Posted: 3/20/2009 2:27:22 PM EDT
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I have a box of Hansen Cartridge Company ammo that I have had for about 25 years and I don't have a clue as to what it is.
It is marked "COMBAT 357", It is 158 grain full metal jacket, and it has a pointed tip. I know that it's 357 mag ammo, but I don't know what they mean by "COMBAT", and I don't know why the bullets are pointed? Doe's that mean armour piercing? or what? Please excuse the quality of the pictures but my cheap camera and my poor photography can't do any better. Any help would be appreciated. 
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload.
Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. I never noticed anything unsual about it when shooting it but I never tried to penetrate steel plate with it so.... First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357 and FMJ, that may be a tip of the hat to the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market for servicemen to choose from. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding in autoloaders. I think Coonan had one out for a while as well as IMI/Magnum Research. IIRC, I bought mine from Cole Distributing at a gunshow back in the late 90's. They have a webpage. The owner is a great guy and might remember something about it. |
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload. Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357, it may be FMJ to comply with the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding. I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago |
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload. Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357, it may be FMJ to comply with the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding. I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago Not saying they were. But they were all over the place at gunshows back in the 90's which is when I bought mine. I'd question the OP's certainty of the age. Was the .357 DE ever used by Israel as an issue arm? Could be civilian overrun of a military contract or just a johnny come lately attempt to corner an arcane market corner. I'm just skeptical that there is unlabeled AP ammo circulating in commercial packaging. It would be illegal wouldn't it in a pistol caliber? That may be internet myth though. What the heck is "metal piercing" anyway? Sounds like a marketing gimmick to make you think it's stealth AP. |
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload. Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357, it may be FMJ to comply with the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding. I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago Maybe, but they were all over the place at gunshows back in the 90's. Was the .357 DE ever used by Israel as an issue arm? Could be civilian overrun of amilitary contract or just a johnny come lately attempt to corner an arcane market corner. I'm just skeptical that there is unlabeled AP ammo circulating in commercial packaging. It would be illegal wouldn't it in a pistol caliber? That may be internet myth though. What the heck is "metal piercing" anyway? Sounds like a marketing gimmick to make you think it's stealth AP. Illegal AP ammo rounds are a somewhat new development I believe, wasnt that a part of the 1994 AWB? |
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload. Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357, it may be FMJ to comply with the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding. I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago Maybe, but they were all over the place at gunshows back in the 90's. Was the .357 DE ever used by Israel as an issue arm? Could be civilian overrun of amilitary contract or just a johnny come lately attempt to corner an arcane market corner. I'm just skeptical that there is unlabeled AP ammo circulating in commercial packaging. It would be illegal wouldn't it in a pistol caliber? That may be internet myth though. What the heck is "metal piercing" anyway? Sounds like a marketing gimmick to make you think it's stealth AP. Illegal AP ammo rounds are a somewhat new development I believe, wasnt that a part of the 1994 AWB? It was back in the 90's IIRC when the x39 AP ammo dried up because someone (Contender?) manufactured a single shot pistol in that caliber so ATF stepped in and ruled that AP in x39 was illegal. But I think the law existed prior to that. But that could be 100% internet/gunshow myth. I think I've read that this myth may be pretty innacurate as to why the x39 AP dried up. Either way, why assume it's AP because it's an odd shape or says "combat" on it. All combat ammo is not AP. I'm not calling BS on anyone, I'm just saying it takes more than "combat" printed on the box to make me think it's AP. In fact, AP ammo is designed to pierce vehicle armor and steel plate, not body armor, in a military context, right? So producing .357 handgun ammo for military AP applications seems a little nonsensical. Wouldn't they produce it in 9mm instead? |
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I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago Not saying they were. But they were all over the place at gunshows back in the 90's which is when I bought mine. I'd question the OP's certainty of the age. Was the .357 DE ever used by Israel as an issue arm? Could be civilian overrun of a military contract or just a johnny come lately attempt to corner an arcane market corner. I'm just skeptical that there is unlabeled AP ammo circulating in commercial packaging. It would be illegal wouldn't it in a pistol caliber? That may be internet myth though. What the heck is "metal piercing" anyway? Sounds like a marketing gimmick to make you think it's stealth AP. I bought my .44 model in the '80s and the .357 chambering predated the .44. |
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I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding in autoloaders. I think Coonan had one out for a while as well as IMI/Magnum Research. . The coonan, according to Coonan"s website, is coming back sometime this year. A friend of mine has an old model B, I'd love to have one if they make mags for under $40, right now they're well over $150. |
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I had some of that years ago. I still have the box and brass to reload. Certainly looked cool but I am very skeptical that it's AP. First, it's 158 grain I think, so that makes me think it's a traditionally composed lead projectile. Second, if it's "combat" .357, it may be FMJ to comply with the Hague Convention. There isn't a lot of FMJ .357 ammo on the market. I seem to recall some kind of connection between this ammo and the .357 Desert Eagle. I'm guessing the shape assists feeding. I'm probably wrong but I dont think the DE was out 25 years ago I'm sure it was out at least 20 years ago, it was in Red Heat and Robocop 2, don't remember the release dates but I know I was a young kid when I saw Red Heat(32 now) |
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If I remember correctly, that ammo isn't AP. I recall articles in the late 80's, early 90's that indicated that a truncated cone shaped bullet performed better than a standard FMJ bullet (there were departments that were prohibited from using any sort of HP ammo), and I believe that that's what the ammo you have there is - FMJ Truncated Cone. ETA: If I can remember to do it, when I see Gary Cole at Knob Creek I'll ask him. He was a Hansen ammo dealer back in the day, he might know more about it. |
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If I remember correctly, that ammo isn't AP. I recall articles in the late 80's, early 90's that indicated that a truncated cone shaped bullet performed better than a standard FMJ bullet (there were departments that were prohibited from using any sort of HP ammo), and I believe that that's what the ammo you have there is - FMJ Truncated Cone. ETA: If I can remember to do it, when I see Gary Cole at Knob Creek I'll ask him. He was a Hansen ammo dealer back in the day, he might know more about it. I would appreciate it. Any information would be helpful. 
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