The ammunition shortage is over and inventories have grown, but some cartridges have always been hard to find — until now.
If demand for specific cartridges is low, selling enough to generate a profit is difficult, and that is generally why finding them in the store is difficult. So what if there was a way to take care of those customers and not have to stock a huge supply of slow-moving ammunition that takes up physical space while tying up funds for who knows how long?
The lack of availability of some loads is a condition Mike McNett, the owner of Doubletap Ammunition (www.doubletapammo.com), recognized years ago and has addressed since forming the company just after the turn of the century.
Doubletap offers loads in fast moving, popular cartridges, so meeting the company’s minimum initial order requirement is not difficult. And after that first order, no minimum purchase is required. So if you make an initial buy of $500 of a popular cartridge like 9mm Luger and establish yourself as a Doubletap dealer, Doubletap will sell you whatever amount you want of the hard-to-find ammunition so you can accommodate that customer who has the odd gun that fires, say 9x25 Dillon.
Maybe you only need 200 rounds to make that customer happy. Doubletap can take care of that for you. Some other obscure loads the company offers include the .40 Super, .45 Winchester Magnum, .358 Norma Magnum and .416 Taylor. And McNett keeps track of customer requests, so if he begins to get enough requests for another out-of-the-ordinary round, he may just start loading it.
Major Player
Although Doubletap Ammunition may not be the first name most people think of when shopping for ammunition, the company is well established and much more than just a small niche operation catering to a small market.
Doubletap ammo may not be as well known as higher-profile brands or companies, but dealers will find it easy to work with them for orders to help customers.
Doubletap is a major player even if you’ve never heard of it. For example, it is the maker and marketer of Colt’s line of ammo and produces huge quantities of ammunition used by government agencies all over the world. McNett has also been a consultant for movie and television productions and is an expert ballistician and bullet designer.
Although Doubletap does use bullets and cartridge brass made by others, the company also manufactures its own projectiles and brass, something that not all ammunition makers can boast. In addition to carrying some harder-to-find cartridges, it also makes some special loads for use in a variety of common calibers.
Loads in the Doubletap Equalizer Defense line launch two projectiles when each cartridge is fired. And no modifications are needed to the firearm. When the trigger is pulled, a jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullet is sent downrange and is followed by either a disc or ball of the same caliber. So the target gets perforated twice with each round. And generally, the dispersion between projectiles is only a few inches at reasonable distances, for which the cartridge is designed. Equalizer rounds are currently available in 10mm, .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, .500 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, 9mm +P, .40 S&W and .45 ACP +P.
For those retailers who also sell loading components, Doubletap offers some of the brass used in its factory-loaded ammunition. These include 10mm, .223 Remington, 9mm and others. Some primed and some nickel plated. Additionally, the company sells bullets of its own manufacture like 9mm FMJ and JHP, .45 ACP, 10mm and .40 S&W, as well as some hardcast lead bullets for .357 Magnum, 10mm, .44 Magnum and .45 caliber. Give that some thought because the smart retailer who sells loading components attracts some of the most avid shooters, who also spend money on a variety of shooting equipment and accessories.
New Dealers
It’s not difficult to qualify as a dealer or distributor for Doubletap Ammunition. Just complete a one-page application that’s available on request from Doubletap. You will need to supply your banking information and four trade references so that Doubletap can make sure you are a business in good standing and worthy of an extension of credit.
If Doubletap accepts you as a dealer or distributor, you will be asked to sign a two-page contract that runs for one year. Compliance is pretty simple. While initial orders must be paid before the order is shipped and require a minimum order amount of $500 for a dealer and $2,500 for a distributor, subsequent dealer orders have no minimum and can be shipped on credit. Subsequent distributor orders however must be at least $500. Credit terms require payment within 30 days or interest will be charged, but if the net due is paid within 10 days of the order, the buyer may claim an additional 10 percent discount on top of the already discounted prices.
It’s a pretty simple way to establish a relationship with a solid ammunition manufacturer that is focused on serving the customer and helping you provide your customers with quality ammunition and some hard-to-find cartridges.
Precision and Power
I’ve fired a lot of Doubletap ammunition in a variety of calibers over the years and never had a misfire. And I can’t say that about every brand of ammunition I’ve used. McNett really worries about the quality of his products and wants to make sure that when a customer pulls the trigger, his ammunition performs. If a bullet fails to exit the barrel, especially if the round is used in self defense — against animal or human — someone could be gravely injured or killed. McNett does not want that on his conscience, so he watches the quality of his manufacturing processes closely to assure each round performs as intended.
This attention to detail has paid off. Colt’s Manufacturing struck a deal with Doubletap to make two lines of ammunition for Colt; Colt Defense for self defense, and Colt National Match for competition. Doubletap also makes a line of ammunition exclusively for sale through Gunsite Academy, the internationally-known firearms fighting school. And Doubletap has reached an agreement with STI, a well known maker of competition firearms, to manufacture a specialty line of ammunition tuned to work with STI guns. All of these specialty lines carry not only the name of the company for which the ammunition is manufactured, but also feature the Doubletap name, attesting to its quality.
McNett has an affinity for powerful ammunition, and has carried a line of heavy 10mm loads since long before the 10mm comeback started. The selection is large and includes 125- and 135-grain self-defense rounds that are launched at 1,600 fps, as well as 230-grain lead hardcast solids leaving the muzzle at about 1,125 fps. Those loads can take down large and dangerous game like Cape buffalo and grizzlies.
Besides powerful 10mm loads, Doubletap manufactures a number of other cartridges loaded to velocities and power levels greater than what most other manufacturers offer. And this is all done while staying within Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) standards. Examples of these higher-power loads include 80-grain Barnes TAC-XP .380 ACP with a muzzle velocity of 1,100 fps, various 9mm +P loads, .45 ACP rounds with 180-grain JHP bullets leaving the barrel at 1,140 fps and 230-grain JHPs at 1,000 fps, 240-grain JHP .44 Magnum cartridges with a muzzle velocity of 1,500 fps, 180-grain .30-06 Springfield at 2,800 fps and others.
So if you have customers who want more power from the gun they are shooting, but are not interested in stepping up to a larger, more powerful chambering, Doubletap probably has loads that will satisfy them without exceeding industry standards.
Affordable Defense
There is no question that quality self-defense loads are more expensive than full metal jacketed practice ammunition in the same caliber, but then a lot more research and development goes into developing a self-defense load that may be called upon to save a life. Nevertheless, people on a tight budget need protection just as much as a wealthy person does.
Doubletap has recognized the problem and offers packages of certain self-defense loads containing just 12 rounds instead 20 or more rounds. This allows Doubletap and the retailer to sell a small supply for less money and makes quality self-defense loads easier to obtain for people on a tight budget. Currently, 12-packs are available in 9mm and .380 ACP.
If a retailer is looking for a new ammunition supplier that offers something a little different than most competitors while keeping loads within SAAMI standards, Doubletap deserves a look.
A former Contributing and Field Editor for Guns & Ammo magazine, Doug Larson’s articles have appeared in many top firearm publications. He has completed hundreds of hours of firearm and self defense training provided by some of the finest world class gun fighting instructors and schools.
Photos by Doug Larson
