I’ve been writing professionally about guns and gun-related topics for a quarter of a century. As you might imagine, I have developed relationships during that time with most of the major ammunition manufacturers, as well as some smaller boutique ammo makers. They all continually introduce new products, and I could stay busy just writing about the ammunition the major players in this space, such as CCI, Federal, Hornady, Remington, Speer and Winchester produce. However, I’ve also found some fantastic loads that I use and trust from some of the smaller ammunition manufacturers, so I’m always open to trying new options—like those from the High Desert Cartridge Company.
I became acquainted with Steve Shields when he ordered a copy of my book, “Rifle Cartridges for the Hunter,” and asked me to inscribe it. Somehow, I managed to forget the inscription, and he sent me a note on social media to let me know how I had failed to deliver on my promise. In the back and forth, I discovered Shields was co-owner of the High Desert Cartridge Company. I sent him an inscribed copy of my book and an apology, and asked him to send me some of his ammunition to try.
Shields is a retired law enforcement officer with more than 40 years of handloading experience and 12 years in the commercial loading industry. High Desert offers a selection of high-quality new and remanufactured munitions assembled with Mark 7 automated loading systems. Every round of High Desert ammunition is precision-manufactured and hand-inspected at the company’s factory in Goldendale, Wash. The company offers more than 60 loads for more than 30 cartridges, and it produces around 250,000 rounds of ammo per month. The company also sponsors some recognized firearm trainers as well as some Smith & Wesson and Walther ambassadors.
I gave Shields a list of cartridges I most often shoot, and he sent me a box of ammunition I could test. The first thing you notice about the ammunition from High Desert is the packaging. It comes in cardboard boxes with a basic white label showing the company logo and listing the load inside the box. The boxes are also sealed with a “Made in U.S.A.” sticker featuring the American flag. There is no ballistic data or other marketing information on the boxes.
Of course, it doesn’t matter how the ammunition is packaged if the packaging is durable and the ammo performs. The cardboard boxes High Desert uses are more rugged than any packaging you’ll find from the big ammo makers, and as far as performance, I was impressed. I tested four revolver loads, two pistol loads and two rifle loads—about 300 rounds total—and in all that shooting there were no failures to feed, fire, extract or eject.
The supplied data table lists the ballistic performance and the on-target precision of each load tested, as well as the test firearm used. Overall, I found the velocities for most of the loads to be slower than what I’ve found with most comparable loads in the same chamberings. For example, most 100-grain .327 Fed. Mag. jacketed-bullet loads will crowd 1,400 fps from a 45/8-inch barrel, and most 165-grain .308 Win. loads are generally pushing 2,500 fps from a 16-inch barrel. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that some of the High Desert loads were developed to specific design parameters. What’s more important in terms of ammunition performance is how close actual velocities are to advertised velocities. Excluding the .308 Win. load, which was tested from a short (for that chambering) 16-inch barrel, the average variation between actual and advertised velocities for the remaining seven loads was less than 1 percent, which is very good. As for precision, two loads were average, but the other six—especially the rifle loads—performed well.
Money matters, and the six handgun loads averaged $.61 per trigger pull, and the rifle loads averaged $1.68 per shot. These prices are, on average, about 26 percent less than comparable loads from some of the major manufacturers. Of course, you must keep in mind that all these loads might perform very differently—better or worse—in your own firearms, but the good news is, in most every case, it will not cost as much to give a box of High Desert ammunition a try.
If you’re searching for decently performing ammo at a good price, the stuff from High Desert deserves a serious look. I was pleasantly surprised with the results, and except for the 100-grain RNFP .327 Fed. Mag. and 230-grain reloaded .45 ACP loads, I’d use any of the other six. The 9 mm load was a tack driver, the .38 Spl. load was—as intended—a soft shooter and the 6.5 Creedmoor load delivered similar performance to the Hornady Precision Hunter load in the test rifle. I expect I’ll be shooting more ammo from High Desert in the future.
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