Super Vel Ammo

Super Vel ammo was a phenomenon of the ’60s and ’70s. Many shooters of that period recall how the firm’s high-performance ammo took the shooting world by storm. Almost as soon as it was introduced in pistol and revolver calibers, it was in high demand. That’s because the major ammunition makers were not competing with matching loads and owner Lee Jurras had the market to himself. His ammo was in such high demand as to be sometimes sold at black market prices. Lee Jurras was very active in the burgeoning world of handgunning. As a prime mover in getting the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Ass’n up and running, he was a founder in an exciting new handgun sport. Further, Jurras was also a founder of the Outstanding American Handgunner Awards Foundation.

Lee Jurras was a savvy handgunner who made ammo, buying his components on the open market. Particularly in the case of brass, this proved to be his undoing. He began to have problems getting components and eventually could not produce the ammo. He was undeniably a trend-setter, both in terms of using modern hollowpoints and developing serious speeds in popular cartridges. There was a reason why.

At one point, Jurras actually sold his special run JHP bullets for handloaders. The boxes were labeled Super Vel, but I can well remember the legend on a box of .357 bullets. It read “Bullet Diameter .3565-inch.” By making the bullets just a little less than full diameter and loading hot, he was able to really get ’em moving. I never had a problem shooting Super Vel.