Fiocchi's New Ammo Made for Short Barrels is A Game Changer

What are the most popular firearm trends for 2025? Suppressors and everyday carry (EDC) subjects continue to dominate the interests of gun owners. With the repeal of the $200 tax stamp for suppressors and short-­barreled rifles (SBRs) taking effect January 2026, demand is expected to increase. And, of course, compact handguns continue to be the top-­selling firearms.

The firearms industry is symbiotic. Firearms don’t function without ammunition. The opposite is equally true. An advancement in one category drives development in another. Such is the case with the Fiocchi CovertX pistol and Hyperformance Defense SBR Enhanced ammo lines. It’s not conventional to review new pistol and rifle cartridges in one space. However, CovertX and Hyperformance Defense SBR share one important quality despite use in different firearm platforms — both are optimized for short barrels.

Indoors/Outdoors

Starting with the rifle ammo, my first experience with the Fiocchi Hyperformance Defense SBR load occurred during a media event at The Site Firearms Training Center  in Mount Carroll, Illinois. As an Illinois native, the irony of inspecting new SBR cartridges in guns and suppressors banned by the state is not lost on me. Still, the facility is the perfect location to try out new rifle loads. The Site boasts a golf-­course-­groomed 600-­yard rifle range with moving targets, and it has one of the most impressive shoothouses I’ve seen.

A shoothouse is the perfect space to highlight why ammo designed for SBRs is necessary. It’s not an exaggeration to compare a standard .223 Remington cartridge fired indoors with an SBR to a flash-­bang grenade. Imagine a home-­defense scenario using an unsuppressed SBR. Your house is going to be dark, and most people don’t think to keep earmuffs near a defensive rifle. Lawfully discharging said firearm produces a large muzzleblast, and the enclosed space amplifies the sound. It’s deafening and blinding. The reason is that most .223 loads are made for barrels with a 16-­inch minimum length. The case is loaded with enough powder to burn through the duration of time it takes the bullet to exit the muzzle. In a 12-­inch (or shorter) barrel, unburned powder ignites beyond the muzzle. SBRs have more muzzleflash and a louder report than firearms with 16-­inch and longer barrels, even when outdoors.

SBR Enhanced

Terminal performance is an important consideration for SBR load development. Velocity affects bullet penetration and expansion, and barrel length affects velocity. Many rifle loads do not meet performance expectations out of short barrels. It’s a tricky combination. SBR ammo needs a bullet that expands at lower velocities, and it needs to be matched with the right powder to do so. The powder is symbiotic to the bullet in the case of load development.

Fiocchi’s SBR Enhanced loads are available in .223 Rem., .308 Winchester, .300 Blackout, and the elusive 4.6x30mm made famous by the HK MP7. In addition to selecting the right bullet for the respective cartridge, the SBR Enhanced line is loaded with powder that incorporates a flash suppressant. Put it together and Fiocchi engineered a formula that provides superior advantages when shot through an SBR.

Fiocchi brought an array of SBRs to demonstrate the new ammo at the event. Dead Air Silencers  was also a presenter, outfitting our rifles with an assortment of cans. I really got excited, though, when staff unboxed Clear Ballistics’ Gel Blocks. The gel blocks don’t provide a perfect picture, but they offer a unique insight into a bullet’s expected performance regarding penetration and expansion. Other mediums do not illustrate wound channel cavities in the way that shooting into gel does. Based on recovered bullets tested at The Site, I was most impressed by the .223 Rem. load with a 77-­grain Sierra MatchKing (SMK) bullet. This round left the AR’s 12-­inch barrel at 2,313 feet per second (fps), measured by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph. The block revealed that it had inflicted a massive permanent wound channel.

The .300 BLK and .308 Win. loads also proved effective in gel. The two .300 BLK loads are offered in supersonic or subsonic varieties. The supersonic cartridge is loaded with a 125-­grain Hornady Super Shock Tip (SST) bullet, and the subsonic features a 220-­grain Nosler Ballistic Tip (BT). The .308 Win. also got the Hornady SST bullet. I like these options.

After leaving The Site, I continued evaluating the .223 and .308 SBR Enhanced loads at home. My LaRue Tactical Black and Tan ($2,500, larue.com) favors 77-­grain bullets, and it turned in sub-­MOA performance to 250 yards with the .223 SBR Enhanced load. It also performed admirably in a custom Aero upper and lower with a 12.5-­inch Criterion barrel with a 1-­in-­8-­inch twist. The .223 load is undoubtedly my favorite in the SBR Enhanced lineup. A heavy-­for-­caliber bullet such as the 77-­grain Sierra MatchKing is one of my go-­tos for reloading. This may be controversial, but I’m familiar with several hunters who almost exclusively hunt with the 77-­grain SMK — even on big game such as elk and bear! That’s a conversation for another time. I’m not suggesting that you try it, but I’ve seen too many pictures not to be convinced of its ability.

