Category: Ammo

California (according to a notice from Cabelas)

On Friday, Sept. 11, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 962, by a 44-31 vote.
Among other regulations, AB 962 would:

• Ban all mail-order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition.
• Prohibit the retail sale, the offer for sale or the display of handgun ammunition in a manner that allows ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser without assistance of a vendor or employee.
• Require that the delivery or transfer of ownership of handgun ammunition occur in a face-to-face transaction, with the deliverer or transferor being provided bona fide evidence of identity of the purchaser or other transferee.

That evidence of identity, which must be legibly recorded at the time of delivery, includes:

• The right thumbprint of the purchaser or transferee.
• The date of the sale or other transaction.
• The purchaser’s or transferee’s driver’s license or other identification number and the
• state in which it was issued.
• The brand, type and amount of ammunition sold or otherwise transferred.
• The purchaser’s or transferee’s signature.
• The name of the salesperson who processed the sale or other transaction.
• The purchaser’s or transferee’s full residential address and telephone number.
• The purchaser’s or transferee’s date of birth.

The bill is on the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, where it awaits his consideration. He will have until Oct. 11 to sign or veto the bill. If he does not veto the bill, it will become law.

Arizona

• Don’t be a criminal.
• Pick out the ammo you want, be it local or online.
• Pay for ammo.
• Receive ammo.

The other day, I was at the local gun shop perusing their wares. I overheard a conversation between a customer and the employee. Evidently the customer was a visitor from California, was spending a week or two here visiting friends, and wanted to pick up some ammo for the range. He inquired as to what restrictions exist for purchasing ammo, and whether or not he had to be an Arizona resident or show ID to buy ammo here. The employee considered this for a moment and said “Well, so long as you’re not a criminal and can pay for it, you can buy whatever you want.”
He looked rather amazed. After browsing for a bit, he picked up a few boxes of .380 and something else I didn’t see.
Who in their right mind actually thinks that the bills waiting for the governor would have any effect on crime? Prohibiting customers from handling boxes of ammo in the store will accomplish…what, exactly? Makes no sense at all.
For all the flaws that Arizona has (and no state is perfect), it’s still a rather free state, unlike our neighbor to the west.

Anyone here used Prvi Partizan ((Yes, I know their factory had an explosion. Somehow the local shop still has tons in stock at a reasonable price. Hope PP gets back to production soon.)) Match ammo?
Specifically, the 75gr .223 Remington stuff.
The local shop had a bunch for $12.29/20rds, which was just two bucks more than the PP M193 ((Fantastic ammo, 100% reliability in both my ARs, powerful, and pretty accurate for mil-spec stuff. It’s also actually available, unlike the US-made mil-surp. It’s also looks a lot better than XM193, and meets all the mil-spec. I’ve always been under the impression that Federal XM193 on the civilian market, while made in the US, was being sold to the public because it failed mil-spec in some minor, not-safety-related way. )) I was picking up, so I grabbed a box on a whim.
Normally I don’t think of “Made in Serbia” as being a mark of high quality, but PP’s M193 stuff has changed my mind, so I’m willing to give this stuff a try. Any experience?
Surprisingly, I was unable to find lot numbers on the individual boxes of 20 rounds. This is surprising for match-grade ammo (their mil-spec stuff has lot numbers on each box). Do they have the lot numbers printed on the case itself, if one buys in such quantities? It’d be nice to stock up a thousand rounds or two of the same lot so one could practice and compete with identical stuff.
Any additional information would be much appreciated.
Update: There appears to be some confusion in the comments. To clarify, I have shot several thousand rounds of Prvi Partizan M193 5.56mm NATO-spec ammo in the past and have found it to be excellent, and I now shoot it exclusively for recreational purposes. That said, I’m asking specifically about the Prvi Partizan 75-grain Match ammo. Has anyone used it in competitions? How does it compare vs. other match-grade ammo?

I received the following email from Ammoman this evening:

Dear friend and colleague,
With great sadness we regret to inform you of an incident at the Prvi Partizan Amunition factory in Uzice.
A series of explosions occurred Thursday evening, severely injuring fourteen employees. Seven injuries were fatal.
None of the machinery at the plant was damaged, but other damage was caused by activation of the sprinkler system which resulted in a flood that will delay production. It is estimated that production and shipping will be delayed approximately 2-3 weeks.
We are very aware the effect of this delay and appreciate your patience and understanding.
We will keep you informed as matters progress.
Sincerely,
TR&Z team

I’d like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of all those killed or injured in the explosion.
So far, the news has not revealed any more information about the cause of the explosion. According to the BBC, six of the seven fatalities were women.
More details are available from various media sources here.

It appears as though ammo is getting to be somewhat more available, even if it is a bit more pricey.
As of the other day, the Tucson Sportsman’s Warehouse has a few dozen boxes of .223 Remington, which has been completely bare for the last few months. Murphy’s Guns has, for some unknown reason, had constant availability of Prvi Partizan M193 5.56mm NATO rounds for the last few months at not-unreasonable-for-retail prices. Now they’ve got a wider variety of 5.56mm/.223, such as 200-round packs of Federal American Eagle (which has been completely gone for months).
While Murphy’s prices for non-Prvi .223/5.56mm ammo is a bit steep, it’s not wholly unreasonable for the current market, and its good to see ammo back in stock.
Primers, though, are a different matter: nearly everyone I’ve asked is either critically low or completely out of primers. Murphys has some CCI Large Rifle primers for $33/1000, which seems rather high to me. Again, though, it’s nice to at least see some primers rather than none, even if the current stocks are closer to “none” than “some”.
I can’t wait for this stupid buying crisis to be over.

I’m almost afraid to ask what it is that foreign, mostly eastern European/Asian countries (e.g. Serbia, Russia, etc.) put in their powders, but one of the ingredients smells horrible.
I really like Prvi Partizan ammo, as it’s reliable, consistent, well-made, and easily reloadable. The fact that it’s loaded to NATO spec and is commonly available (unlike, say, Federal XM193/XM855) is a big plus. I’ve never had any practical problems with it at all…but it, like the Russian Wolf-brand ammo, smells awful when fired.
You’d think they’d figure out how to make non-stinky ammo…

I was up in Chandler this weekend visiting Sarah and her sister, Heidi. Heidi wanted to go to Dick’s Sporting Goods to buy something as a gift for her friend’s birthday. While we were there, I browsed around the gun counter and came across a 150-round pack of Ultramax .223 factory reloads.
The price was quite comparable to what one could get for the same quantity from various mail-order sources, if they had any in stock, and I was willing to give Ultramax a shot as I had used some of their pistol stuff before and it had been fine. With the employee’s permission, I opened the box and took a look at the bagged, loose-packed ammo inside. It was all Federal (both commercial and Lake City), Winchester, Remington, or PMC brass, all polished to a high shine, and all with no split necks or other deformations. While the cases themselves may have had different neck lengths, all the cartridges had the same OAL (on the cases with a slightly shorter neck length the cannelure was visible, while with slightly longer case lengths the cannelure was covered by the neck).
When I was loading the ammo into magazines at home, I inspected each cartridge. Every one looked to be in good condition, all the primers were seated below the back of the cartridge, and no defects that I could find. I’ll let you know how well they work the next time I’m at the range.
I’m doing my part to help out the enviroment by recycling ammo, both by reloading my own and buying factory reloads from reputable companies. It’s always fun to mention that to green types. 🙂
Now, if only the ammo companies could somehow ramp up supply to keep up with demand. This whole every-store-sold-out-all-the-time thing is getting old, fast.