SHOT is filled with numerous events, parties, and shindigs. Technically, the whole show starts on Monday morning with Media Industry Day at the Range, but the festivities got under way a bit earlier for the TTAG crew at a private events put on by Team Never Quit Ammunition at the Strip Gun Club on Sunday afternoon. I joined Jon Wayne Taylor and Nick Leghorn for a demo of TNW’s ammo, which I’ve used in past reviews and found to be throughly likable stuff. On the way in, bags of perfectly expanded copper projectiles caught our eye. Said bags belonged to Maker Bullets . . .
We met with Paul Hendrixson, founder and head honcho at Maker. He explained that his extensive background in medical devices had led him to think that he could create a solid copper projectile that would meet his needs. I’ll let the blurb for their website take over from here.
Maker Ammo, LLC and the Maker Bullets brand was launched in November 2014 by Paul Hendrixson and Constant Laubscher. Prior to the creation of the Maker brand, in 2012 Paul and Constant began manufacturing a 220 grain solid copper for 300 blackout because there was limited availability of subsonic bullets at that time.
Shortly after, they developed a fracturing and then expanding line for use in subsonic hog hunting. As the designs, progressed, patents were filed on the fracturing ammo. Friends who were launching a new ammo line agreed to private label the projectiles. As production grew, the expanding and fracturing product lines expanded to include over 100 different caliber and grain weight configurations.
In early 2015, the Maker Bullets brand was launched to introduce a full line of match, expanding and fracturing projectiles with and without polymer tips. Focusing solely on precision cnc machined lead free, solid copper projectiles Maker now has over 250 grain and caliber configurations.
As Paul explains it, Maker can create a custom bullet for any shooting situation based on your specific needs. Of interest to me, and part of the reason Paul went down this path was a 220 gr. subsonic .300 BLK loading for home defense. I recently put together my first .300 BLK SBR and with a can on the end it sure does love those subsonic loads. The issue is that I worry about poor energy transfer with those bit fat subbies. Worse yet, I’m unsure of how they’ll do in the case of an over penetration or a miss, as I’m not interested in killing my neighbor’s dog.
Paul assures me that his subsonic specific 200 gr .30 cal bullet will expand fully, dumping all of its energy into whatever it hits. Naturally, I’m curious, and we’ve asked for some to test in the coming months. Watch this space.
If this stuff keeps coming I may break down and buy a can. I love the .300 and I keep wishing for the safe hearing act to pass!
^^^This.
Strip. Gun. Club. My fevered imagination heard those words and went into overdrive.
Swat your neighbor, dog problem solved.
Where in NC are you Joe? I have dogs and if I am swatted, I want to know where to look ?
I find your name ironic.
If it expands that well at subsonic velocities, I may have to try some of that.
cnc machined individual projectiles…….. pretty heady stuff.
Lehigh Defense has been doing that for some time now.
TTAG ammo tester ShootingTheBull410 has some very good things to say about their .410 solid copper expander.
http://www.lehighdefense.com/
Here’s to hoping Lehigh has some interesting new offerings at SHOT…
I’ve been vaguely aware of Lehigh. Didn’t know they individually machined every bullet. They’re not even THAT ridiculously expensive. I guess router bits last a long time on metals as soft as copper.
I still don’t fully understand the attraction of copper bullets in jurisdictions that does not ban lead. Reflexively, I’d just assume one would want a bullet to be as dense as possible. Unless machined copper can be made sufficiently more precise than standard jacketed lead bullets to more than make up for the difference. Wonder if depleted Uranium can be cnc machined? And if it’s really depleted enough to make people of reproductive age comfortable carrying a magazine or three in a Smart Carry holster…..
The world of pre-frag projectiles has been around for, well, almost forever. It’s more that the market is starting to catch up and the manufacturing is getting really cheap.
Not sure about what patents are left to actually grab in that space, it’s been pretty much filled out since the early ’90s. I guess it’s something really specific.
Lol, over penetration.
Need something in .45 ACP…..
Meet Your Maker Bullets?
H’mmm…
Maker as in Boilermaker. Proud Purdue graduate.
I figured it was more about Shai Hulud than the maker in the sky, I could be too nerdy though.
Awesome Bullets
I use them in a 200 grain subsonic .300 Blackout & 130 grain High Velocity Tipped 6.5 Creedmoor. And now will be loading the 168 grain High Velocity Tipped in my .308, can’t wait to see how this round performs. I am sure it will perform like the other 2 rounds I use.
Paul is awesome. I have called him several times on the phone for loading information and he answers every time.
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