Winchester Active Duty 9mm Ammo Review

In 2017 Winchester won a contract to supply 9mm ammunition to the U.S. Army Modular Handgun System (MHS) program. That ammunition has now become available to civilians. It’s called Active Duty, and it is loaded with a 115-grain flatnose FMJ bullet and military-grade primers. The civilian ammo is being offered in 100- and 150-round boxes.

The new Active Duty ammo is loaded to the same military ballistics specifications as for the MHS program and has a rated muzzle velocity of 1,320 fps and a muzzle energy of 445 ft-lbs. Because it generates 10 to 15 percent more pressure than industry-standard 9mm Luger ammunition, Winchester cautions shooters to use it only in modern 9mm handguns that are in good condition.

I fired the new Active Duty 9mm ammo in a SIG SAUER P320 pistol with a 4.7-inch barrel, a Springfield XDM pistol with a 4.5-inch barrel, and a Smith & Wesson M&P9 2.0 Compact pistol with a 4.0-inch barrel. The ammo achieved an average velocity of 1,310 fps in the P320, 1,302 fps in the XDM, and 1,296 fps in the M&P9 2.0 Compact. That’s the average of 10 rounds in each gun measured with my chronograph set 12 feet from the guns’ muzzles. The corresponding energies were 438 ft-lbs, 433 ft-lbs, and 429 ft-lbs respectively. As for accuracy, the ammo averaged 2.51 inches for five, five-shot groups at 25 yards with the P320, 3.13 inches for the XDM, and 2.96 inches for the M&P9 2.0 Compact. Combined overall average accuracy was 2.86 inches. While the recoil was snappy, especially in the M&P9 2.0 Compact, feeding and function in all pistols were flawless.

MSRP: $24.99 to $34.99; winchester.com