ANOKA, Minnesota – May 20, 2020 – New Punch draws from Federal Ammunition’s decades of experience designing the world’s finest defensive handgun loads. The bullet’s skived jacket and soft lead core produce the best expansion and penetration in its class, while its nickel-plated brass and sealed primer deliver the reliable feeding and ignition needed for powerful personal protection. Now available in the top five, most popular, self-defense chamberings on the market. Shipments of this product have begun to arrive at dealers.

“Simply put, we know more about making duty and defensive bullets than anyone,” said Federal Handgun Ammunition Product Manager Chris Laack. “We used that knowledge and experience to create a product to specifically meet the needs of self-defense with a handgun. The result of that hard work is Punch.”

Rather than developing a single bullet design for all five loads, the team at Federal evaluated each caliber individually and determined which bullet design and weight would work most effectively for each load. Since the bullets weren’t specifically designed to perform in FBI protocol testing, Laack and his team spent time tuning each Punch load to meet the needs of the self-defense shooter—namely reliable expansion and enough penetration.

“We looked at specifications from our Hydra-Shok Deep, HST and other bullet designs, and took what made sense for Punch,” said Laack. “We selected whatever elements worked best for each individual caliber. We then played with thickness of the jacket, skive depth, hollow point geometry and even differences in lead cores to build the recipe for Punch.”

The result is a blend of good overall performance from a Federal Premium bullet that was designed specifically for the most common self-defense applications such as an extra-heavy clothing test using ballistic gel.

“The fact that that we’re launching Punch in the top five, most popular, self-defense chamberings on the market—all at once—makes a statement,” said Laack. “Typically, a new self-defense ammunition is launched in only one or two calibers then others are added later. But not Punch, we believe in it and know shooters looking for effective defensive ammunition with its specific features will love it.”

Also, in the build, Federal utilized nickel-plated cases, high quality powders, reliable primers with primer seal. Proven bullet profiles and geometry for reliable feeding.

Features & Benefits
• Jacketed hollow-point bullet design provides a balanced mix of effective penetration and expansion
• Out-performs comparably priced competitor rounds
• Nickel-plated brass case with primer seal
• Available in the most popular defensive handgun cartridges

Federal ammunition can be found at dealers nationwide or purchased online direct from Federal. For more information on all products from Federal or to shop online, visit www.federalpremium.com.

LEWISTON, Idaho – May 19, 2020 – Speer Gold Dot Handgun ammunition’s reliability has made it the No. 1 choice for law enforcement. Now Speer is offering the same performance for self-defense rifle applications. New Gold Dot Rifle ammunition is engineered to provide industry-leading performance in FBI protocol testing through barrels less than 16 inches long. Shipments of this new product have begun to arrive at dealers.

The bullets loaded in the new Gold Dot Rifle ammunition line are built using Speer’s exclusive Uni-Cor method. The jacket is bonded to the core one atom at a time, virtually eliminating core-jacket separation and creating a projectile that’s accurate, tough and consistent through all common barriers.

Features & Benefits

• New self-defense rifle loads optimized for peak FBI protocol performance though barrels shorter than 16 inches
• 75-grain 223 Rem. recommended for 1-in-9-inch barrel twist or faster
• 55-grain 223 Rem. option offers reduced penetration for less risk to bystanders
• Consistent penetration and expansion through common barriers
• Extremely uniform jacket maximizes accuracy
• Gold Dot technology virtually eliminates core-jacket separation
• Nickel-plated brass
• Reliable, sensitive primers

Speer ammunition can be found at dealers nationwide or purchased online direct from Speer. For more information on all products from Speer or to shop online, visit www.speer-ammo.com.

Mona, UT – It is a great pleasure that Barnes Bullets received the 2020 Award of Excellence from Sporting Classics Publications in the ammunition category.  

“The extraordinary success of Barnes Bullets is the X-factor. But the X is not an unknown quantity. Or quality. Quite the opposite. It is the consistent, dependable shape of an eXpanded Barnes monolithic, copper-alloy hunting bullet.  On impact, the hollow noses of X bullets flare into four sharply edged blades that double the surface diameter, enlarge wound channels and eXtinguish game. From the original X through the TSX, TTSX and LRX, eXpansion has been backed by eXtraordinary mass retention.  The bullets typically retain 90 to 100 percent of their mass after impact. As one African PH explained, “That Barnes bullet is like a soft-nose and a solid in one bullet.” Popularity of X bullets led to an extensive line of factory loaded VOR-TX ammunition that makes it easy for everyone to find the perfect X load for their rifles and handguns”. – Ron Spomer

Sporting Classics’ 18th annual Awards of Excellence salute the best of the best— those companies and individuals whose products and services are having a significant and long-lasting impact on our sporting lives. Nominees for the 2020 awards were submitted by our senior and contributing editors, then finalized by the magazine staff. The honorees were chosen for their achievements in defining what a great sporting product should be. Their engineering, craftsmanship and innovations have set higher standards than ever before.

www.barnesbullets.com

RADFORD, Virginia – April 27, 2020 – Alliant Powder, a leading manufacturer of smokeless powder, has enhanced its legendary Herco propellant, giving shooters improved performance with no changes to reloading data. Shipments of improved Herco have started being delivered to dealers.

For years, reloaders have relied on the performance of Alliant Powder Herco to craft precise, heavy shotshell and handgun loads. Now the proven propellant is even better, offering cleaner burning and improved flow characteristics. Better, those changes do not change reloading data. Enhanced Herco offers Alliant Powder’s legendary lot-to-lot consistency and is proudly made in America.

Features
• Cleaner burning
• Improved flow
• Perfect for 28-gauge straight hulls
• Ideal burn speed for light field steel loads
• Excellent lot-to-lot consistency
• Made in the U.S.A.

For more Alliant Powder information and load data, visit www.alliantpowder.com.