Is Armscor a Good Ammo Brand?

Country of Origin – Philippines

Founded – 1930

Headquarters – Marikina, Philippines

Website – armscor.com

With over 100 years of history, a humble beginning of a family dynasty was born into the American frontier gun manufacturer industry, this is the story of Armscor. Armscor is a firearms and ammo manufacturer which originated in the Philippines. After years of trading clothing, firearms and ammunition, the company was eventually bought and renamed “Sportsmen’s Headquarters” in 1930. Within a decade of business, entrepreneur Don Celso bought the company at the start of WWII. In 1952, the company was renamed “Squires Bingham Manufacturing Inc”. Through time, the company helped rebuild the post-war Philippines by obtaining the first firearms manufacturing license from the government. Once established, the company opened plants across the country. In 1980, they rebranded the company to Armscor after Squires Bingham Manufacturing was recognized as “Arms Corporation of the Philippines”.

In 1985, Armscor Precision international opened its first United States office opened their first in Nevada. Not long after establishing themselves as ammunition manufacturers in the US did they acquire the Rock Island Armory brand (ROI), which is a leading M1911 manufacturer and developer (Will discuss soon).

Currently, Armscor Ammo is produced in their own factories in Marikina, Philippines, with their operations in Stevensville, Montana. The company was renamed Armscor Global Defense, Inc in 2017. They are the largest ammunition manufacturer not just in the Philippines but in all of Southeast Asia. They focus their manufacturing on the civilian market, but the ammo is also used by law enforcement and military around the world. Armscor currently produces 200,000 firearms and about 430 million rounds of ammunition per year. 80% of which are exported and sold in more than 60 countries.

Is Armscor the Same as Rock Island Armory?

Rock island armory (RIA) is the name of Armscor’s firearm manufacturing brand. Armscor purchased RIA in 1985 and has been running it ever since. RIA is known for making economical yet high quality 1911 style handguns, Shotguns, and small caliber rifles. RIA 1911s are derivatives of the U.S. Army M1911-A1, the standard edition of the American service pistol from the 1911 to 1985. The 1911 is known to be some of the best modernized renditions of the legendary John Browning design. Armscor is the number one manufacturer of 1911 pistols in the world. The RIA 1911 series of pistols are made of 4140 steels with a molded frame and are available in .45 ACP, 10mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9mm Luger and of course .22 TCM chambers.

What is .22 TCM?

.22 TCM is the name of Armscor’s own proprietary cartridge. The bullet was designed by Fred Criag, who was a gunsmith with RIA on the unique cartridge’s development team. The round was originally named the cartridge the .22 Micromag. When it was adopted later by Armscor, the name was changed to .22 TCM. This name was an acronym for Tuason (for Martin Tuason, Armscor president) Craig, Micromag. It is the latest of several factory .22 caliber centerfire cartridges originally developed for handguns. The .22 TCM is the fifth .22 caliber offspring of the 1950 – .222 Rem as well. The maximum overall round length is 1.275 inches, just like the .45 ACP. loaded with a small pistol primer and a 40 grain JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) bullet, the velocity rating on this cartridge comes from a 5-inch barrel is 1,875 fps.

The bullet is based off of the 5.56×45 NATO but shortened to be around the height of the .38 super. The bullet is specifically used by the RIA TCM line of firearms which includes multiple 1911-esque handguns and two bolt action rifles. The .22 TCM is not widely used so its availability is less than that of the 9×19 Para or standard .22 LR which is its main competition. Overall, the .22 TCM is a creative cartridge and shows off RIA’s willingness to try unique designs.

Looking for Armscor .22 TCM ammo? Visit our website for availability.

Is Armscor Ammo Dirty or Corrosive?

The simple answer is no, Armscor ammo is not dirty at all. Yes, there are cleaner munitions out in the market, but there are also plenty of dirtier cartridges as well. From competitive to recreational shooting, Armscor ammo has provided sufficient and promising ammo for their customers with very little complains from the community.

Armscor ammo is also non-corrosive. For the people that don’t know what this means, corrosive ammunition is ammo that uses a primer with chemicals that, when ignited, leave a residue of corrosive salts. Most often, these primers have potassium chlorate or sodium perchlorate which, when burned, decomposes into potassium chloride or sodium chloride.

Most modern ammunition is not corrosive, but usually old military surplus ammo is. For military surplus ammo, there are two types of primers: Berdan and Boxer. Boxer-primer ammo is not corrosive, so you don’t have to worry about that type. If your ammo is Berdan-primed, its better to be safe than sorry and treat the ammunition as if it is corrosive.

Is Armscor a Good Ammo Brand?

Armscor ammo has cemented itself in both the Asian and the American market as a solid clean firing round. .22 LR is extremely well priced and very reliable, here at True shot you can get 500 rounds of hollow point high velocity .22 for less than $35! With the cost and the quality taken into account Armscor .22 LR is some of the best value for a reliable clean shooting round. Armscor has a host of other calibers which are all manufactured with care and reliability in mind.

Armscor is dedicated to manufacturing high quality firearms and ammunition. Through a combination of precision investment casting using ordnance steel, the exacting accuracy of Computerized Numerical Control, and their own unique craftsmanship, Armscor has developed and maintained their reputation in the industry for a quality product. Their reputation has led them to achieve and establish the status of the largest arms manufacturer in Southeast Asia.

Armscor Ammunition follows the ISO, SAAMI, and CIP standards for their products. Armscor ammo has been popular among police, target shooters and the military. No matter what the purpose may be, Armscor promises to deliver a high quality and dependable ammunition.

We currently have 380 Auto, 300 Blackout, 45 ACP, 5.56 NATO, .223 Rem, 308 Win, .22 lr, 38 Special and 9MM ammo in stock from Armscor. Visit our website for availability and bulk ammo for sale.

Looking to purchase bulk ammo online? At True Shot Ammo, we have a wide variety of handgun ammo and rifle ammo available to purchase. Please at our website, call us at (888) 736-6587 or, you can email us at [email protected] for more rifle ammo options.