Ammunition blowout.

The Christmas buying season is past, as is the hunting frenzy. For the gun dealer, the time for making 20 or 30 big-ticket gun sales every day is past. What's the one staple that can carry you through until next fall? Ammunition!

No matter what kind of guns your customers own, the one thing they'll all need is ammo. Target shooting, sporting clays, trips to the indoor range, and just plain afternoons of "plinking" all require ammo. Here's a beginning-of-the-year look at the cartridges, shells, and rounds buyers will be asking for by the box or by the case throughout 1994.

A-Square Company

A tradition of quality and a varied product line has always been a signature of A-Square. A-Square rolls into 1994 with a significant expansion in its ammunition and related products and services.

Their ammo, loaded with the Monolithic Solid, Dead Tough Soft Point and Lion Load Soft Point (and selected Nosler and Sierra bullets) has built a reputation in the field for performance and reliability. That ammunition line will continue in 1994 without a price increase. Additions to the line will include the .450/400 N.E. (3 1/4") and the .700 N.E.

An interesting item is a new .300 Magnum cartridge launching a 189 gr. bullet at 3,500 fps. Available from A-Square in 1994, rifles for this cartridge will be made by both A-Square and U.S. Repeating Arms, Co.

Black powder shooters will not be left out in '94. Look for the .40-70 Sharps Straight, .40-65, .40-82, .45-70, .45-90 and .50-70. This ammo will be loaded to original specs, using black powder and A-Square new-manufactured brass.

A-Square offers proof ammunition in a wide variety of calibers to bona fide type 07 or 08 license holders. They also have the ability to custom manufacture cartridge cases (from .222 to .50 BMG) in lots as small as 5,000 rounds and can offer a complete ballistic work-up on whatever load is specified by the customer thanks to their in-house lab. This gives even the home experimenter a lab to work with.

American Ammunition

A new name in the ammo market, American Ammunition offers shooters a wide variety of handgun cartridges. From 9mm FMJ to .45 ACP, this factory new ammunition will live up to even the most exacting quality and accuracy standards. Also available is a line of "lead free" ammo, loaded with American Ammunition's C3 bullets to eliminate lead contamination in both indoor and outdoor ranges.

Amtech International

High-tech poly/metal ammo is the specialty of Amtech. Their handgun cartridges, made with cases that incorporate both polymer and brass, save customers money in production and material costs without sacrificing quality. Test results on Amtech products meet or exceed all performance criteria set forth by the Sporting Arms and ammunition Manufacturer's Institute. With a 25 percent reduction in weight, shooters are sure to appreciate Amtech products in the field.

Barnes Bullets

With the introduction of the "X" bullet, many say Barnes changed the way hunters think about bullets. Made of solid copper, the "X" bullet offers better weight retention, penetration and quick, humane kills. Made without lead, the "X" bullet is often called the "environmentally safe" bullet.

In February of 1993, Barnes introduced their first edition reloading manual designed specifically for the "X" bullet. Now Barnes is offering two new series of "X" bullets. The first is a boat-tail version available in selected calibers and weights. This bullet combines an increase in long-range effectiveness with high weight retention and penetration.

Second, for '94, will be the new pistol series "X" bullets. Offered in 180-, 200- and 225-gr. in .44 caliber and 185 (ACP), 225 Mag. and 260-gr. Mag. in .45 caliber; these bullets perform just like their rifle counterparts. Factory testing revealed almost total weight retention after firing, and field testing has shown excellent penetration.

Black Hills Ammunition 

Black Hills Ammunition is one of the mid-level loaders that has earned a place among the quality ammo producers in the field. They offer a complete line of handgun ammunition and also specialize in .223 rifle ammo.

Black Hills .223 ammunition is produced with once-fired mil-spec brass loaded to factory velocities with Hornady bullets. Offerings include 55-gr. FMJ or SP, a 52-gr. boat tail match bullet, a 60-grain SP and a new 68-gr. "heavy match" HP that was specifically designed for fast twist rifles such as the AR-15A2 or Mini-14. The 68-gr. heavy match load is now making its way into military rifle matches.

Black Hills assures customer satisfaction by offering a complete money-back guarantee on their products. With a dealer-only, toll-free service line (800-568-6625) Black Hills is ready to serve you and your customers.

Blount

More commonly known as Speer/CCI, Blount continues to manufacture quality premium and practice ammunition. The big news is their new line of "Gold Dot" ammunition using a radical new bullet design. Unlike most conventional jacketed bullets, Gold Dot bullet jackets are electrochemically bonded to help virtually eliminate core/jacket separation, the main cause of bullet failure. Most bullets may work fine in soft tissue, but fragment or expand prematurely when obstructed by bone, brush or other barriers. Gold Dot's bonded jacket enables it to pass through a variety of barriers without experiencing bullet break-up. Every Gold Dot round is loaded to a specific velocity to provide optimum wounding on a variety of game. Gold Dot's jacket doesn't stop at the hollow-point, but continues into the cavity. This results in a mushroom designed to expand at least 150 percent of its original diameter.

Gold Dot is offered in 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .41 AE, .44 Mag, .45 ACP and .50 AE in a variety of loads. Their "Lawman" line has changed. Since all hollowpoint cartridges will be loaded with Gold Dot bullets, the Lawman line will now feature general purpose ammo, using solid bullets only. The new Lawman ammo will feature Speer's Totally Metal Jacketed (TMJ) bullets in reloadable brass cases. The bullet is lead core, with a pure copper jacket electro-chemically bonded over the entire bullet, leaving no exposed lead. Because no lead is exposed, Lawman ammo shoots cleaner, and shooters using vented recoil compensators will quickly see the clean-shooting qualities of the TMJ bullets. Lawman ammo will be available in 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

The Gold Dot bullet will also be offered in Blount's aluminum-cased Blazer line. New additions will be in .40 S&W, 9x18 Makarov and even 9mm Largo (also known as Bergmann-Bayard). This should be good news to buyers of the recently imported Makarov, Star and Astra pistols.

