Ammo 101

by Cristopher Wood October 26, 2021

Your firearm is useless without ammunition. If you're new to shooting you may not know exactly what you should buy. To start you need the right caliber which you should already know but in case you forgot you can find it on the barrel or the magazine provided by the manufacturer. The ammunition you'll buy falls under two main categories: range and self defense. The categories are self explanatory. Range ammunition is used at the range and often know as "ball ammo" or "FMJ" (Full Metal Jacket). This will be the cheapest ammunition you'll be able to find. Self defense ammunition are often called "Hollow point" and denoted on the box by the acronym "JHP" (Jacketed Hollow Point) and is usually double the cost. This ammunition is made to stop and expand upon impact and prevent over penetration/ going through your target. In each category the rounds can be made with different materials for the casing and bullet. The most common being brass, steel and aluminum but the small difference don't stop there. You might find additional acronyms, words and symbols on your box. Each of them mean something different and you don't want to assume what something is. Here's a quick guide to what some of those words, acronyms and numbers mean.

FMJ: Full Metal Jacket. Range ammo

JHP: Jacketed Hollow Point. Self defense ammo

Reman: Remanufactured or reloaded ammunition. Its basically recycled ammo. The shell casings are reused from previously fired rounds.

GR: Grain is the weight of the bullet in the round.

Frangible: Frangible/ soft rounds are designed to break apart when they hit walls or other hard surfaces to prevent ricochets in close-quarters.

+P or P+: A round with higher pressure/ overpressure. Meaning it has more gun powder and will fire the bullet with more velocity. *YOUR FIREARM SHOULD HAVE A +P RATED CHAMBER TO USE THIS AMMUNITION.* If it doesn't you could damage your firearm.

RN: (Round nose) The bullet has a round tip.

FN: (Flat nose) The bullet has a flat tip.

QTY: Quantity, there should be a large number on your box telling you how many rounds are in each box.

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