HSM Ammunition

Last updated and checked October 28, 2026

Table of Contents

If you have ever gone looking for a hunting load in an odd caliber and found one nobody else bothers to make, there is a good chance it came from HSM. The Montana company, short for Hunting Shack Munitions, lists 141 calibers on its own site. It loads the hard-cast Bear Load line, the Berger-bullet Trophy Gold hunting line, the Sierra-bullet Game King line, cowboy action rounds and remanufactured practice ammo. Here is who they are, what they make, and what is worth buying.

Who HSM is

HSM (Hunting Shack Munitions) is a family-owned ammunition maker in Stevensville, Montana, founded in 1968 by Bill and Catherine Campbell as The Hunting Shack. It loads 141 calibers, from the hard-cast Bear Load and the Berger-bullet Trophy Gold line to obscure rifle rounds and cowboy action loads, all in a 40,000-square-foot Montana plant.

HSM’s own history says Bill and Catherine Campbell started the business in 1968, and its first customers were law enforcement agencies buying practice and duty ammunition. Shooting Times reported in 2019 that the first orders, 50 years earlier, came from various law enforcement agencies. Better Business Bureau records list the company as incorporated on April 30, 1975, with The Hunting Shack, Inc. as an alternate name. In 2019 Bill was CEO and his son Travis was president, and HSM still describes itself as family owned and American made. You can read the company’s own account on the HSM 50th anniversary page.

The catalog is the story. A 2014 HSM press release asked readers whether they would believe some 950 loads over 120 calibers. By October 28, 2026, the caliber filter on the HSM site listed 141. Shooting Times counted 81 Game King loadings across 49 cartridges and 36 cartridges in the Trophy Gold line. Few factory loaders cover that much ground, and almost none of the big ones do it from a single family plant.

On price, HSM sits in the value-to-mid tier. The heavy .44 Magnum Bear Load cost about a third less per round than Buffalo Bore’s heavy .44 load on October 28, 2026. The trade-off is that HSM is a workhorse brand rather than a match house. You buy it for the breadth of the catalog and the price, not for benchrest-grade lot consistency.

What HSM makes

Bear Load

The Bear Load is HSM’s signature line: hard-cast, wide flat nose (WFN) bullets and other deep-penetrating designs, built for dangerous game. The handgun loads cover 10mm Auto, .357 Magnum, .41 Remington Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .460 S&W and .500 S&W. Rifle Bear Loads come in .45-70, .450 Bushmaster and .458 SOCOM. HSM lists the .44 Magnum 305-grain WFN gas check at 1,260 fps, the .454 Casull 325-grain at 1,330 fps, the .500 S&W 440-grain at 1,500 fps and the 10mm 200-grain hard cast at 1,041 fps.

Sportsman’s Warehouse had 20-round boxes of the 10mm at $21.99, the .41 Magnum at $29.99, the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt at $31.99, the .454 Casull at $36.99 and the 430-grain .45-70 at $56.99 on October 28, 2026. Palmetto State Armory had the .460 S&W at $50.79 and the 440-grain .500 S&W at $53.49.

Trophy Gold

Trophy Gold is HSM’s premium hunting line, loaded with Berger VLD Hunting and Elite Hunter bullets. The .338 chamberings, including .338 Lapua and .338 Win Mag, use the Berger Hybrid OTM Tactical instead. This is the line for long shots on game. Sportsman’s Warehouse had the 6.5 Creedmoor 130-grain VLD at $44.97 a box of 20.

Game King and Tipping Point 2

The Game King line uses Sierra bullets: the Spitzer Boat Tail GameKing, the Hollow Point Boat Tail GameKing and the Pro-Hunter. It covers mainstream deer and elk rounds like .308 Winchester, .30-06, .270 Winchester and .243 Winchester, and older rounds like 8mm Mauser and .303 British. The .308 150-grain was $41.99 at Sportsman’s Warehouse. The separate Tipping Point 2 line loads tipped bullets, the GameChanger and the SST.

Cowboy Action and odd calibers

The Cowboy Action line runs to 23 loads, including the .45 Cowboy Special, .44 Russian, .38-40 and .32-40. Beyond that, the caliber list reaches rounds most factories skip, from .41 Remington Magnum and .300 RUM to newer cartridges like 7mm PRC and .22 ARC. If you own something unusual, HSM is one of the first places to look.

Remanufactured practice ammo

HSM has made both factory new and remanufactured ammunition for decades. The remanufactured line uses reconditioned brass to cut the cost of range time. Sportsman’s Warehouse had 50 rounds of remanufactured .223 Remington 55-grain FMJ at $39.99, or 80 cents a round.

