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Plenty of folks have done this, but you are missing one of the best - Federal HST
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Testing defense rounds, any suggestions?
- Thread starter Goosebuster
- Start date
Paul Harrell is where ive got 90% of my testing ideas from, i think he has the best videos online. I will take a lot of pictures and try to record, but my video quality will be limited to an iPhone & iPad. Im doing these test where I can see how each bullet performs with my own eyes & no bias. @Horsehat Thanks for the info, i will see if i can get a pig carcass, i would love to fill it up with ballistics gelatin & put a heart in the gel.
kuduman HST has crossed my mind, i know about the bullet but i have not seen any testing (other than just shooting a block of gelatin) that shows the bullet doing anything except over penetrating and not expanding. Basically every test ive seen with the HST & Hornady Critical Duty shows the bullet not expanding & seriously over penetrating. However, because HST is so popular i may grab a box and include it in my test. I am aware of the HST & critical duty's ability to go through glass & barriers but i don't see that being beneficial to anyone outside of law enforcement.
I really want this test to offer some insight on how each bullet will perform in a target that is as close as possible to a human body. I know there will always be variables & exceptions but i figure every defense load will have to encounter clothing, bone, & muscle regardless of the scenario. The one thing that weighs on my mind and has contributed to me not wanting to consider HST & Critical duty is over penetration without expansion. I picture a scenario where an attacker is between me & my wife or daughters and having to worry about a bullet blowing through and hurting one of them. Maybe thats an unreasonable fear but i cant shake the idea of it being a very real possibility. If the HST showed good expansion maybe i could test the poser it has after passing through the intended target, but i haven't seen good expansion with HST in anything other than gel..... and every bullet looks good in gel.
I really hope the Novx perform well, those bullets are so light it almost feels like you don't even have a mag in the gun. That would be a major plus for CC. The Corbon DPX are also much lighter than a JHP but the Novx are by far the lightest bullet ive ever held. Im skeptical about how well they will work but id be lying if i said i wasn't rooting for them.
You're either looking at the wrong calibers, or the wrong tests-- the HST is one of the very few that actually passes the FBI tests, and does so in multiple weights and calibers. I am _not_ talking about .380 and .38-- from what I've seen the HST there is crap, same with their "short barrel" whatever. 9mm, .40, .45 normal ones +p or not, work great.
I'm not sure where you are getting "every bullet looks good in gel". In actual 10% ordnance gelatin, calibrated, with FBI barriers-- they most assuredly do not.
The HST has that other thing going for it, that is unique-- it comes in 50 round boxes for $23-32 a box, making it half the price of its competition. (You'll have to mail order the 50-round boxes.) At that price, mere mortals can afford some practice with it.
But whatever. Have fun.
Federal HST in 9mm has been the ammo that penetrates and expands superior to others by recent test meeting the FBI standard.
I carry a 9mm almost every day. Convenience, simply.
A .45 doesn't need to expand and has another 106 grains to deal with. It has proven itself for over 100 years. It's my truck go to.
I carry a 9mm almost every day. Convenience, simply.
A .45 doesn't need to expand and has another 106 grains to deal with. It has proven itself for over 100 years. It's my truck go to.
I dont have enough gel to do all the test at one time and i want to maximize each test so i did a "test test" today. Only one shot of each round but there will be more test to come. I only got 3 rounds done today and it was interesting to say the least. I videoed the impact in slo motion from my phone and its cool to see but i wish i had shown more of the damage to everything on camera and taken pictures of the mushroom. I will take pictures of the recovered rounds tomorrow and post them. Keep in mind, i am doing these test for me to see how each round performs, im new to videoing the test and making it enjoyable to watch. Anyways, the video is too large to send so i made a youtube channel and posted it on there. If anyone wants to watch it here is round one, i tried to explain how each round performed and keep everything short and sweet. Video is only 2.5 minutes.
The Novex ammo was really impressive, it went through bone and the energy it released was unreal. There were slits in the top and bottom of the gel from it doing whatever it is that it does. I am going to test it more but from what i can see it looks like the energy/shockwave would be devastating inside a body.
The Winchester Ranger T Series kind of disappointed me, it penetrates and had a very good wound tract through the gel but it didnt mushroom as much as it is advertised.
The CorBon DPX was the only .40 cal i shot today and the penetration wasn't as much as the 2 9mm loads but the damage it did to the ribs, meat, & gel was crazy. The bullet opened up into the most beautiful big mushroom ive ever seen, it doubled its size, retained 100% of its weight, & left a big hole until it stopped.
if anyone has any advice (other than show the gel & recovered round) let me know. I enjoy doing these test and I dont mind videoing it if anyone wants to see what the bullets do.
The Novex ammo was really impressive, it went through bone and the energy it released was unreal. There were slits in the top and bottom of the gel from it doing whatever it is that it does. I am going to test it more but from what i can see it looks like the energy/shockwave would be devastating inside a body.
The Winchester Ranger T Series kind of disappointed me, it penetrates and had a very good wound tract through the gel but it didnt mushroom as much as it is advertised.
The CorBon DPX was the only .40 cal i shot today and the penetration wasn't as much as the 2 9mm loads but the damage it did to the ribs, meat, & gel was crazy. The bullet opened up into the most beautiful big mushroom ive ever seen, it doubled its size, retained 100% of its weight, & left a big hole until it stopped.
if anyone has any advice (other than show the gel & recovered round) let me know. I enjoy doing these test and I dont mind videoing it if anyone wants to see what the bullets do.
Thanks, short sweet and can pause to read your data.
These type of test are way more meaningful IMO. I'll echo the pig to human comparison as a 200 lb. hog comes close to being equivalent for testing. And vice versa at least for Korowai tribe "long pig" consumers.
A bullet has to first penetrate. It must travel through clothing, skin, bone and muscle.
Your test does this where shooting water jugs and pure ballistics gel don't.
Back early 1900's the military conducted ballistics testing that won't publicly be allowed today.
They went to the stock yard and using scientific methodology shot livestock, accurately capturing the time, the wound channel and results. PETA would lose their shirt today.
I've done a lot of FBI protocol gel shoots. I will make it easy for you, of the ones you listed, the Winchester Ranger and the Speer Gold Dot will be your best two performers in the largest variety of mediums and the most consistent (9mm). However you are testing super and subsonic loads so its not really fair. If you had a Ranger 127 +p+ in the mix, there would be no need for further discussion.
