The 5.56x45mm (5.56 NATO) and the 7.62x51mm (7.62 NATO) are both over half a century old, but are still popular. Both have qualities worthy of praise, but also have drawbacks that warrant critique. I have used both a good amount in various types of rifles, so I am going to compare the two based on my experience and certain considerations. Deciding on a caliber should not be as simple as what makes you look cooler.
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It is all too common for people to claim that steel cased ammo is junk or is BAD for your pistol. People tend to phrase it in such a way as if their gun needs to be on some diet or it will get fat and useless. I have used steel cased ammunition for my pistols for years. I have had several firearms where there were at least 10K rounds of steel cased ammo put through them with no issues. In this article, my goal is to break down some of the claims made and also try to explain what steel cases do when a round is fired.
The Hornady Critical Duty seems to have started a new trend in bullet technology. The polymer tip seems to be an attractive feature for a few companies who seem to find it advantageous and worthy of following. Granted, these other companies have their own designed hollow point plugs, but it seems that the Critical Duty bullet has made an impact on the market enough to get a good amount of heads to turn, particularly in the Law Enforcement community.
When .40 caliber first came out, it was apparently the coolest thing since sliced bread. It was powerful, offered a new type of effectiveness on a human threat that could not be matched well by other calibers, and Law Enforcement was jumping to it all over the place. Lately, people have started abandoning the caliber in favor of the 9mm for perceived improvements in bullet performance and technology. I will refrain from talking about caliber and getting into the debate on performance and such. My focus here will be whether the .40 caliber is a suitable round for combat or if the world got it right with the 9mm.
Click here for the video of testing.
The Remington Ultimate Defense is quite obviously a repackaged Golden Saber. What many people don't know is that there were minor improvements to the Goldensaber design in the form of altering the led in order to get it to the right ratio for the desired results to be consistent through a variety of velocities/barrel lengths. ![]() Winchester is well known these days for their premium lines of self defense ammunition like the Ranger T-Series and the PDX-1. It is not often that we hear about the more generic ammunition produced by Winchester for self defense. In fact, it is common for people to steer away from using generic ammunition like this for self defense. My intention is to investigate whether this ammunition is actually fit for use in self defense. Is this economical line of ammunition any good, or should we keep paying a Dollar per round.
It is all too common these days for people to use capacity to justify a certain firearm or even a caliber. I personally shiver when people try to make generalizations based on arbitrary information that doesn't even match up to their situation. Some of the studies they cite are based on studies or plain old ballistics gel demonstrations. This should be an interesting thing to discuss. Good old caliber debate analysed peripherally.
For years we have been told that the best ammunition for self defense is premium ammunition. It has gotten to the point that it is somewhat suggested that the use of generic ammunition is in fact dangerous and that we should steer clear of these types of ammunition if we are "SERIOUS" about defending ourselves with a firearm. Well, me being me, I felt the need to go out and test this claim myself.
For whatever reason, it is very popular for people to only recommend ammunition that is going to cost in the neighborhood of $1/round. I have done several tests with these premium ammunitions and with generic ammunition. I have found a few things that might be a little eye-opening when trying to choose whether to carry the Winchester JHP or the Remington JHP. As the title states, it is common for people to try and break even in a caliber or pistol debate by using the common and boring say of "all pistols are under-powered anyways." I rarely let people get away with that claim. I usually have to insert logic and reality into the equation, which often brings people to get upset that they couldn't just parrot a saying and bring the debate to a draw. There are just too many facts out there, and I feel that it is important that people wake up and accept that they need to respect their pistols and take care to get good with it.
![]() When selecting an ammo to use and practice with, many people end up choosing between 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. My journey through these three calibers was relatively short, and the changes were based on convenience rather than logically calculated decisions. Nowadays I shoot 9mm primarily, which is a choice many people get behind every year. But lately I have looking at and considering another caliber switch. Perhaps not in terms of my primary caliber, but at least in carry.
Many people like to think they are doing sufficient research to find the PERFECT carry round for their firearms. Realistically and simply, there is a marginal difference between the performance of premium and generic ammunition. Of course this depends on what you get, but older designs like Winchester white box JHP ammo seems to perform really well and consistently in most testing. Of course it isn't pretty, but penetration is dominant for those of us in the real world with our priorities straight and logical.
Shorter barrels generally tend to vent more pressure, making it harder for rounds to achieve maximum potential velocity. This in turn can affect your terminal results. Such things like failures to expand are the primary concern when considering ammo to carry in any firearm.
Whether you are looking for a gun to carry on your person, in the home, or in a vehicle, you may want to consider the caliber you are using. Some calibers just may work better than others in certain areas.
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