Mid America Munitions is a company that most of you probably haven’t been introduced to. I hadn’t heard of them until a couple months ago when I was approached about taking a look at some of their ammo, in particular their Broadhead line. I’m naturally a skeptic of what, at a glance, appears to be gimmicky ammo, but after testing the 124gr Broadhead, I can assure you that there is no snake oil here.
General Background
Mid America Munitions is a fairly new company that has been spending some serious time developing some, well, serious self-defense and hunting ammo. They opened their doors in 2017 in Missouri
Although this review is on 9mm, the company also makes some exceptional .300 Blackout, among other Broadhead cartridges, that I will be reviewing at a future date here at TTAG.
The load itself consists of a solid-copper expanding bullet and a brass case. The bullet is shaped like a typical FMJ as far as contour, but make no mistake: this thing is no FMJ.
Mid America Munitions 9mm Broadhead is available in a 20-round box for $24.60, as per the manufacturer’s website.
Accuracy and Basic Performance
I tested this load in a SIG SAUER P320 X-Carry. This is a gun that I’ve spent a great deal of time with and I know exactly how it runs. This is not only one of the most accurate polymer-framed pistols I’ve ever used, but it also among the most reliable.
Everything was nicely boring as far as this portion. The gun hardly moved under recoil and groups just seemed to print themselves at 25 yards. My five-shot average was 2” off the bench. Velocity was recorded over my Oehler 35P and the five-shot average came to 1159fps, which was significantly faster than 1070fps listed by Mid America.
Ballistic Performance
I received a 10% FBI gel block from Clear Ballistics for this section of my testing. I have grown used to the routine of firing into gel and I have to say that I was very surprised by what I saw when I put the first Broadhead round into the center.
A cloud of smoke erupted from the entry wound and the block shook like my liberal friends on election night 2016.
I had to find out what happened and ran down to find out what it was that made such a dramatic display. I was stunned to see that this otherwise benign looking bullet had created some of the most fearsome damage to my gel block that I’d ever seen a handgun bullet produce.
The permanent wound cavity was simply massive. The expansion started at about an inch in and, well, it was over for my block. The permanent damage was over an inch across and about 8” deep. The bullet has stopped at a depth of 13” and looked like it was the blade from a very small meat grinder. The bullet had also caused tumbling damage as it slowed down and a ragged cut was apparent for the remaining distance it travelled.
Wounding Capacity
Given the bullet petals expansion, this is a load that I am confident will not over penetrate. I fired it through my standard leather, fabric, and denim materials and it generated a very consistent, rapid, expansion.
Because of the shape, it’s able to punch through the materials and then expand in the soft tissue. I only had one bullet that failed to fully expand (below), but it still got most of the way there. It only penetrated 10 inches, but it tumbled the entire way and left a wide, yawing tear as it went through.
Virtually all of the bullets went in to the exact same depth. In the photo below you can see that there are two bullets directly next to each other. This was remarkable as, unlike most lead, all-metal bullets can be inconsistent if the material isn’t exactly the same in hardness at the mechanical performance.
The Broadhead is something else. I’ve done work with lots of solid expanding bullets in the past, but none delivered the striking results this one did. I’m disappointed that my photography of the gel didn’t turn out as well as I’d like as a result of the gel becoming cloudy with use.
This is one that you just need to see to believe and I will do my best to get some new photos when I get a brand-new block. (A side note is that Clear Ballistics gel is reusable and can be melted and re-cast. My block has had lots of use and is becoming difficult to photograph. I’ll be writing a review on my experience with the gel itself soon that will fully explain this.)
Overall Impressions
Mid America Munitions has impressed me with this product. The 9mm cartridge features a powerful, accurate, and lethal personal defense bullet that functions in a way that its exterior appearance does not give away. I don’t carry a 9mm, but if I did, I’d happily carry this round.
Ratings (out of five stars):
Accuracy: * * * * *
The SIG X-Carry is an accurate gun and this load was boringly predictable in it. It just shot well all day long and gave me nothing to worry about.
Handling: * * * *
Recoil was manageable and follow-up shots were easy to make. Not much to report here.
Reliability: * * * * *
No problems here either. It cycled every time with no failures.
Terminal Performance: * * * * *
Aside from surprising me, it did exactly what a good carry load should. It penetrated materials and rapidly expanded without over-penetration. The wound channels were truly something else.
Overall: * * * * *
I like this stuff. A lot. It’s powerful, accurate, and it has some of the wildest expanding bullets out there.
They have 9mm, .380, and .45 in broad head line and make .40 in fmj. Don’t get why they haven’t added .40 broadhead to the lineup. Based on the 9mm review I’d like to see how the larger calibers perform. My carry guns are either 40 or 357 so unless they expand the pickings people like me are sol.
