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Posted: 4/20/2025 4:34:38 PM EDT
New video just dropped with a bunch of  U.S. Special Forces Testing It NOW - Badlands Munitions SHELL SHOCK |
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Quoted: New video just dropped with a bunch of 1 shot chrono's for different barrel lenghts.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODsQaaJXJAHe is very high on the “shell shock” nickel alloy cases and the increased velocity they are getting from them. 10% discount code is given at the end, but almost all of their shell shock ammo is OOS. The 77g velocity from a 16” barrel is impressive, assuming he shot enough to get a good sample. He shows shooting 1 and sometimes 2 rounds with chrono but speaks about average velocities. I don’t know the reloading capabilities of those cases. |
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Quoted: He is very high on the “shell shock” nickel alloy cases and the increased velocity they are getting from them. 10% discount code is given at the end, but almost all of their shell shock ammo is OOS. The 77g velocity from a 16” barrel is impressive, assuming he shot enough to get a good sample. He shows shooting 1 and sometimes 2 rounds with chrono but speaks about average velocities. I don’t know the reloading capabilities of those cases. One/two shots does not a average make. I DO know the reloading capabilities of the 5.56 cases............. They are not. |
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I can't remember which one hoody shot (Badlands or BlackArc), but I think he took like 50 shots out of a 12.5 with 75's and was somewhere around 2760 fps. Edit - Found it in the Phantom Defense thread. 12.5" with a can @hoody2shoez Attached File As for reloading, looks like pistol only based on the comments in the other thread. But I do wonder if something like 350 Legend or maybe a straight wall big bore would work? |
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Quoted: These eat barrels alive. Nothing is free. You would likely have to spend $5000-$7500 in ammo shooting this stuff to burn up a barrel. It's $1.50/rd. Even a $500-$1000 match barrel is going to feel pretty insignificant if you can afford to run this stuff for training and match ammunition, and there's nothing stopping you from shooting cheap stuff for the bulk of your training and just building your dope and shooting matches with the NAS3 stuff. |
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Quoted: New video just dropped with a bunch of 1 shot chrono's for different barrel lenghts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODsQaaJXJASimilar to what we see in 9mm +p / +p+ loads, the lighter the projectile the more dramatic the change in performance (likely due to more room for powder). 55gr results were wild, 3000fps from a 10.3", 3400fps from a 16" (thats the velocity of XM193 brass from a 24") 
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Quoted: You would likely have to spend $5000-$7500 in ammo shooting this stuff to burn up a barrel. It's $1.50/rd. Even a $500-$1000 match barrel is going to feel pretty insignificant if you can afford to run this stuff for training and match ammunition, and there's nothing stopping you from shooting cheap stuff for the bulk of your training and just building your dope and shooting matches with the NAS3 stuff. It munched a stainless SOLGW in 3K rounds (2400 Badlands/NAS3, 600 other stuff). Not my barrel, but I saw the footage of the borescoping and the throat, Sons is replacing it, and the owner is happy with things and will continue to use the ammo, just saying, there is no free lunch. |
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Quoted: It munched a stainless SOLGW in 3K rounds (2400 Badlands/NAS3, 600 other stuff). Not my barrel, but I saw the footage of the borescoping and the throat, Sons is replacing it, and the owner is happy with things and will continue to use the ammo, just saying, there is no free lunch. Do you know what weight ammo and barrel length? I'm waiting on a 2nd shipment from Phantom defense of more 300blk ammo, but for the most part, I'm going slightly heavier ammo in a caliber and weight that was too slow to be useful to begin with.. Pushing 120's out of a 10.5" at 2270 fps probably won't kill a barrel like pushing 55's out of an 18" barrel at warp speed. |
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Quoted: i think the chrono showed they were 5 shot avgs but he just showed 1/2 shots This is interesting. Sucks that it's not reloadable, but the added velocity, especially in shorter barrels, is appealing. Now do .308 so I can get some more FPS out of my suppressed 16" tOBR setup 
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Quoted: Do you know what weight ammo and barrel length? I'm waiting on a 2nd shipment from Phantom defense of more 300blk ammo, but for the most part, I'm going slightly heavier ammo in a caliber and weight that was too slow to be useful to begin with.. Pushing 120's out of a 10.5" at 2270 fps probably won't kill a barrel like pushing 55's out of an 18" barrel at warp speed. 80.5gr/16, I believe. |
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Quoted: It munched a stainless SOLGW in 3K rounds (2400 Badlands/NAS3, 600 other stuff). Not my barrel, but I saw the footage of the borescoping and the throat, Sons is replacing it, and the owner is happy with things and will continue to use the ammo, just saying, there is no free lunch. That's about the round count I was expecting, and he probably spent around $4500 in match ammo in that time frame. Though I have to wonder, is it the case that's causing the issue or is it the velocit? |
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Quoted: That's about the round count I was expecting, and he probably spent around $4500 in match ammo in that time frame. Though I have to wonder, is it the case that's causing the issue or is it the velocit? Considering the damage was in the throat, I would say it's the pressure/velocity. Attached File Attached File |
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Quoted: Considering the damage was in the throat, I would say it's the pressure/velocity. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/453733/thr_jpg-3523656.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/453733/thr_jpg-3523659.JPG Pressure is supposedly the same as regular ammunition, velocity increases are due to extra powder capacity. I'm not surprised but this is the first case I've heard of. |
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I'm not a reloader or anything like that, but my understanding is that heavier projectiles (using the same powder charge) increases pressure since it take more force to move the heavier projectile down the barrel. But velocity is a also a barrel killer as well (heat and pressure), I don't really know. A lot of science in there, and it will be interesting to see how things shake out. But I think the key is that one isn't relegated to "just" NAS3 ammo. |
