Ammunition has been scarce, but manufacturers continue to innovate. Our ammunition product of the year brings all the qualities one demands in a defensive load to a cartridge with few such options.
Most people like AKs and SKSs because they're affordable and cheap ammo is easy to come by, but until recently, these guns and the 7.62x39 mm chambering were not seen as good choices for anything beyond plinking. Thanks to Winchester's PDX1 Defender load, however, 7.62x39 mm is an even more viable option for home defense. Reliable expansion, good penetration, near perfect weight retention and extreme reliability combine to make this load exciting, and the fact Winchester extended the line to include 7.62x39 mm shows the popularity of the chambering.