Loaded for an SBR platform, the 77-­grain SMK Hyperformance cartridge would be incredibly effective in a defensive fight or on a hog hunt. It’s a practical all-­around offering for the AR platform. I expect that it would perform well in short-­barrel bolt-­action rifles, too.

The Hornady SST used in one of the .300 BLK and .308 loads is also a well-­established bullet. In contrast to the match-­type bullet loaded in the .223 Rem. round, the SST was designed for hunting first. It features a polymer tip designed to ensure rapid expansion on impact. The tip is colored “Fiocchi Blue” instead of “Hornady Red.” The 125-­grain bullet clocked 2,801 fps from a .308-­chambered SBR with a 12-­inch barrel. Moving to a Franchi Momentum All-­Terrain Elite bolt-­action with 18-inch barrel added 270 fps ($1,479, franchiusa.com). Groups at 100 yards from a benchrest were right at 1 inch. Kinetic energy measured with a Garmin chronograph and confirmed with a calculator turned in an astounding 2,600 foot-­pounds (ft.-­lbs.) of muzzle energy.

Since suppressors are driving interest in SBRs — along with the ammo optimized for them — accuracy and chronograph testing was done using Banish 30 Gold and Banish 223 suppressors.

CovertX

Fiocchi introduced the CovertX line alongside the SBR Enhanced at The Site event. Like the rifle ammo, the CovertX was optimized for short barrels — but not only pistols. The difference in production volume for handguns versus the number of SBRs produced is substantial. There are many AR manufacturers making AR pistols, pistol caliber carbines (PCC) and SBRs, but I can’t think of any handgun manufacturer worth its salt that doesn’t offer several compact or micro pistols. The Springfield Armory Hellcat line alone has almost 50 models to choose from!

Fiocchi introduced the CovertX line by supporting the five most ­popular pistol cartridges, all loaded with a jacketed hollowpoint (JHP) bullet. The line includes a 95-­grain .380 ACP, 124-­grain 9mm, 125-­grain .38 SPL +P, 125-­grain .357 Mag., and a 230-­grain .45 ACP.

In many ways, handgun ammo is facing the same design challenges as SBR ammo. How do we get a bullet to penetrate at least 12 inches per FBI protocol for bare gel, but no more than 18 inches and expand at slower velocities? The answer is the same. Fiocchi needed that tricky combination of the right bullet matched with the right powder that performs in a sub-­4-­inch barrel. Well, they found it.

Fiocchi also gave the CovertX a flash suppressant powder. This is important for low-­light use to mitigate flash, beneficial in low-light and home defense scenarios. I perceived reduced flash. It wasn’t eliminated, but the muzzleflash was greatly minimized during my low-­light test. If you have no practice shooting in the dark, I 
recommend putting in some time at the range to familiarize yourself with your firearm’s low-­light flash signature.

CovertX JHP bullets were pulled from gel blocks and told us a lot about its performance. The .380 penetrated at least 10 inches, but the other calibers met or exceeded the FBI standard for bare 10-percent ballistic gel. The bullets mushroomed beautifully, too, and held together. All demonstrated 99-percent weight retention.

Despite only penetrating 10 inches, I was most impressed by the .380 CovertX load. From a 10-­inch-­“ish” AR barrel chambered in .380, it clocked 1,086 fps and penetrated the same as the bullet fired at 994 fps from my Glock 42. (The unreleased Rock River AR in .380 was revealed to media at the event.)

Across the line, the JHP bullet has pre-­cut skiving in the tip. The core is a lead alloy, and the copper jacket is thick enough for controlled performance for use in full-­size handgun barrels, too. The cases are formed from nickel-­plated brass. I experienced no feeding issues or malfunctions throughout testing. They fed well and printed tight groups at 25 yards. Within 10 yards, I could shoot one jagged hole with any of the loads.

It’s hard to accurately measure recoil impulse in a handgun, so my perception comes from simple experience. Against standard 124-­grain 9mm loads, I perceived the CovertX in my Springfield Armory Hellcat RDP as less “snappy.” It was a benefit to defensive drills that involved shooting multiple rounds. It doesn’t matter how good a bullet is if it doesn’t hit the target. During my ongoing testing, the 9mm and .380 ACP CovertX loads were accurate and easy to keep on target. After I considered the performance in gel and accuracy at the bench, I concluded that Fiocchi’s CovertX is an ideal pairing with compact EDC pistols.

Parting Shot

The parallel development of Fiocchi’s rifle and handgun ammunition intended for short barrels uniquely highlight what we’ve been asking for. Conceptually, the CovertX and Hyperformance Defense SBR Enhanced are not introducing anything revolutionary. These are copper-­jacketed lead-­core bullets. Subsonic and suppressor-­friendly ammunition has been done before. However, Fiocchi is filling the greater demand we are experiencing for specialized ammo — and it works as designed. For law enforcement, self-­defense, and hunting, Fiocchi CovertX and SBR Enhanced lines are excellent symbiotes to short barrels. 

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