Probably because 40 cal is as dead as 357 and 10mm. LMAO
Will using these advanced loads brand you as a “homicidal maniac” in the eyes of the Law–or a jury ??? DMD
“Will using these advanced loads brand you as a “homicidal maniac” in the eyes of the Law–or a jury ???”
The answer to that is…
It depends.
Allow me to explain –
What is the political ‘lay of the land’ where you will be defending yourself? Does that area tend to vote Democrat or Republican? Is this in a city or out in the surrounding counties? Does the local prosecutor and DA have a problem with citizen self-defense?
That is what I mean by “It depends…”
Just because you live in “Republicanland” doesn’t mean the local JBTs and concerned fudds won’t condemn you.
That’s *why* I said “It depends.”
Where I live, Polk county, Florida, with sheriff Grady “Because they ran out of bullets” Judd, as long as the shoot was justified, I am confident it won’t matter what my load is, in *criminal* court.
In civilian court *anywhere*, all bets are off.
Other areas, your miles can, and will, vary…
Yes Geoff, but what about the civil court trial which will follow when you’re sued for everything you own and will ever own in the near future? Why use it, it doesn’t make sense? Even if you win in a criminal court case which requires a unanimous verdict, doesn’t mean you’re going to win in civil court which only requires a simple majority.
I wish them all the best With this project. Would like to see it in .40 cal, tho’. I wish no bad juju , but I hope it doesn’t go the way of the BLACK TALON. I’LL probably buy some in 9mm, just to have in case I get another 9. Good luck!!!
I never understood why bullets of any kind could be outlawed! I mean, if you have to resort to using ‘deadly force’ to protect yourself or family, you want to eliminate the threat don’t you? What is the difference between shooting an attacker with a 12ga. 00 buckshot round and a .45 caliber Black Talon? Anyway, good luck to this new company, there can never be too many ammunition manufacturers.
It’s going to be the justification for the shoot, not what you shoot. There was the Arizona case that the guy was convicted for using 10mm, but that was eventually reversed.
I’d be way less worried about the brand of the bullet I used vs the effectiveness of the bullet I had to use in my JUSTIFIED use of deadly force.
Yeah it was reversed… 3 years later, after he had already lost everything. Wife left him and took his kids, lost his house, severely damaged his career…. not something that can be brushed off as “yeah, well, his conviction was reversed”
That’s because he had a shit lawyer.
Yeah, well his conviction was reversed. Would it have been better to leave him in prison?
Not in the eyes of law enforcement, but in the eyes of a doctor digging that bullet out of it’s victim testifing in court, probably. That would definitely set up a disadvantage to you in the civil trial that will follow your non conviction in a criminal trial. Which most CCW insurance won’t cover the cost of.
I think we just found the ultimate defense round in 9mm.
Really scary bullet, I’d prefer a bit more penetration, will wait for STB410 or similar test.
GS650G, yeah, you said it. The ultimate State Attorney tool to convict you in a criminal court case of over kill, and the ultimate tool for the victims attorney to get you convicted in the civil lawsuit which will follow in civil court. Good luck making a decent living while you’re paying restitution to the scum you shot or his family the rest of your life. People need to wait until the laws catch up to this kind of ammo, (if ever) before they start using it.
“The block shook like my liberal friends on night 2016.” Simply awesome!
.45 ACP fmj vs. any 9 mm wonder ball. With this projectile my 9 will do,,,,,,. Yeah okay gotcha
So where’s the video of your ballistic gel test? Until there’s documented ballistic gel testing by someone that adheres to proper method and protocol, (such as shootingthebull410 or tnoutdoors), or better yet actual FBI testing, the Broadhead line is just the latest unproven gimmick ammunition marketed with an ominous sounding deadly cool name, remember the R.I.P.?
I got three words for it: Speer Gold Dot
Impressive results certainly! I wonder how many new manufacturers the market can support though, in other words, who will survive in a market flooded with offerings? For many years the Big 3 dominated the market in North America and innovation was slower. I honestly don’t even know how many ammo makers exist nowadays, do you? Who will survive? Some will be purchased and integrated into larger ammo companies?
If they really want to get this out into the market they need to sell it as a component for reloaders.
Sub-par penetration, no videos or photos of ballistic gel trajectories, and no analysis of the wound cavities. I’ll stick with 147gr HSTs, thanks.
Also, I imagine a relatively dismal performance when shooting auto glass given the design of the round. No bueno.
Seems too good to be true, and you know what means? It probably is. Plus the obvious worry of a doctor digging that bullet out of a victim and reporting in court of the extensive damage produced by it. Most doctors are liberals, and would paint this type of bullet as over kill. I’ll stick with and continue to use my Sig Sauer 147 gr hollow points in my 9mm’s which meet or exceed all FBI protocols with regards to penetration and ballistics. I don’t need to explain in court why I seen it fit to use this type of bullet in defense of my life.
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