If you have ever shot cheap-but-reliable range 9mm, fed an old military rifle, or hunted with a classic European cartridge, you have probably run Sellier & Bellot. The Czech house has been making ammunition since 1825 — making it one of the oldest ammunition companies on earth — and today it is a go-to for affordable, dependable brass-cased range ammo, deep European hunting calibers the big American brands stopped loading years ago, and a full bench of pistol, rifle and shotgun loads. Here is who they are, what they make, and what is worth buying.
Who Sellier & Bellot is
Sellier & Bellot is a Czech ammunition maker founded in 1825 and headquartered in Vlašim, Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest ammunition companies in the world, and today it is best known for affordable, reliable range and hunting ammunition and for loading a huge range of European rifle calibers. It makes pistol, rifle and shotgun ammunition under the S&B name.
The company was founded on August 5, 1825, by Louis Sellier, a businessman of French heritage, who set up a workshop in Prague to make percussion caps for the army of the Austrian Empire at the request of Emperor Francis I. Bellot joined that same autumn, and the firm grew astonishingly fast: by 1830 it was making more than 60 million percussion caps a year, peaking at 156 million in 1837. For nearly two centuries since, Sellier & Bellot has made primers, components and loaded ammunition through every upheaval Central Europe could throw at it — the company marked its 200th anniversary in 2025.
The plant moved from Prague to the town of Vlašim, south of the capital, in 1936, and the headquarters and main factory are still there today. Ownership has changed hands in the modern era: the Brazilian ammunition giant CBC (the parent of Magtech) bought Sellier & Bellot in 2009, then sold it to the Colt CZ Group — the Czech firearms conglomerate behind CZ and Colt — in a deal that closed in 2024. CBC did not fully walk away; it took a large minority stake in Colt CZ itself, so the two ammunition families stay linked. Either way, the cartridges, the Vlašim plant, and the S&B headstamp stayed exactly where they were.
Sellier & Bellot sits in the value-to-mid bracket, and it is honest about it. This is dependable working ammunition — clean, accurate enough, and priced to shoot a lot of it — rather than match-grade precision ammo. Where it genuinely stands out is breadth: S&B loads cartridges that almost nobody else still makes.
What Sellier & Bellot makes
Pistol ammunition — the range and carry staples
S&B’s pistol line is its highest-volume product in the States: clean brass-cased FMJ in 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special and .357 Magnum for practice, plus JHP defensive loads and the newer lead-free XRG Defense solid-copper hollow points. It is honest, affordable practice ammunition that competes head to head with PMC, Magtech and Fiocchi on price.
American rifle calibers — .223, .308 and .30-06
For the common American rifle chamberings, S&B loads dependable soft point hunting ammo and FMJ practice loads in .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .243 Winchester and the rest. The .30-06 and .308 soft points in particular are a long-running budget favorite for deer hunters who do not want to pay premium-bullet prices.
European hunting calibers — the real specialty
This is where Sellier & Bellot has no real competition. S&B keeps a deep catalog of classic Continental chamberings alive: 6.5×55 Swedish, 7×57 Mauser, 7×64 Brenneke, 8×57 JS and JRS, 9.3×62, 6.5 Creedmoor and more, loaded with soft-point and the modern Exergy lead-free bullets. If you own a vintage Mauser, a drilling, or a European hunting rifle, S&B is often the most available factory ammo you can buy for it.
Surplus-rifle and historic chamberings
S&B is also a lifeline for milsurp shooters, loading 7.62×39, 7.62x54R, 7.62×25 Tokarev, .30 Carbine, 8mm Mauser and other historic rounds long after the American brands dropped them. For a lot of these, S&B is the modern, non-corrosive, boxer-primed answer to corrosive military surplus.
Shotshells and components
S&B loads a full range of shotshells from .410 up to 12 gauge — buckshot, slug and birdshot — and, true to its 1825 roots, it still makes its own primers and sells components and brass to handloaders. The buckshot and slug loads are a common-sense value choice for a home-defense or hunting shotgun.
Where Sellier & Bellot ammo is made
All Sellier & Bellot ammunition is made in Vlašim, Czech Republic, at the plant the company has run since 1936. S&B is vertically integrated — it makes its own primers, brass and bullets — which is a real advantage in a market where many smaller “brands” simply assemble parts made by someone else, and it is part of why S&B can hold prices down across such a wide catalog. Its ammunition is built to European C.I.P. standards and is widely used by hunters and sport shooters across Europe, which is exactly why its European-caliber range is so deep.
How Sellier & Bellot compares
For value range and pistol ammo, S&B’s rivals are the other affordable brass-cased brands — PMC, Magtech (its former stablemate under CBC), Fiocchi, Prvi Partizan and the budget lines from Federal and Winchester. They all trade blows on price and reliability; S&B is right in the mix. Where it pulls ahead is the European and surplus-rifle calibers, where the real competition is Prvi Partizan, Norma and RWS rather than the American majors. For premium match and precision ammo, the top European houses — especially Lapua and Norma — are a clear step up, and S&B does not pretend otherwise.
The honest trade-off: this is value ammunition, not match ammunition. It shoots clean and reliably, but precision shooters chasing tiny groups will want Lapua or premium domestic match loads, and reloaders sometimes note that S&B brass and primers run on the firm side. What you get for the money is dependability and an unmatched range of chamberings — for a great many guns, especially older European ones, S&B is simply the best factory ammo you can actually find.
Who should buy what
- High-volume range shooters: S&B FMJ in 9mm, .40 or .45 — among the better value-per-round pistol options.
