40 S&W - 165 gr FMJ - Estate Cartridge - 50 Rounds

Video Transcript:

Estate Cartridge is another ammo brand that's part of the ATK family, along with Federal, CCI and Speer. All ATK ammo, including Estate, is manufactured here in the US using components that all come from the same factory. The Estate brand is normally associated with shotgun shells, but now they make pistol ammo under this banner, like the 40 Smith & Wesson round that we got to shoot for this review.

This load features a 165 grain bullet, seated in a boxer primed reloadable brass case. The bullet has a traditional lead core and a copper full metal jacket with an exposed lead base. Like most 40 caliber bullets, it also features a flat point.

We used the Estate ammo with six different guns and didn't have any problems with feeding or reliability. Recoil was a little sharper than expected, especially in a shorter-barreled gun. If you want to practice with an ammo that simulates the recoil and pulse of more powerful self-defense ammo, the Estate load is a little closer to that than most other practice ammo. In a full-size pistol, the increased recoil is not quite as significant and you might not even notice unless you did a side-by-side comparison with a lighter load.

To test accuracy, we shot some groups at 15 yards from a benchrest using a SIG P226. Our hits were impacting in a nice cluster right around our point of aim. We did have a couple of fliers in the 10-shot group, but I'll take credit for those-- especially that one way out there on the left.

For casual range use, Estate ammo seems to be a good bargain. It's among the most affordable brass case ammo available, and comes from a company that's known for its consistency and quality in all of their brands.