As time goes on, there’s a slow realization that lengthy rifles carry several handicaps. With that, they are gradually shrinking, and, in some scenarios, we’re even finding large-format pistols to be more effective.
Short-barreled rifles (SBRs) aren’t new. Prior to the National Firearms Act of 1934, dwarf barrels were commonplace, before being replaced with 16-inch versions, which had become the new legal standard. That law made civilian ownership of SBRs quite rare in the ensuing decades, but it is now at its highest level since before the NFA was passed, particularly with the removal of the $200 tax stamp this year. In addition, the invention of the pistol-brace brought many large-format handguns back to the range.
Barrel length affects ammunition performance. Firing a rifle cartridge from an abbreviated barrel is quite the experience, as it has an unbalanced feeling about it. The flash and concussion are substantial, but the recoil doesn’t seem to match the output. This is because a tremendous amount of energy is lost with what was cut off, and the reduced bump to the shoulder easily shows this. Typical rifle cartridges are built under the premise that they will be fired out of barrels 16 inches or longer, which, as noted, isn’t always the case. Owners of SBRs and large-format pistols have been clamoring for ammunition tailored specifically for their needs—and Fiocchi has delivered.
Dubbed Hyperformance SBR Enhanced, this quartet of introductory loads is built explicitly for firearms with barrels between 7.5 and 11.5 inches. Every load from this line features a proprietary, flash-suppressed powder that is matched to each specific cartridge. Seeking to maximize energy and terminal performance, bullets were carefully selected for top velocities and downrange momentum. The finished products are very different from one another, showing that Fiocchi didn’t take a cookie-cutter approach, which always excites me.
Fiocchi’s SBR Enhanced line is offered in .223 Rem., .308 Win. and .300 BLK, so the test guns used were largely AR-centric. Bear Creek Arsenal was able to supply 7.5-inch-barreled upper receivers for the .223 Rem. and the .300 BLK. Both were from the company’s “side-charging” line and feature relatively fast twist rates of 1:7 inches and 1:8 inches, respectively. This is important, as longer, heavier bullets are often matched up to shorter firearms, as most gun owners choose guns of this size to leave room for a suppressor—projectiles of this sort work best in subsonic applications. I countered the .223 Rem. setup with a 24-inch Anderson AR-15 cut with a 1:8-inch twist to represent the longest practical firearm somebody might send some of the SBR ammo through and balanced the .300 BLK with a 16-inch Wilson Combat, cut with a 1:7-inch twist for the same reason, completing my AR-style test package.
Few AR pistols are available in .308 Win., so I deferred to a trusty Aero Precision Solus bolt-action. This large-format pistol features a 12-inch barrel with a 1:10-inch twist. I accompanied it with a Savage Model 10 FLP clad with a 24-inch barrel of the same twist rate. Although there are longer rifles out there in this chambering, I felt this would suffice for the purpose.
All firearms were set up for stability and precision, in an effort to squeeze every bit of consistency from the ammunition. Short AR uppers were built into pistols with SB Tactical stabilizing braces, as was the Aero Solus. Regardless of length, all firearms were top-ped with high-magnification scopes to ensure a repeatable sight picture at their respective test distances. Lastly, all muzzle brakes and flash suppressors were replaced with knurled thread protectors to get true exposure to flash and recoil.
Bringing the equipment to the line, my goal was to gather reliability, accuracy, velocity and gel-performance data on each load at conventional distances for each firearm, as well as testing suppression and reliability when a suppressor was involved. To gauge velocity performance, I also scrounged up comparable loads for each to see how well Fiocchi hit the mark.
I began with the .223 Rem. offering, which is built with a heavy-for-caliber 77-grain Sierra MatchKing projectile. Admittedly, I started here because it was the most intriguing. Generally speaking, all of the other supersonic loads in the SBR Enhanced line are built with light-for-caliber bullets that have some sort of expansion mechanism. Going with a heavy target bullet is certainly a departure from this theme.
Conversing with Travis Franklin, Fiocchi’s product manager, shed a great deal of light on the reasoning behind this choice. Like many products on the market, this load was inspired by the military, which has been fielding this projectile for decades with excellent results. As velocity is limited from the start, the heavier MatchKing does a better job of retaining what it has, even to surpass conventional 55-grain FMJ bullets beyond 200 yards. Regarding terminal performance, the longer profile lends it to more yawing and tumbling, which increases energy transfer while making it perform like a larger-diameter bullet. All of this was confirmed when fired through the pistol, as the muzzle velocity didn’t crack the 1,900-fps mark. Although slight, Fiocchi’s load managed to produce, on average, an additional 10 fps faster than similar loads of the same weight, showing us that the company did put some worst-case scenario thought into this offering. While slow for .223 Rem., it still produced 14 inches of penetration in a Clear Ballistics 10-percent FBI gel block placed at 50 yards. Tumbling was observed after the first 3 inches, and it took a sharp turn after approximately 12 inches before exiting the block.
