It’s the start of a new year and SHOT Show 2025 saw some of the latest firearms and accessories on full display for the first time. But the latest guns are worthless without ammunition. Many of the same standby brands were present and displaying the same standby ammunitions we have come to know and love, but there were plenty of new offerings and a few new manufacturers as well. Here is what is hot at SHOT in the ammunition department.
Rimfires Revived
Remington has unveiled a few new rimfire loadings for 2025. This includes the Performance WheelGun 22 round. It uses a 39-grain lead semi-wadcutter bullet, similar to the lighter copper-washed Remington Viper load. This low-velocity round is designed with a semi-wadcutter bullet featuring a flat meplat, which promotes straight-line penetration and is optimized for revolvers.
After a brief absence from the market, Remington is also bringing back their line of .22 Short ammunition, which consists of two high-velocity loads: a 29 grain round-nosed copper-washed bullet and a 27 grain hollow point.
Federal’s Hammer Down line of hunting ammunition is now extended to the .22 Long Rifle. For those who seek an expanding .22 hunting bullet, particularly if you prefer a lever action rifle, the Hammer Down 22 is worth a look. It features a 40 grain round nosed hollow point bullet that delivers a good balance of expansion and reliable feeding but is otherwise unlike any other high velocity .22 LR round. At this time, it is only available as a bulk pack offering in boxes of 325 rounds.
CCI is expanding their UpperCut line of .22 rimfire defensive loads to include the .22 WMR. Like its smaller brother in .22 LR, the .22 Mag UpperCut load has a nickel-plated case and powders optimized for best burn out of 2.5-4 inch barrels. It features a 40 grain jacketed hollow point with nose shives for uniform petal opening at lower velocities.
In the waning months of 2024, Winchester launched the introduction of the .21 Sharps. SHOT 2025 was its public debut. The .21 Sharps is an answer to the problems of the .22 LR rimfire cartridge, namely its lower velocity and use of a heeled non-jacketed bullet that can’t hack higher speeds. The .21 Sharp consists of a .22 LR case with a jacketed bullet seated inside the case rather than over it.
The copper jacket prevents the lead bullet from melting at high velocity without the need for residue-inducing wax coatings and without a heeled bullet that is easy to damage when manipulating cartridges into the firing chamber and collecting dirt and debris when kept in a pocket.
The new .21 Sharp is available with lead-free 25 grain up to 42 grain bonded lead bullets running between 1,500 and 1700 feet per second. These rounds elevate the old .22 LR to the next level in the same platforms chambered in the .22 LR. It is initially offered in the Savage Mk. II and A22 series of rifles with more to come.
The .32 H&R Magnum Reborn
The launch of the Ultimate Carry revolvers in 2024 and a revival of the .327 Federal Magnum chambered Ruger SP101 has brought that cartridge’s little brother, the .32 H&R Magnum back to the public’s attention.
First debuted in 1984 as a more powerful round of the then-popular .32 S&W Long cartridge, the Magnum was underloaded and its primary sponsor, H&R, went out of business shortly afterward. The .32 Magnum boasts power similar to standard pressure .38 Special ammunition without the added recoil and with an extra round in a similarly sized revolver. A precious few ammunitions in the .32 H&R Magnum were available, until now.
Plinking ammunition in .32 H&R has been non-existent and Federal Premium has fixed that with a new 85 grain FMJ loading in their American Eagle lineup. The .32 Magnum is also now available with an 85 grain bonded jacketed hollow point in the Hydra-Shok Deep line, a selection that excels in short-barreled handguns.
Going big with the 8.6 blackout and .338 arc
The 8.6 Blackout and .338 ARC are short, squat centerfire rifle rounds. Designed with projectiles with a high ballistic coefficient, they offer better downrange performance at subsonic velocities when mounted to suppressed and short-barreled AR-style rifles. These rounds feature 250+ grain projectiles and are the next step up the food chain from subsonic .300 Blackout rounds.
In SHOT Show 2025, Fort Scott Munitions and Underwood Ammunition launched several varieties of the 8.6 and .338, respectively. The all-copper Fort Scott 285 grain monolithic lead-free spitzer and the Underwood 300 grain jacketed hollow point for the 8.6 are included. Hornady offers a 175 grain supersonic loading for the .338 ARC, but the cartridge is now supported with a 307 grain subsonic flex tip load.
Going Green
For areas where lead ammunition is verboten and for the most uniform bullet dynamic, copper is the way to go. Fiocchi and Fort Scott Munitions continue to go green. The Fiocchi Hyperformance Hunt catalog ranges from .243 Winchester to .300 Winchester Magnum. New for 2025 is an expansion of the line to include the all-copper ballistic tip Barnes TTSX bullet in 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm PRC, and .308 Winchester.
The HyperPerformance Hunt is now also available in popular hunting pistol cartridges and features a flatpoint Barnes XPB bullet. Available calibers in this new pistol lineup include .357 Magnum, 10mm Auto, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt.
Fort Scott Munitions is a first name in all-copper ammunitions. In addition to their new 8.6 Blackout monolithic load, the Fort Scott TUI lineup is expanding to include the resurgent 5.7×28 FN cartridge. The TUI or Tumble Upon Impact relies on hydrostatic shock to do its work and the new 5.7 offering with a heavy-for-caliber 55 grain bullet is a natural choice for that desired effect.
Odds, Ends, and Surprises
SHOT Show would not be what it is without its oddities and surprises. Federal Premium’s Power Shok line of hunting ammunition has grown to include the 10mm Auto cartridge with a 200 grain jacketed hollow point intended for medium game. The more powerful .44 Magnum cartridge has earned its place in the HST defensive line with a controlled-penetrating 240 grain hollow point. The new .300 Ham’R cartridge is gaining traction with its inclusion in the Remington CoreLokt.
On the shotgun front, Federal has invested in the venerable, light-kicking 20 gauge with a line of Mini Shells, paper shells, and even an all-copper 275 grain slug as part of the Freight Train line.
By far the standout cartridge of Shot Show 2025 is the 7mm Backcountry. Developed by Federal as a long-range deer and elk cartridge, the 7mm Backcountry uses a boron-steel case with high BC bullets in the same vein as the 6.5 Creedmoor.
Federal is releasing the cartridge with four different loadings ranging from 155-195 grains. With velocities well north of 3,000 feet per second, the Backcountry offers an improved trajectory over the increasingly popular 7mm PRC and rivals the 7mm Remington Magnum without the need for a Magnum case or a larger receiver to accommodate it.
Will the 7mm and any of these other offerings catch on? Only the time until SHOT Shot 2026 will tell.
