Is "Modern" Ammo Just a Gimmick?
Clark Armory takes pride in being the first company to have the latest products in stock and ready to ship. There are countless places to buy ammo online, and we know it. Many of these super-warehouse ammo websites, however, do a poor job of bringing in the latest products to their customers. You will not find the latest products you have just read about in a magazine or saw in a press release on most websites. Instead, you will find the same things you would find at your local gun shop, bulk FMJ ammo for a few major calibers. In this case, why not support the local shop? Many of the newest products take years, if not longer, to be available in local shops and this is where we step in. We do our best to stay up-to-date on the newest products in the ammo industry and make them available ASAP.
As we continue to curate new products, we are constantly asking ourselves one key question, "Is this (insert new ammo name) really any better, or just another gimmick round?" Unfortunately, aggressive forum/article commenters, who think anything other than FMJs for plinking or copper-jacketed lead hollowpoints for carry is a waste of money, are usually the first to answer the question. The irony in this response is that the reason many people rely on traditional ammo is it has been around for many years, and their assessment of the new ammo comes before they, or anyone else, has had a chance to shoot it. They are not affording the new rounds the same opportunity they have given the old ones: decades of trials, errors, and improvements.
That does not mean all new bullet/ammo designs are better than those coming before them. In fact, nearly all of the new designs build upon the classics. This is because the old designs work (the whole standing on the shoulders of giants thing). For example, some new rounds may fall shorter in one respect, say home defense, than their traditional counter parts. See TheFirearmsBlog's article on The Flower Shell. What it does mean is as the shooting community we ought to hold our judgment on new products until the jury (sportsmen and sportswomen) has had an opportunity to review the products and put them through their paces. After all, there was a time when hollow points and even non-muzzle loaded projectiles were the innovations on the block.