When fired from a short barrel, there was minimal flash present, showing us that the powder additive was working. One might argue that this is the product of a complete burn. But, the 800-plus fps increase in the longer barrel tells us that there is still plenty of propellant left to pull greater performance if barrel length allows. Also interesting was how well it cycled in both firearms, yielding 100-percent reliability in two extraordinarily polarized gas systems.
I finished off my work with this load with some suppressed testing, which required careful selection. As it doesn’t carry any barrel-length restrictions, I chose a Dead Air Sandman X suppressor and found reliability remained the same, and although still supersonic, the report was immensely lessened.
As .300 BLK is one of the most popular cartridges chambered in SBRs, the SBR Enhanced line includes both a subsonic and a supersonic offering. For the former, the 220-grain load is precisely what AAC had in mind when it launched this cartridge. Using a Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet, this load promises dependable expansion at speeds that do not break the sound barrier. Furthermore, it’s tuned for peak velocity out of the shortest designs on the market, reaching nearly 1,100 fps in the 7.5-inch-barreled pistol. This was an increase of around 70 fps when compared with competing designs of the same weight. Recoil was laughable, as was the report when suppressed, but it did crack the sound barrier when fired out of the carbine-length barrel. I will note, however, that it cycled reliably in both platforms, regardless of whether it was suppressed or not. Taking it to the gel, performance was admirable, as it penetrated 15 inches into the gel block, with some of the fragments passing completely through. The impact created a 5-inch, oblong wound cavity that started at 7 inches deep, representing one of the largest I’ve ever experienced from a subsonic loading of this cartridge.
The supersonic version was my first experience with an SBR Enhanced load built with a light-for-caliber bullet, as it is topped with a 125-grain Hornady SST. This polymer-tipped projectile is built to retain its muzzle velocity and expand violently upon impact. Leaving the pistol more than 50 fps faster than a competing design, I was pleased to see expansion initiate after just 1 inch of penetration. Traveling a total of 20 inches, the pulled projectile retained 87 percent of its weight, which is impressive considering that, by design, it loses its tip as it peels back. Putting the cartridge into a carbine only enhanced its effects, and again, both loads cycled in both firearms, regardless of muzzle device, with a manageable report achieved when suppressed.
I saved what I anticipated to be my favorite load for last, and that was the .308 Win. Topped with the same lightweight bullet as the supersonic .300 BLK, this product also adds to the minuscule pool of low-recoiling loads in this chambering. Firing it through either firearm was exceptionally comfortable, and its consistency in the large-format pistol left little to be desired. Velocity did increase in the longer barrel, and group sizes did vary to a large degree when fired in the rifle. Although it’s never pleasant to report lackluster consistency, this does alleviate any concerns that this ammo is merely a gimmick, boldly illustrating the work that went into tuning it for smaller platforms. When compared with a competing 125-grain load, the Fiocchi SBR saw a whopping 200 fps increase when leaving the pistol, bringing its average velocity up to more than 850 fps faster than the .300 BLK load.
This boost in muzzle velocity was the precise reason behind the lightweight pill, as it all but guarantees the desired terminal performance. Its impact on the gel was devastating, producing enough residual force to crack the wooden platform supporting the block. Passing straight through the first block and penetrating into the second, it reached a total of 20 inches with a larger, more pronounced wound channel than the supersonic .300 BLK. The enhanced fragmentation from the additional velocity led to a weight retention of just 62 percent, but the core and jacket remained intact to perform as advertised. As the rifles were both bolt-action, I don’t have much to report regarding cycling, but they fed properly in each and suppressed surprisingly well for such a fast-moving load.
At the time this article was written, Fiocchi’s Hyperformance SBR Enhanced line was starting to show up at various retail outlets with an average price of $21 to $36 per box of 20, depending on the given load. It isn’t the most expensive ammunition out there, and it is actually quite affordable for specialty fodder—I feel it’s a good value for those looking to get more out of short-barreled platforms.
From this experience, I can easily recommend this product line to the home defender or hunter who seeks a more compact firearm, but doesn’t want to downgrade to a conventional pistol. However, those with a plethora of firearms can also expect terrific performance from this family in carbines and rifles, too. The bottom line is, although it’s crafted for SBRs, it’s a great set of loads to keep on the shelf for many of your other guns—and that’s the long and short of it.
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