Which Ammo is Best for Self-Defense?

It depends on who you ask, of course. But here's what some of the experts use, and why:

Personal-Defense Ammo: Top Picks from the Experts

Ammunition explodes as Hillside home burns

From the Alaska Dispatch News:

Sean Doogan, August 21, 2015

Smoke billows from a house fire near Huffman Road on Friday morning. Scott Jensen

11:30 a.m. update:
Huffman Road has been reopened, and fire officials at the scene said the home was extensively damaged.

-------------
Original story:

A garage fire in an Anchorage Hillside home detonated stored ammunition Friday morning, prompting police to close Huffman Road from Elmore Road to Birch Road.

Anchorage Fire Department spokesperson John See said the blaze was reported at 8:06 a.m. by the homeowner, who told dispatch his garage was on fire and ammunition he stored inside a safe was cooking off.

See said 21 fire units responded. Crews were still battling the fire as of 9:15 a.m., and parts of Huffman Road remained closed.

See said no one has been injured by the fire. A fire investigator was sent to the scene.

GOA: Help Stop ATF's Ammo Ban!

ATF Seeks to Suppress AR-15's by Banning Common AR-15 Ammo ACTION: Urge your Senators to "defund" the ban on AR-15 ammunition, and urge them to put a "hold" on the nomination of Attorney General Nominee Loretta Lynch until the ATF backs down from its unlawful gun ban. Obama/Holder Exact Revenge on Gun Owners In the winter of 2012-13, Barack Obama went to war against the AR-15.  Every liberal establishment ally in the country was mobilized to ban the rifle and destroy what they dismissively called "the gun manufacturers' lobby." In the end, fewer than 40 senators (in a Democrat-controlled Senate) voted to ban semi-automatics.  So what do you do when even a Democrat-controlled Senate will not support your lunatic agenda?  What do you do when your agenda runs contrary to the law and the Constitution? You just ignore your opposition and go on the offensive, which is exactly what the Obama Administration did within the past week. ATF Violates the Law in Proposing New Ammo Ban The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is proposing to illegally suppress the AR-15 by banning M855 ammunition for that rifle as "armor piercing ammunition" under a 1986 statute banning certain types of ammunition -- a statute which amended the Gun Control Act of 1968. GOA's Legislative Counsel fought this law as a staffer in the U.S. Senate, arguing that it was a "camel's nose under the tent."  Sadly, a "compromise" which was struck by some short-sighted pro-gunners in 1986, and the bill was allowed to pass.   Thus, the ammo ban applies to: (1) Ammunition constructed entirely of "tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium, copper, or depleted uranium" or,  (2) Certain "full jacketed projectile[s] larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun..."  [18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B)]  Obviously, SS109 and M855 ammunition -- with a traditional lead core and a steel tip -- is neither.  Rather, this is an illegal attempt to ban or limit AR-15's by banning types of AR-15 ammunition.  Moreover, any particular ammunition can be, and has been, exempted if it has a sporting purpose. Well, according to surveys, the AR-15 is used for target shooting or hunting over 50% of the time -- thereby, making its ammunition easily fit within the "sporting purpose" test, no matter what the composition of the ammunition. Hunters Beware! The AR-15 is one of the most popular guns in America.  But even if you don't own one -- hence, you may be thinking you don't have a "dog in this fight" -- realize that this ban DOES AFFECT YOU.   If the ATF can get away with illegally banning a popular ammo round (because it can penetrate body armor), how long do you think it will be before it's banning other popular hunting rounds -- which, by the way, can also penetrate body armor! The ATF is accepting comments on this proposal until March 16.   GOA is working on submitting its own comments, and we certainly don't discourage others from submitting theirs as well. Most importantly, however, GOA will be working with Senators to "defund" or overturn this ammunition ban. ACTION: Urge your Senators to support the following measures: (1) Ask that the nomination of Attorney General Nominee Loretta Lynch (dubbed "Eric Holder in a skirt") be put on hold until the ATF backs down from its unlawful gun ban; and,  (2) Urge Senators to support an amendment to the DHS appropriations bill which would forbid the ATF from going forward with its lawless proposal.

Bargain Hunting: Happy Birthday to Me!

In my last post, I mentioned picking up a couple boxes of .30-06 for a total expenditure of $15, thanks to a gift card from a friend at work.

Well, I just got back from the Ammo Can, and they had several cases of '06 at $15.95/box. Of course, I grabbed half a dozen boxes.

That makes 160 rounds at $.69 per ... not bad. Not a huge purchase, but enough to help me feel better about making another trip to the range with the Garand.

Not a bad way to spend a birthday. :)

Ammunition: A Victory for Common Sense

From our friends at JPFO comes this news:

U.S. District Court Dismisses Lawsuit
to Ban Traditional Ammunition

By nssfnews, May 23, 2013.
For more information contact: Bill Brassard Jr. 203-426-1320

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today dismissed a lawsuit brought by the radical anti-hunting Center for Biological Diversity and six other groups demanding the Environmental Protection Agency ban traditional ammunition containing lead components.

Traditional ammunition represents 95 percent of the U.S. market and is the staple ammunition for target shooters, hunters and law enforcement, with more than 10 billion rounds sold annually.

NSSF filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last August. The court today agreed with NSSF that EPA does not have the authority to regulate traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

EPA had already twice denied attempts by CBD to have the agency ban traditional ammunition, and the court had dismissed an earlier case brought by CBD seeking the same relief.

"We are gratified that the court has found this second frivolous lawsuit, which is essentially the same as the one dismissed last year, was equally without merit," said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. "This was a waste of taxpayers' dollars and EPA resources spent in having to defend a baseless lawsuit."

CBD's serial petitioning of EPA and its repeated lawsuits were designed to cripple the shooting sports in America by banning the ammunition that millions of hunters and target shooters choose to use safely and responsibly.

"There is quite simply no sound science that shows the use of traditional ammunition has harmed wildlife populations or that it presents a health risk to humans who consume game taken with such ammunition," said Keane. "Banning traditional ammunition would cost tens of thousands of jobs in America and destroy wildlife conservation that is funded in part by an 11 percent excise tax on the sale of ammunition. The protection and management of wildlife is properly handled by the professional biologists in the state fish and game agencies, as it has been for over a hundred years.

In addition to NSSF, the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International and the Association of Battery Recyclers intervened in the case.

Organizations that joined CBD in its lawsuit were the Cascades Raptor Center of Oregon, the Loon Lake Loon Association of Washington, Preserve Our Wildlife of Florida, Tennessee Ornithological Society, Trumpeter Swan Society and Western Nebraska Resources Council.

NSSF was represented by Roger Martella and Christopher Bell from Sidley Austin.

About NSSF:
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 8,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.