Ammo
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Ammo/Firearm Inquiry
WINCHESTER (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE)
Winchester is a legendary firearms and ammunition brand built on nearly 150 years of tradition. Founded in 1866, Winchester manufactured the guns that won the west, and they were the first partner of “the Edison of guns” Mr. John Browning himself. They are just as well known for their ammunition, and Winchester ammo can be found around the world in their signature white and red ammo boxes. Rifle, shotgun, handgun and rimfire, they make it all in almost every caliber imaginable. The primary Winchester ammunition factories are located in East Alton, Illinois and Oxford, Mississippi. Popular Winchester variants include Super-X, Defender, and Match ammunition.
REMINGTON (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE)
Remington is another storied American manufacturer of American firearms and ammunition. The Remington Arms Company was founded in 1816 in New York, and it holds the distinction of one of the longest continually operating manufacturers in America. Today the company is headquartered in Madison, North Carolina and they also produce all four primary ammunition types: rimfire, centerfire rifle, pistol and shotshell. Popular variants include Core-Lokt, Premier, and Hypersonic loads. You can also get ammunition from a subsidiary of Remington, UMC. The United Metallic Cartridge company was the first to make the .22LR and centerfire cartridge, and today you can still purchase this high-end ammunition in select calibers.
FEDERAL PREMIUM (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE)
Federal Premium Ammunition is another true American original. In 1922, Charles Horn purchased a small factory and began an aggressive marketing plan for his ammunition that included stocking his ammo in barber shops, gas stations, and grocery stores. His plan was successful, and by WWII Federal Premium had become an important supplier of ammunition for the war effort. Other notable Federal accomplishments include the first color coding of shotgun shells by gauge, the manufacture of the first steel shotgun loads, and the development of Hydra-Shok loads for law enforcement purposes. Federal Premium is still located in Anoka today, and they make all four primary types of ammunition. Popular product lines by Federal Premium include Premium Personal
HORNADY (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE)
The Hornady ammunition company was founded by Joyce Hornady in 1940. Hornady was an avid shooter, but he demanded more out of his ammunition, and so like so many notable entrepreneurs, he set out to make something up to his standards himself. The company began by salvaging surplus ammunition and spent casings from WWII and re-purposing it for hunting and target shooting purposes. As the company grew, it impacted ballistic design with their signature secant ogive bullet and later were the first to produce the .17 HMR load. Hornady is available in all four primary ammunition types, and popular product lines include Critical Defense, Superformance, and American Whitetail.Defense, V-Shok and American Eagle.
CCI (RIMFIRE AND HANDGUN)
CCI, or Cascade Cartridges Inc., was founded by mechanical expert Dick Speer in 1951. Brother of Vernon Speer of Speer Bullets, Dick began making specialty rounds for Weatherby and Newton rifles, but his breakthrough came when he helped to pioneer new handgun and rifle primer designs. Today CCI is a leader in rimfire ammunition, and also produce centerfire pistol ammunition in select calibers. CCI’s most popular product lines include Mini-Mag, Stinger, and Quik-Shok.
Brief history of Ammunition
The first forms of ammunition consisted of loose powder, carried in a flask or horn, and various projectiles which were loaded into the barrel from the muzzle end. These early projectiles were often irregularly shaped stone balls or arrow like objects. By the fifteenth century, ammunition had become fairly standardized and consisted of ‘black powder’ propellant (a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate), followed by some wadding, a spherical lead ball and further wadding to retain it all in place. Materials other than lead had been used for the projectile, and it was recognized from an early period that the lighter the material, the higher the velocity. However, due to its ballistics properties and the ease of casting it into spheres or bullet-shaped projectiles, lead remained the preferred material. Elongated bullets with hollow bases (to move their center of gravity towards the nose of the bullet) and pointed noses had been experimented with for some time, but they did not receive any real favor until the mid-1800s.
During the latter part of the sixteenth century, as a result of the need for rapid reloading, pre-measured powder charges were introduced. These were contained in small paper bags which were torn open and the contents poured down the barrel. The paper bag followed this as did the wadding. The bullet, which was carried separately, was hammered into place last of all. Towards the end of the 1600s, the bullet was tied into the top of the powder bag resulting in the first ‘self-contained’ cartridge. These early ‘self-contained’ cartridges still required an external priming method to provide a flash to ignite the main propellant charge. It was not until the introduction of the breech-loader, where the ammunition was loaded from the rear of the barrel, that true self-contained ammunition appeared.
Early attempts at including the priming charge within the cartridge include the volcanic, lip, cup, teat, annular rim, needle, pinfire and rimfire systems. Most of these had a very short life span and, with the exception of the rimfire, only the pinfire attained any degree of popularity. The pinfire was at its most popular between 1890 and 1910, and was still readily available on the continent until 1940. It had, however, fallen out of favor in the United Kingdom by 1914 and was virtually unobtainable by 1935. Calibers available for use in pinfire revolvers were 5, 7, 9, 12 and 15 mm, whilst shotgun ammunition in 9 mm, 12 bore and various other calibers was also available.