Federal Cartridge 

Capitalizing on the success of Olympic shooters Bob Foth and Launi Meili, Federal offers its new Gold Medal line of .22 rimfire ammo and 12-gauge shotgun shells.

Federal also offers a full line of cartridges and shotgun shells, including their Classic and Premium lines of handgun and rifle cartridges, and the popular Hydra Shok handgun bullet in .380, 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and .44 Magnum to bring out the best in all types of pistols and revolvers.

Whether for hunting, target shooting, or self defense, your customers can rely on the Federal name.

Glaser Safety Slug 

In 1974 Glaser introduced its minimum ricochet, pre-fragmented ammunition called Glaser Blue. It was initially offered in 18 calibers, from .25 ACP to .30-06. In 1993, the introduction of the Glaser Silver, offered 50 percent greater penetration with its "Maximum Penetration" bullets in 12 calibers: .380 ACP through .45 Colt. Using a compressed-core bullet (the 9mm/.38/.357 has 330 fragments of #12 shot in Blue and 30 pieces of #6 shot in Blue), Glaser continues to be a leader in accuracy delivering 1" groups at 100 yards according to factory literature. Glaser has built a reputation of reliability, with over 19 years of sales and use by international law enforcement and security specialists.

M&D Munitions 

M&D is not just reloads anymore! Since their inception in 1962, Vincent R. Marino (president) and Daniel M. Bleyhl (vice-president), have expanded their product line from remanufactured ammunition and are now offering new ammo in silver and blue boxes.

M&D's ammo is also available in a lead-free form -- important news in light of recent studies revealing the health hazards of lead exposure in indoor ranges. Using a lead-free primer, M&D loads the cartridge with a totally plated bullet, which means no exposed lead at the firing point from either the bullet or priming compound. Their new lead-free ammo will be available in 1994 in .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 9mm, .380 ACP and .40 S&W, in both remanufactured and new. M&D also has full casting and swaging facilities so you can have a choice of bullet configurations, shapes, weights, hardness and coatings to customize the rounds you use.

Look for a full line of reloading components and a new line of bullet key chains in both pistol and rifle calibers from M&D.

PMC/Eldorado

For handgunners, PMC continues to offer Starfire, one of the most reliable and accurate handgun rounds on the market, in .45 ACP, 10mm, 9mm, .40 S&W, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and .38 Special.

Eldorado's top-of-the-line hunting cartridges are the only ones on the market loaded with the extremely popular Barnes X-Bullet for consistent and even mushrooming every time. When your customers are after the hunt of a lifetime, don't let them put anything less than PMC/Eldorado cartridges in their gun.

Remington

Offering a full line of ammunition products, "Big Green" continues to give shooters what they want. For the handgunner, Remington's quality pistol cartridges are available in all calibers and bullet weights with the performance shooters expect from Remington. For the high-performance market, Remington will continue to market their Golden Saber ammo line with several new additions: a .124-gr. 9mm load, a 165-gr. .40 S&W round, and a 185-gr. .45 ACP will join the original five handgun cartridges.

In their rifle line, Remington has added the 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser caliber to its Core-Lokt line of centerfire rifle ammunition with a wide range of bullet weights to accommodate all customer needs. Also new is a 7x64 rifle cartridge with a 140-grain soft point bullet for long range hunting and a 175-grain soft point for larger game.

Shotgunners haven't been left out. Remington's popular Copper Solid shotgun slug will be offered in 20 gauge for '94. Other new shotgun shells include a 12 gauge #5 2 3/4-inch magnum turkey load, a #6 2 3/4-inch 20-gauge turkey load, a 28-gauge skeet load, a 7 1/2x8 1/2 Duplex sporting clays shotshell, and sporting clays shells in both .410 and 28 gauge.

Ultramax Ammunition

Known for their remanufactured ammo, Ultramax uses a fully equipped underground test range, complete with chronographs, machine rests, and pressure gauge systems to meet customer demands for quality ammo, and to meet exact specifications on custom loads.

Ultramax also offers new and lead-free ammunition. Look for new loads in .41 Magnum, .44 Special and .45 Colt, as well as a line of +P High Velocity ammo. Ultramax guarantees quality, performance and value to their customers.

Winchester/Olin

The biggest news from Winchester is what they won't be offering in 1994 -- namely, their popular Black Talon handgun ammunition. The successful Black Talon rifle cartridges with state-of-the-art Fail Safe bullets will continue to fill hunters' needs in several new chamberings.

The wetlands hunter will also continue to enjoy Winchester quality in a number of shotshells loaded with the popular Drylok system and Super-X steel shot. For small game hunters, Winchester's Small Game Hunter shotshells will continue to provide excellent results with #6, #7, and #8 1/2 shot sizes.

On the trap, skeet, and sporting clays ranges, shooters will be using Winchester's AA Target Load with a new 20-gauge shell in 2 1/2 dram equiv. and a 12-gauge #7 steel shot load with a specially designed wad to protect from barrel damage.

Zero Ammunition

Zero Ammunition has added seven new bullets to their line of jacketed pistol bullets. They have 9mm bullets in 108 gr. JSP and 147 gr. FMJ; .45 ACP in 230 gr. FMJ and JHP; .38 Super in 150 gr. FMJ and the .40 S&W in 180 gr. TCFMJ and a 180 gr. JHP.