A couple of weeks ago Kevin Brittingham and Ethan Lessard of Q were nice enough to take a few hours out of their schedule to talk about the history of 300 Blackout on The Podcast By Q.

RWS now offers .308 Winchester ammunition tailored to provide maximum efficiency from shorter barreled rifles. Observing the trend of hunters preferring shorter barrelled lighter rifles, the company came up with this load that is specifically designed for short barrels. The new ammunition is called .308 Winchester Short Rifle and it comes loaded with two bullet types: RWS HIT and SPEED TIP Professional.

When I had the funds available, I set out to find a good quality No.4 Lee-Enfield.  After doing some research, it seemed like No4 Mk1* Canadian “Long Branch” models demonstrated the best accuracy overall, due to better receiver steel and bedding techniques.  I finally found one while traveling, and acquired it after inspection.  Though the exterior finish and wood is not in the best condition, the bore and rifling were in extremely good condition.

It was back on January 22nd that Berger Bullets announced they would be absorbing Applied Ballistics Munitions (ABM) and creating Berger Ammunition. This re-branding of ABM to Berger Ammunition coupled with a move to Mesa, Arizona has been exciting times for the company. This gives Berger the ability to do something new by finally making boxed ammunition. The transition also positions their bullet-making and ammunition manufacturing under the same roof to streamline the process.

In this installment of Picture-of-the-Day (POTD), we take a look at a rare box of ammo with some Swedish origins. It might be commonplace in Europe (that we are not sure), but this box of .30-06 Springfield ammunition is not something you see everyday in the United States. This ammunition was given to me from an older gentleman who plainly asked if I could “dispose” of it for him. My response?… You bet! Where he originally obtained it from I will never know, but I am never one to refuse free ammunition.

Earlier this month, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported that the amendment to the Russian Firearms Law allowing Russian citizens to  reload rifle ammunition was approved by State Duma, the lower house of Federal Assembly which is the Russian national legislature. About a week later, on July 13, the upper house, Federation Council, approved this amendment, too. And finally, on July 19, President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed that bill making this long-awaited legislative change a reality.

Vihtavuori has published a very interesting article telling about the moisture percentage in the powders and its influence in the burn rate, pressure and velocity. They have tested the same powder with different moisture levels and recorded the difference between the two. This little study really well demonstrates how moisture in powder can affect the performance of the cartridge. Without further ado, let’s read the Vihtavuori article ( quoted from the company’s website):