- Revolver shooters: the .38 Special and .357 Magnum FMJ and soft-point loads for affordable practice.
- Budget deer hunters: S&B .308 and .30-06 soft points — dependable hunting ammo without premium-bullet prices.
- Owners of European or vintage rifles: the 6.5×55, 7×57, 7×64, 8×57 and 9.3×62 loads — often the most available factory ammo for these guns.
- Milsurp shooters: non-corrosive 7.62×39, 7.62x54R, 7.62×25 and 8mm Mauser.
- Handloaders: S&B brass, primers and components, plus reusable once-fired cases.
If you are cross-shopping brands for a specific job rather than buying S&B in particular, our caliber-by-caliber roundups below pit Sellier & Bellot against Federal, PMC, Magtech and the rest head to head.
The Sellier & Bellot philosophy
For two hundred years the throughline has been the same: make dependable ammunition, in as many calibers as shooters actually use, at a price ordinary hunters and shooters can afford. S&B grew up serving the hunters and armies of Central Europe, and that DNA still shows — it will happily load a 9mm range round, a .30-06 deer load, and an obscure 8×57 JRS drilling cartridge in the same catalog. It is the brand of the working shooter and the practical hunter, not the bench-rest specialist, and it has never tried to be anything else.
How to choose your Sellier & Bellot load
Start with the job, then pick the load. For range practice, buy S&B FMJ in your pistol’s caliber in the biggest box you can — it is clean, cheap and reliable. For carry or defense, run a couple of boxes of the JHP or XRG Defense load through your gun first to confirm it feeds and shoots to point of aim. For hunting common calibers, the .308 and .30-06 soft points do the job on deer; step up to the Exergy lead-free bullets where lead is restricted. For a European or vintage rifle, find your exact chambering in the S&B catalog — there is a good chance they still load it. When you want to compare S&B against the other brands for a given caliber, the guides in the next section do exactly that.
Sellier & Bellot and 200 years of cartridges
It is hard to overstate how rare Sellier & Bellot’s longevity is. The company started making percussion caps before the self-contained metallic cartridge even existed, supplied the Austrian Empire, survived two world wars and decades behind the Iron Curtain as a state enterprise, and came out the other side as a modern, privately owned ammunition maker exporting worldwide. In 2025 it marked its 200th anniversary — two full centuries of continuous production from the same company. The owners have changed, the technology has changed beyond recognition, but the job has not: put reliable, affordable ammunition in the hands of shooters, in whatever caliber they happen to need.
Shop Sellier & Bellot Ammo & Prices
Live Sellier & Bellot ammunition and current prices, organized by caliber and updated automatically. Each row shows a cross-section of the S&B lineup in that caliber — from FMJ practice loads to soft-point hunting and the European specialty calibers.
Sellier & Bellot 9mm Ammo
Sellier & Bellot .308 Winchester Ammo
Sellier & Bellot .30-06 Springfield Ammo
Sellier & Bellot .38 Special & .357 Magnum Ammo
Sellier & Bellot .40 S&W Ammo
Sellier & Bellot 12 Gauge Ammo
Sellier & Bellot European & Specialty Calibers
Where Sellier & Bellot Fits in Our Buying Guides
- Best 9mm Ammo
- Best .308 Ammo
- Best .38 Special Ammo
- Best .357 Magnum Ammo
- Best Shotgun Ammo for Home Defense
- Best Defensive Ammo
- The State of Ammo Prices
Sellier & Bellot FAQ
Where is Sellier & Bellot ammunition made?
All of it is made in Vlašim, Czech Republic, at the plant the company has operated since 1936. S&B makes its own primers, brass and bullets.
How old is Sellier & Bellot?
It was founded in 1825 and marked its 200th anniversary in 2025, making it one of the oldest continuously operating ammunition companies in the world.
Who owns Sellier & Bellot now?
The Colt CZ Group, the Czech firearms conglomerate that also owns CZ and Colt, which completed its acquisition of S&B in 2024. Brazil’s CBC (the parent of Magtech) owned it from 2009 and kept a large minority stake in Colt CZ as part of the sale.
Is Sellier & Bellot good ammo?
Yes — it is reliable, clean-shooting value ammunition. It is practice and hunting grade rather than match grade, but it is dependable and very widely used, and it is often the only factory source for older European calibers.
Is Sellier & Bellot brass reloadable?
Yes. Modern commercial S&B ammunition is boxer-primed and reloadable, and once-fired S&B brass is popular with handloaders. Some reloaders find the brass and primers a touch firm, but it is solid reusable brass.
Why does Sellier & Bellot load so many odd calibers?
Because it serves the European hunting and sport-shooting market, where cartridges like 6.5×55, 7×57, 7×64 and 8×57 are still in common use. That makes S&B a lifesaver for owners of vintage and European rifles.
Sellier & Bellot vs PMC or Magtech — which is better?
They are all good value brands and trade blows on price and reliability. S&B’s edge is its enormous range of rifle and European calibers; PMC and Magtech are simpler, mostly-common-caliber range lines.
What tier is Sellier & Bellot?
Value to mid-tier. It is affordable, dependable practice and hunting ammunition — not premium match ammo — with an unusually deep caliber range.
Related Ammunition Brands
- Magtech Ammunition Parts
- Nosler Ammunition Parts
- Barnes Ammunition Parts
- Browning Ammo & Accessories Parts
- Federal Ammunition Parts
- CCI Ammunition Parts
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