Ammo companies have been ramping up production and trying to come up with better ammunition products to be used for shooting on a range. The typical ammo stories over the years usually consisted of products for defense, match shooting or hunting. Making better general range ammunition – not so much. We've been examining Winchester USA Forged 9mm ammunition over the last few weeks. It's loaded with a 115 grain full metal jacket slug – the jacket allegedly made of brass and the bullet having a lead core. The steel cartridge case is a dull gray and it is coated. I found one source that said that the Forged "brass" is zinc coated and another that said it was manganese coated. The Winchester site says "proprietary." What's the coating for? Well, manganese and zinc coatings are for corrosion resistance – as one might consider necessary on steel case range ammo that could be stored for a while – and manganese coatings are known for lubricity. Some of this coating was left on my fingertips after I loaded magazines. Some retailers' websites had reviews of the ammo. It was mixed. Some discussed the guns choking up after fifty rounds, many more described no function issues but said the ammo was dirty. I'd had independent reports of it being "dirty" and not working in all guns. I found the coating on the cartridge cases did rub off when handled and it seemed smoky but found no other issues. I used it in the new Colt Lightweight Commander and the Ruger American Pistol that's been in the shop. It's worked in both of those as well as a Glock 43 micro-pistol and the Performance Center version of the M&P Shield.

American Eagle Syntech TSJ on the left, Winchester USA Forged on the right.

Last week, a package arrived from Vista Outdoor with 150 rounds of American Eagle Syntech. Loaded with a 115 grain "Total Synthetic Jacket" (TSJ) bullet, it's packaged in containers marked "Range Ammunition." The ammo is put up in brass cases, the bright red projectile standing out from standard jacketed rounds. That synthetic jacket is a polymer. It prevents metal-to-metal contact inside the bore as the slug travels along. That means you miss out on leading from unclad lead projectiles and on copper fouling from conventionally jacketed rounds. The company says that it's a cooler-shooting round due to less friction. Less friction should also mean longer barrel life. As to cleaning, I know that plastic shot cups in shotgun bores quickly foul the smooth bore. That's not Federal's experience with the Syntech. I wouldn't find out with 150 rounds either. The primer is said to be a new lead-free primer called the Catalyst -- we'll have a wait-and-see on their long term reliability. Earlier lead-free primers went dead according to some law enforcement accounts. As it was only training ammo, there were no deadly consequences but it did irritate some buyers. The Syntech rounds tried so far all fired. The company says there's less recoil with the TSJ round and that there's minimal splash from steel targets. I could test those aspects easily. I grabbed our exemplar Ruger American Pistol, the ammo, and some targets and went to the range. On arrival, I shot the "Bane Test" first with USA Forged ammo. As usual, I nailed one in the Gunsite Option target "x" ring, one more on the silhouette and one off from fifty yards. There's something to be said for that consistency, but not much. At 25 yards, the first shot went into the maximum scoring box in the "head" of the target. I loaded with Syntech and planted three in the head from 25 yards. It clearly wasn't smoky like the USA Forged making me think that the coating on the steel cartridge case could be contributing to the plume. I noted that, being less humid than previous trips, there was less smoke from the Winchester ammo than in previous outings. I stapled up an NRA B-8 Center and shot a "half-Vickers" – five rounds, five yards, support hand only; followed by five rounds, ten yards, dominant hand only. I finished up with five rounds, two-handed from fifteen yards. Fifteen rounds, 150 points possible. The Syntech load in the Ruger American yielded a respectable score of 147. I was tending just a bit right and a little high – still getting used to that six o'clock hold required on this sample.

Target from the "half-Vickers" test using American Eagle Syntech ammo. Knowing one's zero is important, but it's still a decent score.

I loaded a magazine at random alternating American Eagle Syntech with Winchester USA Forged. I found them virtually indistinguishable in terms of feel, sound and point of impact. The only way I could tell which round was steel cased was the puff of smoke – minimal on this particular outing. I loaded Syntech in a magazine and stepped up to seven yards from a swinging steel plate of just over six inches in diameter. I normally shoot this target no closer than 10 yards, but I wanted to see if there was any splash back from the steel. The target was set a few feet to the left of a paper target I'd left standing. There was some minor splash on the card board from the Syntech but nothing came back toward me. I reloaded with USA Forged and repeated the drill. I experienced no splash from the USA Forged either, but there was more ripping evident in the cardboard target nearby. I'd still draw the line at seven yards on steel, further back with conventional jacketed rounds. There were no stoppages from either round. I noticed no particular bore fouling from the Syntech and the USA Forged had already proven to be easily cleaned up. Winchester USA Forged is currently available in 9mm. American Eagle Syntech is available in 9mm, .40 and .45 ACP. I believe it's fair to say there are more shooters in the country now than ever before and that they're shooting more. Efforts like this from ammunition companies will be keeping people shooting. I'd happily use either of these loads for range work. -- Rich Grassi