By now, you’ve likely heard of the FN 5.7×28 cartridge. This pint-sized pistol round was set to replace the 9mm Luger as NATO’s handgun ammo but met some .18-caliber opposition: the H&K 4.6×30. Heckler and Koch’s answer to the Belgian wonder, neither would go on to fill any contract with widescale success, but both gained civilian attention in a big way. If you want a cartridge to sell, all you have to do is hint that the military has its eyes on it. Then, as long as there is a supply, it’s as simple as feeding consumer-available guns into the pipeline to move ammo off the shelves.

Fiocchi 4.6×30

Fiocchi recognized this model, and thanks to their work in plants both stateside and overseas, 5.7×28 rounds are hitting distributors by the millions. With the pool of firearms being expanded by Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and even TISAS now, the line is open on both ends, and we enjoy a steady flow of this cartridge from factories to range floors as if it were any other. The 4.6×30, on the other hand, isn’t quite there yet. However, it’s perched right where 5.7 was a few years prior, and the tale of that cartridge’s meteoric rise was told just a few lines ago.

So, why should we care about the 4.6×30? That’s a fair question to ask. After all, it looks like it’s the loser of a head-to-head battle that took place during the late ’90s. Well, the key to its interest is also the reason it failed. It begins with the aforementioned .18-caliber bullet. By squishing 40 grains of lead down to this diameter from .22, it gets longer, thus increasing its sectional density. In doing so, the projectile gains better penetrating ability, even if it leaves the muzzle at the same speed as the .22-caliber bullet. In that light, doesn’t it seem to improve on what the 5.7 set out to do? It’s ok, you can say it.

Failure to Launch

The trouble, though, is that nobody makes .18-caliber bullets. We love .22-caliber pills, and there are literally hundreds of options out there. Heck, there are even a fair bit of .17-caliber bullets, but for an ammo manufacturer to make an entirely new caliber requires a lot of commitment. Before taking that jump, the ammo manufacturer needs to ask what kind of demand they can expect, and for close to 30 years, the answer was zero. I’m still waiting for my MP-7, how about you? Right.

The closest I got was being able to run half a mag through one at the 2023 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous and confirmed (again) that H&K still had absolutely no plans on releasing a commercial version anytime soon. This was the worst thing that could have happened to me because I just needed more of it. So, since only a handful of small-batch firearms existed in 4.6×30, it was hard for any serious ammo manufacturer to consider tooling up to make the round. That all changed when CMMG released its Banshee while Fiocchi was wondering how to fill the factory floor on its newly opened ammo plant.

You gotta love CMMG because no matter how small the audience, they listen, and their responses are pretty good, too. A handful of folks wanted to be able to jam an AK mag into an AR, so they created The Mutant. The design was such a hit; it had shooters who never thought they might want one to go out and buy two. Their Banshee is cut from the same cloth, and introducing it in 4.6 only ignited a fire to test more ammo. This short-barreled personal defense weapon follows the AR-15 platform and features an 8-inch barrel, which is nearly a full inch longer than the MP-7.

Fast & Furious

This means you can expect greater velocity than what’s printed on an ammo box as well as better barrier defeation. It also comes with the ZEROED hardware kit, which enhances every control on the firearm, as well as the bang switch. It also brings a polymer dust cover and trigger guard as well as a linear comp to make this little stinger shoot even flatter. Potential buyers have the choice of getting the Banshee configured with the RIPBRACE pistol brace or a more pet-friendly pistol tube.

I left Rendezvous with a standing order for each of Fiocchi’s new 4.6 loads and reached out to CMMG for a test gun. When one arrived, I spun the brake off and attached a Silencer Central Speed K suppressor to the muzzle to quiet down the surprising bark this little round has. The Speed K only adds about 3.5 inches to the overall length and, thanks to its chunky two-inch diameter, provides enough volume for effective suppression. All that was left was to top it with an optic, so I chose a Bushnell RXM-300 red dot for the task. Its shake-awake technology combined with a massive 24x28mm lens makes it an excellent choice for a PDW, and Bushnell even includes two different Picatinny mounts to get the height perfect for your particular weapon.

My range day began with a 25-yard zeroing exercise, starting with the full metal jacket ammunition. This load hails from Fiocchi’s Range Dynamics line and features a conventional lead core bullet enrobed with a copper sheath. The bullet appears to be crimped in place, and the primer is sealed, telling me that this round was built with reliability in mind.

On the Trigger

Well, three rounds turned into 40 in a hurry, which may or may not had anything to do with my excitement combined with just a touch of taurine. What can I say? It’s just a fun round to shoot, and the 40-round magazine just entices you to keep going. Accuracy was excellent, better than I could have expected with just an unmagnified aiming point and a sandbag to my name. Under these same conditions, I’d be excited if I punched a 2-inch group with a conventional handgun, so when I turned out one that measured nearly half an inch, I was eager for more.

Jumping over to the Hyperformance load, this round is topped with a 38-grain tipped hollow-point bullet made for the self-defense market. Conventional hollow-point projectiles run the risk of clogging with clothing or intermittent barrier material before they reach their intended target. By adding the plastic tip, this ailment is sidestepped as it breaks away easily and allows the cavity to fill with fluid when it hits a liquid medium. This initiates expansion, which in turn stops the bullet and transfers its energy into the target. In my testing, there was no perceivable difference in recoil or report, but groups did open up a fraction of an inch, which is because ballistic efficiency is the typical tradeoff for lethality.

Defense DNA

The third and final load from Fiocchi’s line-up comes from the Defense Dynamics family and, interestingly, is built with a projectile that is more akin to a hunting bullet. Using a classic jacketed soft-point pill, these loads create another tool for the personal defense toolbox and represent the unique properties that lie within high-velocity, lightweight rounds. Typically, the jacketed soft point design is called upon when you want a bullet to expand but first penetrate for a bit. In the case of a thin-skinned target, conventional cartridges loaded with these would pass completely through before they had a chance to expand. Being that the 4.6 runs out of steam rather quickly, this design makes sense again.

Additionally, because bullets like this have been perfected for more than a century, they perform well without the associated development costs. To that end, they grouped nearly as well as the simpler FMJ load and, again, provided negligible recoil.

As I tallied the numbers and drew comparisons, I found that all of the rounds left the muzzle at least 100 feet per second faster than advertised. New to 4.6, it was amazing to see how much velocity that extra inch of barrel created. With this info, I’d be very interested in seeing a carbine become available, and even that handgun that never quite made it off the drawing board. Between the accuracy and the lack of recoil, I can see this cartridge following the same trail as 5.7, especially if more guns like the Banshee come out. Who knows, we might even see more .18-caliber cartridges hit the scene as wildcatters start to tinker and engineers consider the next big thing. Overall, products breed products, so needless to say, firearms manufacturers’ response to the recent availability of 4.6×30 ought to be interesting.

Bucked Up Energy Drinks and Shots

Fall and spring are two particularly busy times in my life. Typically, I find myself closing one season out while prepping for an entirely different one at the same time. Then, of course, there is the workload of training and writing that seems to center around fair weather. Put it all together, and I’m continually trying to squeeze an extra few hours into the day. Bucked Up energy drinks and shots go a long way in sealing the deal. Each contains a healthy dose of caffeine combined with a blend of supplements, taurine, and B vitamins designed to keep you alert and focused, not just awake. If I know I’m going to be on the range for a while or just need to work a trigger as fast as possible, I make sure one of these is right beside my ammo. (buckedup.com)

Fiocchi 4.6×30 Ammunition Performance