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Quoted: Pressure is supposedly the same as regular ammunition, velocity increases are due to extra powder capacity. I'm not surprised but this is the first case I've heard of. More powder = more heat and more abrasion. 220 swift and 5.56 have similar chamber pressures, for example. They do not have similar barrel life. |
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Quoted: More powder = more heat and more abrasion. 220 swift and 5.56 have similar chamber pressures, for example. They do not have similar barrel life. I'm asking this next question because I genuinely don't know the answer: would burn rate affect that erosion? I still think the trade off could be worth it in a competitive precision gas gun |
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I wonder how much of this is a function of stainless steel barrels vs Nitrided / Chrome Lined / Cold Hammer Forged Chrome barrel life. And also what degradation in accuracy is considered 'shot out.' Ie is he replacing because it's now over ~1moa, or replacing because it's now ~4moa - big difference. The powder charge increase is there, but its not like a crazy amount of powder, similar to the .223AI from what I've read. |
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Quoted: I wonder how much of this is a function of stainless steel barrels vs Nitrided / Chrome Lined / Cold Hammer Forged Chrome barrel life. And also what degradation in accuracy is considered 'shot out.' Ie is he replacing because it's now over ~1moa, or replacing because it's now ~4moa - big difference. The powder charge increase is there, but its not like a crazy amount of powder, similar to the .223AI from what I've read. I was think of that exact question. The two barrels that I plan on using NAS3 cases with are a nitrated stainless steel 10.5" and a chrome lined phosphate (but not CHF) 12.5". Neither are true "precision over everything else" set-ups. |
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Quoted: I'm asking this next question because I genuinely don't know the answer: would burn rate affect that erosion? I still think the trade off could be worth it in a competitive precision gas gun Quoted: Quoted: More powder = more heat and more abrasion. 220 swift and 5.56 have similar chamber pressures, for example. They do not have similar barrel life. I'm asking this next question because I genuinely don't know the answer: would burn rate affect that erosion? I still think the trade off could be worth it in a competitive precision gas gun I did a decent amount of research on this and came away with the conclusion that it does, at least to some extent. I load practice ammo for my .243 precision rifle with a compressed load of Retumbo. The resulting ammo is on the slow side (~2900 with a 105 grain bullet), but I think it's increasing barrel life. |
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Quoted: I did a decent amount of research on this and came away with the conclusion that it does, at least to some extent. I load practice ammo for my .243 precision rifle with a compressed load of Retumbo. The resulting ammo is on the slow side (~2900 with a 105 grain bullet), but I think it's increasing barrel life. That's interesting, so we are back to the tradeoff between barrel life versus improved velocity. And with a slower burning powder is there an advantage to the Shellshock cases? |
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Quoted: That's interesting, so we are back to the tradeoff between barrel life versus improved velocity. And with a slower burning powder is there an advantage to the Shellshock cases? Quoted: Quoted: I did a decent amount of research on this and came away with the conclusion that it does, at least to some extent. I load practice ammo for my .243 precision rifle with a compressed load of Retumbo. The resulting ammo is on the slow side (~2900 with a 105 grain bullet), but I think it's increasing barrel life. That's interesting, so we are back to the tradeoff between barrel life versus improved velocity. And with a slower burning powder is there an advantage to the Shellshock cases? The SS case will hold more powder than a brass case. |
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Quoted: The SS case will hold more powder than a brass case. I get that, but if you are using a slower burning powder in a NAS3 case and getting lower velocities while also increasing barrel life, versus, traditional brass case with a slightly faster burning powder with similar velocities and barrel life. Is there an advantage to just using standard brass cases with normal powder? Regardless of the mechanism for wear (powder burn rate or round velocities) , slower velocities and slower barrel wear or faster velocities and faster wear are the results. So the tradeoff becomes an expensive, single use load that pushes rounds fast for caliber and wears out barrels fast or a cheaper, reloadable case with slower projectiles and longer barrel life. |
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Quoted: So the tradeoff becomes an expensive, single use load that pushes rounds fast for caliber and wears out barrels fast or a cheaper, reloadable case with slower projectiles and longer barrel life. Quoted: Quoted: The SS case will hold more powder than a brass case. So the tradeoff becomes an expensive, single use load that pushes rounds fast for caliber and wears out barrels fast or a cheaper, reloadable case with slower projectiles and longer barrel life. Basically yes, there are only 2 real reasons to use the NAS3 Rifle cases (their pistol cases are reloadable and i think better then brass across the board) -Higher Velocity -Slightly lighter weight ammo due to lighter case weight for carrying a lot of rounds |
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I'm loading my own NAS3 cases strictly for match ammo. I have seen better accuracy, velocity, and SD/ES with NAS3 vs the mixed brass I was using. I am loading 77gr SMK at 2950fps from an 18" KAC LPR and 18" Centurion MK12 barrel. I am about to try 73gr ELDM at 3000fps, or around there if accuracy holds up. As far as the reduction in barrel life, I have over 6k rounds of brass on my LPR and when it finally goes, it'll go down in the blazes of glory with NAS3. I know replacing an LPR barrel is going to be impossible, but they are wear items and I'll figure something out when that time comes. The performance from the NAS3 today outweighs the future-wormydog-problem of replacing an unobtanium barrel. |
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