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November 10th, 2017
Ever wondered what pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammo really looks like on the inside? Well, thanks to two clever friends, you can NOW see exactly what’s on the inside. Bernard Martinage and David Swanson, fellow NRA-certified firearms instructors, have created a new kind of training tool — cutaway ammo samples. The two men call their line of cutaways, AmVIEWnition. The sliced cartridges and shotshells are employed as visual/tactile training aids. These cutaways help new shooters understand ammo components and how cartridges and shotshells are engineered.
Bernard Martinage (L) and David Swanson (R) are the inventors of AmVIEWnition products — cutaway ammo samples for training.
Bernard told the NRA Blog: “In order to make teaching easier and increase trainee comprehension, I simply decided to cut bullets lengthwise and show them [students] what’s inside. It certainly sped up their understanding and it was cool to look at! I always liked inventing and creating things that solved problems or made life easier. So, doing it with firearm training was no different.” To learn more about the history of AmVIEWnition, read the NRA Blog’s Interview with Bernard Martinage.
Bernard and David also produce Barrel Cutaways and “Solo-Blast” 3-D Ballistics Models of projectile wound channels. Visit www.AmVIEWnition.com to see these products as well as the full line of pistol, rifle, and shotgun AmVIEWnition cutaways.
May 21st, 2017
 A unique, comprehensive Cartridge Comparison Guide is available as a 340-page, spiral-bound book. Covering over 250 cartridges, the updated Second Edition of the Cartridge Comparision Guide is the product of many years of labor by Andrew Chamberlain, a Utah-based hunter. Andrew says his $36.95 Guide “compares every factory available cartridge from the 17 calibers up to the 50 caliber cartridges”. (Sorry, most wildcat cartridges are not covered.) Chamberlain’s Guide also compiles cartridge data from major ammunition manufacturers such as Barnes, Federal, Hornady, Norma, Nosler, Remington, Sierra, Swift, Weatherby, and Winchester. It shows the optimal velocity achieved for each bullet weight and calculates bullet energy, recoil, and powder efficiency. Large color photos illustrate handgun and rifle cartridges.
The Cartridge Comparison Guide provides data for thousands of cartridge/bullet/velocity combos. Quick reference data sheets and ballistics charts cover Trajectory, Velocity, and Energy out to 500 yards. The Cartridge Comparison Guide also offers a firearms lexicon, plus Appendices covering Cartridge Selection for Game Animals, Bullet Selection/Design, Bullet Expansion, Wound Channel Characteristics and more.
New Content in Second Edition of Cartridge Comparison Guide
The Cartridge Comparison Guide (Second Edition) costs $36.95 plus shipping and tax. CLICK HERE to visit the Online Store where you can order the 340-page book. Here’s what’s new in the Second Edition:
- Addition of Shotgun Ammunition (Both Slug and Shot loads).
- Momentum Calculation for all Rifle, Shotgun and Handgun loads.
- Integration of Shotgun Slug Ammunition with Center Fire Rifle Data Tables.
- Factory Load Summary Added (Shows manufacturers and loads produced).
- One factory load and one hand load for every bullet weight available in each cartridge.
- Over 90 pages of additional ballistics content (roughly 35% more than in First Edition).
November 16th, 2016
Hodgdon/IMR has released a new family of clean-burning shotshell and pistol propellants utilizing “green” technology. This series of five, fast-burn-rate powders will work with an extremely wide range of shotshell and pistol cartridges. Each powder was designed to match current shotshell bushing charts, so hand-loaders will already have the appropriate bushings available for each load.
IMR notes: “This new technology burns clean [and] all of these powders are REACH compliant*, meaning these propellants are not harmful to the environment.”
IMR TARGET:
The first powder in this new family, IMR Target, is a fast-burning pistol powder. This fine-grained, small-flake propellant meters superbly, providing very precise loads in even the smallest pistol cartridges like the .25 ACP!
IMR RED:
The second powder in this new family was designed to be an efficient, clean-burning, 12-gauge target powder. IMR Red also performs nicely in various lead pistol target loads, such as match competition loads and Cowboy reduced loads.
New IMR Red powder is well-suited for light Cowboy Action loads with lead bullets.
Photo courtesy Uberti.com.
IMR GREEN:
IMR Green, the third in this new family is slightly slower-burning than IMR Red, making it an ideal Trap Handicap powder and soon a favorite with Sporting Clays enthusiasts.
IMR UNEQUAL:
IMR Unequal combines small-sized flakes for uniform metering in all pistol applications and its burn speed accommodates a wide range of shotshell and pistol cartridges.
For loading pistol cartridges on a progressive press, IMR Unequal is a good choice.
Photo courtesy Dillon Precision.
IMR BLUE:
Having the slowest burn speed of the five new propellants, IMR BLUE is well-suited for for heavy 12-gauge 2¾-inch, 3-inch and 3-1/2-inch field loads.
These new IMR powders will be available in January 2017 at quality reloading powder dealers everywhere. IMR Target and IMR Blue will be available in one-pound (1 lb.), four-pound (4 lb.) and eight-pound (8 lb.) containers. IMR Red, IMR Green, and IMR Unequal will be offered in 14-ounce (14 oz.), four-pound (4 lb.) and eight-pound (8 lb.) containers.
Complete load data for these versatile and useful propellants is accessible on the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center at HodgdonReloading.com.
* Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a European Union regulation adopted in December 2006. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment.
October 18th, 2016
Ever wonder how shotshells are manufactured? Here’s a step-by-step trip through the shotshell production process, courtesy Federal Premium. Hulls are created from plastic pellets, of various colors, depending on shotshell type and gauge. Starting with pellets, here’s how shotshells are made:
Step 1: Plastic pellets are melted down into a plastic tube.
Step 2: In the extruding process the tube is heated, stretched, and cooled to form the hull. The machine that does this is called the “Riefenhauser” after the German engineer who built the first model.
Step 3: Hulls are cut to length as they come off the Riefenhauser. They then move along to the next stage in the process.
Step 4: The case head is stamped out of sheets of metal (brass or steel depending on shell type). A series of strikes of the stamp produces a fully-formed case head with flash-hole.
Step 5: The hulls move to the primer insert and heading machine to get primers and case heads.
Step 6: Still untouched by human hands, the shell moves on to the loader where it gets its powder charge, shot wad, and pellets.
Step 7: The hulls are then crimped, labeled, and readied for inspection and packing.
Story tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
March 5th, 2011
If you’re looking for a versatile carry revolver, consider the new Smith & Wesson Governor, introduced at the 2011 SHOT Show. The six-shot Governor will chamber three types of ammo: .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, and .410ga 2.5″ shotshells.
 The ability to chamber shotshells makes this piece more useful as a “trail gun” that can put down snakes and other threats that are difficult to hit quickly with a pistol round. If you choose, you can load a mix of shotshells and regular cartridges. The 29.6 oz. Governor has a Scandium frame with blackened stainless cylinder. The basic model ($679.00 MSRP) comes standard with a Tritium dot front sight. There is also a more expensive ($899.00 MSRP) version with a Crimson Trace grip with built-in laser. A button in the grip activates the laser.
This Editor personally likes the shape and feel of the laser grip better than the standard grip. The laser grip (shown in the slideshow below) lets you position your hand up higher on the frame for better control, and it has a smoother profile. The laser obviously offers an advantage in low-light situations. We think, if you can afford the laser version, that’s the smart choice.
CLICK HERE for more photos showing both standard and Laser grips and open cylinder.
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