Amidon Briefing · Material Comparison
August 15, 2025
ABC vs. Standard CMU Construction
Standard concrete masonry units (CMU) are a common, well-understood construction material — just not one engineered for sustained live-fire impact. The difference between CMU and purpose-built ballistic concrete is worth being specific about.
What CMU Is Actually Built For
CMU block is a general construction material, designed around standard structural and cost considerations — not ballistic performance. Some legacy training structures use it anyway, often reinforced with an added steel liner to compensate.
Where That Approach Falls Short
A steel liner does the ballistic work in that setup, while the surrounding CMU isn’t built to take the same repeated impact — leading to the spalling and cracking that shows up over time in legacy range construction.
The ABC Difference
Amidon Ballistic Concrete is engineered from the start for sustained ballistic impact, not adapted after the fact. It’s the difference between a material built for the job and a material reinforced to survive it — the same standard behind every Amidon shoot house.
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