Who Makes Defensive Pistol Ammo?
October 7, 2024
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Learn more about who makes defensive pistol loadings with True Shot Academy. Discover brands and their traits, product offerings, and more.
Hey all, we here at True Shot Academy are going to cover bottleneck cartridges today. These types of cartridges are commonly employed in a variety of use cases by shooters of all types. We are going to cover what bottleneck cartridges in addition to things such traits, features, and other comparisons. Without further ado, let’s talk about bottleneck cartridges.
Like the name suggests, bottleneck cartridges feature a distinct appearance akin to something like a bottle. These cartridges have a distinct tapered shoulders which gradually form a narrow neck at the end of the casing. The end of this neck typically features crimping and other sealing methods to retain projectiles. The term is typically utilized to refer to a general style of cartridge in addition to specific types of pistol cartridges or “necked down” cartridges.
Due to their unique appearance, bottleneck cartridges are quite distinct and distinguishable from their straight-walled counterparts. Straight-wall cartridges are the other most common type of cartridge found on the market, with many pistol and rifle cartridges being of this design. Like the name suggests, straight-walled cartridges feature consistent and straight casing walls as opposed to distinct shoulders and necks. Typically, straight-walled cartridges operate at lower pressures than their bottlenecked counterparts. Due to their uniform and consistent cylindrical casings and lower pressures, straight-walled cartridges are less likely to rupture than their bottleneck counterparts.
As loadings is developed from existing cartridges, the process of “necking down” is common. The term refers to taking an existing cartridge and creating a tapered bottleneck, often reducing the cartridge’s overall length. This process can be done to straight-walled cartridges and existing bottleneck cartridges alike. For example, the .22 TCM was developed by necking down the popular 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, producing a shorter cartridge. In other cases, when cartridges are necked down, the size of the projectile can generally decrease. In some cases, this can be a small difference in size such as the 6.5 Creedmoor being necked down to form the 6mm Creedmoor. In other cases, this can be more noticeable like .308 Winchester being necked down to develop the .260 Remington.
The bottleneck nature of these cartridges is conducive to high pressures. Rather than having a uniform cylinder for pressure to build up and expand in, pressures are directed towards a narrow neck. As pressures go through this bottleneck, they become higher as the flow tightens and becomes more focused. The higher pressure of these types of cartridges makes them capable of high velocities and flat shooting trajectories. These traits also allow bottlenecked cartridges to effectively reach out to further distances than their straight-walled counterparts.
Bottleneck cartridges are most commonly employed in handguns and rifles. Handguns which utilize bottlenecked cartridges are typically available in the form of semi-automatic pistols. Some manual action handguns such as revolvers and single shot pistols are also capable of accepting cartridges of this type. A wide range of rifles such as bolt action, single shot, lever action, and semi-automatics accommodate and utilize bottleneck cartridges. Simply put, there are many firearms which accommodate cartridges of this type.
As mentioned above, there are a number of common bottleneck cartridges utilized by both pistols and rifles.
Bottleneck Pistol Cartridges:
Bottleneck Rifle Cartridges:
Bottleneck Rimfire Cartridges
Availability of bottleneck cartridges ultimately comes down to the specific caliber one is after. Some calibers are simply more prevalent than others are. For example, a long-standing loading such as 5.56x45mm NATO is easier to find in most places than 5.45×39 ammunition is. This is mainly because 5.45×39 ammo importation is stemmed by sanctions, making it less plentiful than 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition.
Common ammunition offerings can generally be found in most places where ammunition is sold. Some of the less common and recent additions to the market can also be encountered in these spaces. Of course, if one were to shop for ammo online, finding elusive and specific loadings gets easier. If you buy ammo online, you are simply afforded a wider range of options than what is locally stocked.
These types of loadings will be found in standard loadings and in specialized, exotic forms. Specialty offerings are generally going to be optimized for use cases such as hunting or suppressed shooting. Specialized hunting loadings will often be designed to ethically dispatch game and is potentially available in the form of lead-free ammo.
All in all, bottleneck cartridges are employed by a number of end users. Everyone from recreational shooters to hunters and competitive shooters enjoy straight calibers of all types. With support found in handguns and rifles, a variety of shooters can effectively use these types of cartridges in a firearm of their choice. We here at True Shot Ammo have a wide range of bottleneck cartridge ammo offerings available. The range of ammunition for sale includes range loadings, hunting loadings, subsonic loadings, and more. Whether you are wanting to buy .223 Remington ammo, purchase 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition, or are after ammunition of a different kind, we have got you covered. As always, happy shooting.
Need bulk ammo? At True Shot Ammo, we have a wide variety of handgun ammo and rifle ammo available to purchase. Please visit our website trueshotammo.com, call us at (888) 736-6587, or you can email us at [email protected] for more ammo options.
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One Response
At what date were the first botle necked casings introduced? Could a bottle necked rifle casing found on an 1870 site be period ? Or is it a casing from a newer more modern round?
Thanks,
Dave