Texas-based ammunition manufacturer TV Ammo (“True Velocity”) announced this week its composite-cased 5.56 NATO cartridges will be available sometime this month at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s. The retail outlets will also offer them on their web stores.

This isn’t True Velocity’s first venture into the civilian market. In July 2021, it offered .308 Win. composite-cased cartridges through its website. It wasn’t long, however, before Bass Pro and Cabela’s recognized the demand and added three loads to their inventories.

The True Velocity name was relatively unfamiliar to most enthusiasts until it developed a 6.8 mm cartridge for consideration by the U.S. Military in its search for Next Generation Squad Weapons. A firearm system created by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and LoneStar Future Weapons to digest the innovative ammunition was submitted for the competition. The gun and load didn’t come out victorious, although it wasn’t a total loss for the latter.

The advantages of using composite instead of brass in the casing became obvious in testing. Aaron Carter took a hard look at the design for American Rifleman in November and noted, “To reduce weight, the company’s ammunition employs an innovative, two-piece composite case in which the base of the case is molded around a steel insert that secures the primer in place and has an integral rim. The nose of the case is molded separately.” The components are joined by a process proprietary to True Velocity—one of the 300 patents either already owned or pending by the company, no doubt. Carter also emphasized the material is not a standard, off-the-shelf plastic or polymer, either.

As for reliability and safety, the Sporting Arms and Ammunition and Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) accepted and standardized its first composite-cased cartridge in early 2022. That 6.8 mm TVC, of course, was submitted by True Velocity and is identical to its U.S. Military submission.

A few weeks after SAAMI announcement, True Velocity acquired LoneStar Future Weapons. The growth didn’t escape the notice of investors, either. On Nov. 1, 2022, True Velocity entered into an agreement to merge with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. in a move that—if approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission—will see the company’s stock publicly traded on Nasdaq.

True Velocity was established in 2010. Its ammunition is manufactured exclusively in its state-of-the-art, 66,000-sq.-ft. Garland, Texas, facility. The firm currently has 75 staff members.

True Velocity’s initial offerings for 5.56 NATO cartridges include 55-grain FMJ, 69-grain Sierra MatchKing and 77-grain Sierra MatchKing loads. Enthusiasts can expect to see 6.8 mm TVC and other cartridges from the company in the near future.

Article by GUY J. SAGI

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