Just listen to the news. You will hear misinformation galore. We’re not insulated from that in the firearms industry (re: just watch the news).
What’s even more concerning is that some of the “myths” regarding firearms and ammo come from within the shooting sports community itself.
For our part, we’re here to dispel some of these myths.
All Ammo Is the Same
All ammo is definitely not the same, but most importantly, not even two of the “same” cartridges are the same.
Cartridges vary widely in what they can be loaded with. A .22LR cartridge, for instance, can be loaded with a lead round nose bullet, a wadcutter, a hollow-point bullet, or even a shotshell cap.
Now consider a 2 ¾” shotshell. It could be loaded with fine shot, buck shot, a slug, a sabot, a pumpkin ball, or even non-lethal projectiles.
Yet any 12 gauge with a 3” chamber could theoretically shoot it. So no, not all ammo is the same.
Steel-Cased Ammo Ruins Your Gun
There is a pervasive myth that shooting steel-cased ammo, like TulAmmo, can “ruin” a gun. This just isn’t the case. These are made with annealed steel casings, which while still harder than brass, are fairly soft and flexible. It will not damage your gun or chamber, even though the rounds might shoot a little dirtier.
Bullet Weight Is the Secret to Less Wind Drift
Bullet weight is not the secret to less wind drift. It is one of the secrets to less wind drift. What’s more important is ballistic coefficient, which does take mass into account. The higher the BC, in theory, the less the bullet will experience wind drift.
Light Bullets Always Shoot Flatter
If lighter bullets always shot flatter, the flattest shooting cartridge would be .22LR, and as you know what’s one of the worst cartridges ever for long-range shooting. Lighter, can be better, but you have to remember that lighter bullets sometimes experience more wind drift, and on top of that, a lighter bullet needs a hotter propellant charge to fly farther.
The Bigger the Cartridge, the Better for Long-Range Shooting
Some big cartridges are great for long-range shooting, like .338 Lapua and 50 BMG, and extreme-niche cartridges like .375 and .408 CT. Then, some very big cartridges are not the best for long-range shooting, like .45-70 Government. And then, there are some featherweights that are actually quite good for long-range shooting, like .223 Remington and .220 Swift. So really, it’s not about the size of the cartridge, but overall load data and performance.
A Bigger Bullet Equals Greater Stopping Power
This can be the case, but it isn’t always the case. It’s not just about bullet mass, but about velocity, so really retained ballistic energy at the point of impact is more important. Also, so is the type of bullet in question. A hollow point is always going to deliver more energy and stopping power than a jacketed bullet, assuming all other factors are held equal, including cartridge type, bullet weight and load data.
OTM Bullets Are Hollow Points
Some match-grade ammo known as OTM, or “open-tip match” ammo, like Federal’s Gold Medal Match ammo, is called “hollow point.” It technically has a hollow point in the nose - literally and physically - but it is not a hollow point in the ballistic sense of the word. Hollow points are designed for bullet expansion and energy transfer for the purpose of a quick ethical dispatch for threat neutralization; OTM is made to uphold a high standard of performance at great ranges.
Green Tip 5.56 Is Armor-Piercing
Green tip 5.56 is, at best, “light armor piercing” or LAP. It most certainly is not “armor piercing,” especially in the sense that black tip 5.56 is.
Green tip 5.56 is made with a steel penetrator insert in the nose of the bullet, which hardens it. This does confer greater penetration abilities, but it does not expressly make green tip 5.56 armor piercing in the truest sense of the word.
All Barrels Get Shot Out
In theory, if you shoot long enough, all barrels would experience some degradation of rifling quality. But in practice, not all barrels get shot out. Consider for instance a 9mm handgun. The 9mm cartridge just doesn’t generate enough pressure to really wear away the rifling in the barrel. It would take so many thousands of rounds before you noticed a decline in quality that you’d probably never shoot enough to see it.
Bullets Can “Punch Through” Brush or Grass
Some hunters believe that heavy enough bullets can punch through obstacles like grass or brush, but the truth is that once your bullet contacts an interposing obstacle, no matter how light, it is almost definitely going to tumble. And once it tumbles, it will lose accuracy and speed, quickly. If you can avoid shooting through grass or brush, do so.
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