Firearms are nothing without ammo. However, given the different reasons that people invest in firearms, attitudes to ammunition can vary wildly. Someone more interested in a firearm as a means for self-defense may not be as interested in the ins-and-outs of ammo as someone who enjoys the process of getting the most performance possible out of their weapon.
Regardless, guns and ammunition are two parts of the same system. Understanding some of the basics of how readily accessible ammunition is made can help you make better decisions as a consumer and as a conscientious gun owner. Below are nine things about mass-manufactured ammo that you should know. Be sure to check this out if you need to buy ammunition in Houston or the surrounding areas in Texas.
1.) Jackets and Casings Are made Similarly to Soda Cans
While ammunition jackets and casings for modern conventional firearms can be manufactured in a variety of ways, the vast majority of jackets and casings you’ll find on the market are drawn into shape, as opposed to machined, cast, or forged. That is, brass or steel sheets or discs go through a series of drawing dies where they are gradually punched and shaped into the final product.
In the drawing process, metal blanks are shaped just a little at a time at each stage until they take on the required shape. There can be about a dozen or more stages in this process, depending on the design of the cartridge. Modern beverage cans are made in much the same way, as drawing can save a lot of energy in the manufacturing process and allows for repeatable precision at a mass scale.
2.) Every Manufacturer Has Different QA and Maintenance Processes
Knowing where you get your ammo from matters. While ammunition manufacturers from around the world broadly use the same processes for making ammunition, the frequency and quality of maintenance and testing can make a major difference as to how closely the ammunition you buy matches its advertised reliability.
While machines that mass manufacture ammo are impressive and heavy-duty, at the end of the day, they are ultimately worn down because they are shaping, cutting, and filing metal. This means that to maintain the advertised performance of their wares, manufacturers need to have regular maintenance schedules and regular testing, which may add to the cost of manufacture and the prices you ultimately pay at ammo stores.
3.) Special Rigs Are Used to Test Ammo
Speaking of testing, the best manufacturers generally do not use commercially available firearms for regular QA testing. Rather, special ultra-stable testing rigs are used. Randomly selected ammunition from a batch is loaded onto these rigs and fired into a target, often remotely, to remove human error in testing. Sensors are used to gather data about the performance of the rounds to check if they are performing up to spec.
4.) Most Bullets Are “Swaged”
Swaging (pronounced “sway-jing,” as in “paging”) is a process where a material is subjected to high pressure to make it form into a shape. As with drawing, no heat is added in this process. Lead, copper, and other materials used to make bullets on a mass scale are most often swaged into shape using a die and a precision press that delivers sufficient pressure. Excess material is then filed or cut off. Swaging can be used to make a variety of different bullets, including jacketed, non-jacketed, and partially jacketed designs.
Swaging is distinct from casting, where materials are melted down then loaded into a die, or machining, where blank materials are turned into the correct shape with precision tools. While these other processes have their place, swaging is the one most often used to manufacture popular bullet designs at scale due to its combination of speed, repeatability, and precision.
5.) Steel vs. Brass Case Ammo
While the vast majority of commercial ammunition comes with brass cases, steel is also a fairly common material. Steel is somewhat more common for cartridges meant to be fired from firearms that have fairly violent extraction cycles, particularly AK pattern rifles.
Both brass and steel have their advantages and disadvantages, and neither is particularly better than the other — they are manufactured to good tolerances.
Brass is more malleable, and thus, brass cases tend to form a better seal around the bullet, which prevents corrosion and misfires. Brass is also significantly softer than the materials most chambers and barrels are made of, which reduces wear and tear on the firearm.
On the other hand, steel resists tearing from the extraction process better than brass. Steel-cased ammo can also be found relatively cheap, which is their main draw. Unfortunately, this focus on price often means that steel-cased ammo is not as stringently tested as brass. Steel cases are much harder to reload than brass, making them undesirable for many serious shooters who insist on hand-loading their ammunition.
6.) Assembly Can Be Done in Multiple Ways
Swaging and crimping are just one of the ways cases and bullets are mated together. While these processes are less common in popular ammunition that is readily available in the US, gluing, soldering, and welding are also sometimes employed to ensure the completed cartridge does not fall apart prematurely.
7.) Ammo Manufacturing Can Be Hazardous
Manufacturing ammunition involves the use of lubricants, solvents, and other chemicals for maintaining the machinery. Hazardous chemicals may also be used directly for the processing of ammunition. Additionally, lead and brass dust, as well as gases emitted by the primer and propellants can also lead to high levels of indoor air pollution in an industrial setting. Unfortunately, when you buy cheap ammo, worker safety may be one of the areas a manufacturer may skimp on to keep costs down.
8.) Innovations Come Out Every Year
While the process for making self-contained ammunition cartridges has remained more or less the same for the past 150 or so years, the contexts in which firearms are used and our understanding of ballistics continues to change. This means that innovations are necessary to keep pace with these developments.
For instance, while we have talked about brass and steel casing so far, there is already ongoing development into polymer-based cases, which promise to weigh 20-30% less. This, in turn, means someone can carry more ammo while retaining the same effect on the target.
Materials, propellants, and bullet shapes are also constantly being tweaked and experimented with to deliver more performance out of pre-existing popular firearms. While many of these innovations may not become widely available on the market for various reasons, there still are thousands of talented people out there pushing the envelope and redefining ammunition as we know it.
9.) Ammo Manufacturing Once Led to the Making of Some of the Tallest Buildings in the World
Before the development of modern self-contained ammunition, the manufacturing of bullets involved dropping molten lead from tall structures called “shot towers” onto water basins below. When molten lead is dropped from a sufficient height, it tends to form close to a perfect sphere.
From the late 18th century to about the mid 20th century, this process and variations of it were used to create spherical lead balls for ammunition and other purposes. Because these towers needed to be of a certain height (150 to 260 ft. high) to produce sufficiently spherical lead balls in the required sizes, they were among the tallest buildings in the world before the proliferation of skyscrapers. If you’re lucky, you may still be able to see the remnants of these towers in your hometown.
Understanding how most ammo is made can help you make better choices as a shooter and a consumer. The processes used by different manufacturers may be broadly similar, but the differences in the specific materials, attention to detail, and quality assurance processes can make an impact on the reliability of the final product. By understanding how popular ammo is made, you can ultimately make choices that are not only safer but also better for your overall shooting experience.