Build quality and the value equation

HSM loads in Stevensville, Montana, with bullets from Berger and Sierra plus its own hard-cast designs, and it has been at it for more than five decades. The Better Business Bureau lists it at A+ with no complaints in the last three years. What you get is honest, functional hunting and defense ammunition at a fair price. What you do not get is the lot-to-lot consistency of a dedicated match brand like Lapua or Federal Gold Medal. For hunting, practice and bear country, that trade works for most shooters.

How HSM compares

In mainstream hunting ammo, HSM competes with Federal, Winchester, Remington and Hornady. The difference is that HSM has a load for many calibers the big four have dropped or never made. Against premium hunting ammo like Hornady Precision Hunter or Nosler Trophy Grade, Trophy Gold competes with Berger bullets of its own.

In heavy handgun ammo, the Bear Load goes up against Buffalo Bore and Underwood, and price is where HSM wins. On October 28, 2026, Palmetto State Armory had the HSM .44 Magnum 305-grain Bear Load at $28.99 for 20, or $1.45 a round. The Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Magnum 300-grain jacketed flat nose was $45.89 at the same store, $2.29 a round. Underwood’s 305-grain hard-cast .44 Magnum was $49.99 at Sportsman’s Warehouse, $2.50 a round. For a load you practice with before you carry it, that gap adds up fast.

Who should buy what

• The deer or elk hunter: Game King in .308, .30-06, .270 or .243.
• The long-range hunter: Trophy Gold with Berger bullets.
• The backcountry carrier: the Bear Load in 10mm, .44 Magnum or .454 Casull.
• The lever-gun owner in bear country: the 430-grain .45-70 Bear Load.
• The owner of an oddball rifle: HSM’s caliber list, before you give up and start handloading.
• The cowboy action shooter: the Cowboy Action line.
• The high-volume shooter: remanufactured .223 for practice.

Who should look elsewhere? If you shoot precision rifle matches where lot consistency is everything, buy a dedicated match brand like Black Hills, Lapua or Federal Gold Medal. HSM is for hunters, big-bore carriers and value-minded shooters.

The HSM philosophy

HSM serves the shooter the big factories overlook: the hunter with an old or unusual chambering, the guide who needs hard-cast bear medicine, the shooter who wants American ammo without a premium price. It is a Montana family business that started with law enforcement customers and grew a catalog wide enough to cover cartridges most companies stopped loading decades ago.

How to choose your HSM load

Start with the job. For deer and elk, Game King covers most rifles, and Trophy Gold is the pick when shots stretch out. For bear defense from a handgun, choose the heaviest Bear Load your gun handles well: the 200-grain 10mm for a Glock 20, the 305-grain .44 Magnum for a revolver, the 325-grain .454 Casull if you can control it. Shoot a box before you trust it, because heavy hard-cast loads recoil hard and may print to a different point of aim than lighter practice ammo. For practice, the remanufactured line keeps costs down. Always confirm the caliber and the bullet weight suit your firearm and its barrel twist before you buy.

From The Hunting Shack to 141 calibers

Plenty of ammo companies chase the same dozen popular cartridges. HSM built its name on the opposite idea: load everything, including the calibers nobody else will, and keep it affordable. What started in 1968 as The Hunting Shack, selling to police departments, now runs a 40,000-square-foot plant in Stevensville and a caliber list that reaches from .32-40 cowboy loads to .500 S&W bear medicine. HSM has stayed with the shooter who just wants honest ammunition for the rifle or revolver in hand.

Facts and Figures

• Founded: 1968, by Bill and Catherine Campbell, as The Hunting Shack
• Incorporated: April 30, 1975, per Better Business Bureau records
• Location: Stevensville, Montana, a 40,000-square-foot plant
• Calibers: 141 on the HSM site (October 28, 2026); 950 loads over 120 calibers in 2014
• Bear Load .44 Magnum: 305-grain WFN gas check, 1,260 fps
• Bear Load .500 S&W: 440-grain WFN gas check, 1,500 fps
• Trophy Gold bullets: Berger VLD Hunting, Elite Hunter and Hybrid OTM Tactical
• Cowboy Action: 23 loads

Shop HSM Ammunition & Prices

Live HSM products and current prices, organized by caliber and updated automatically.

Where HSM Fits in Our Buying Guides

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• Best 10mm Ammo
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• Best Deer Hunting Cartridges
• Best Elk Rifle

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