Tests done with short barreled pistols with loads in 380 ACP, 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP.
I carry Glaser Safeties and Hydra-Shocks in my .32 Beretta Tomcat. I have hollow points in my S&W .40 M&P Shield.
Good info. If you live in a colder climate where people often wear a jacket or heavy coat you should take a close look at the data.
Hornady critical defense loads are what I prefer till someone can convince me of another option.
Very good and in depth article.
It is a great article! It doesn’t apply as much to me since one of my hobbies is reloading cartridges for all of the firearms that we own. I also cast our own projectiles. But still their is a lot of great information and pictures.
One of the things that I like about reloading is that you don’t pay a penalty for a hotter cartridge. If you want to add a few grains of powder or switch to a powder that develops greater muzzle velocity in a specific fire arm or barrel length it generally costs only a tiny percentage more.
Of course one of the problems with hotter cartridges in general is that people sometimes purchase them for guns that were not designed to handle the higher pressures. One of the risks with reloading is that pushing the envelope can be very dangerous if you don’t keep the limitations of the firearm you are working with in mind. Also if you designed a load for a gun that can handle higher pressures and then forget and use those cartridges in a different gun of the same caliber... it could easily result in a catastrophic failure.
Unfortunately, we just lost a close friend and also an acquaintance after the big gun their tank destroyer had some type of catastrophic failure which is still under investigation. Obviously this was a problem of greater magnitude, but it is a reminder that guns do fail even super heavy duty guns whose cartridges hold propellant that is measured in ounces and pounds not grains.
I don’t worry a lot about expansion. I prefer to emphasize penetration. Why?
The difference between a .380 bullet that doesn’t expand at all but penetrates 23 inches and a .45 that expands to .75 (better than most of the ammo tested) and penetrates 18” is that both will get plenty deep and the 45 creates a wound channel that is less than 1/5 inch larger on either side. What are the odds that the additional width will do serious damage to a vital organ?
It might nick an artery so the guy eventually bleeds to death. If you are REALLY lucky, you might bruise the spinal column instead of missing it - but that would involve a lot of luck.
I don’t worry about over penetration. For one thing, a bullet leaving the skin loses significant power - something that doesn’t happen when it enters thru the skin. But what are the odds a bullet will go thru a bad guy and then hit an innocent person? Given how many MISS the bad guy entirely (and go on for a mile or until it hits something solid), why would I worry about a freak accident like that?
For myself...my biggest problem in CCW is concealing and carrying. I use a J-frame revolver right now - IF I carry. For a belly gun, a 357 revolver is hard to beat. And I shoot it fairly well even at 25 yards. But I don’t LIKE carrying it, and it is hard to truly conceal.
I’ve been debating between getting an LC9 or LCP. Right now, I’m leaning toward the LCP. If I can’t get myself into the habit of carrying an LCP, I’ll NEVER carry. If I do, I may someday choose to move up to the LC9. But right now, I usually do NOT carry anything, and an LCP in the pocket beats my S&W 686+ near my bed. Beats the 649 that is often next to my 686...
I’ve been using Remington Ultimate ammunition which is supposedly optimized for short barreled semi auto pistols. I can tell you the .45 ACP flavor feeds flawlessly in my Springfield XDS.
L
I’m surprised to see the 78 grain Liberty .45 round tested. I tried them and have a couple of boxes around the house. It does significantly reduce the weight of the pistol, which is a good thing.
After seeing the results I may go back to it.
L
What say ye Freepers of the Liberty 78 grain?
Two-shot High Standard 22 magnum with Class III wallet holster. Almost unbeatable. Surprise and then a VERY high velocity small caliber round bouncing off around inside of a perp’s skeletal system. Care to argue?
I use Hornady XTP pistol bullets in my muzzleloader
for hunting and was able to recover one from from a
whitetail doe. The expansion and weight retention were ideal.
Other game taken with this bullet has had complete
pass through penetration but this was a more extreme
quartering away shot. Aiming for the far shoulder the
entrance was almost the middle of the deer. It performed
exactly as designed.
The Hornady XTP, eXtreme Terminal Performance, is designed
to reliably expand at the lower velocities found in pistols
which also applies to blackpowder firearms although I would
assume a higher velocity from a muzzleloader than a short
barreled pistol. The deer was also wearing a deerskin fur coat.
Thanks for the post!
There is a certain artistic beauty to blocks of ballistic gel with bullet tracks in them. :-)
Looks like my Critical Defense did pretty well overall.
Useful information. I want my wife’s Sig p238 (380) using the best ammo.
OTOH, doesn’t matter what you are shooting if you don’t hit the target in the right place. The FBI is going back to 9mm because they find the improved accuracy with a lower recoil round is more effective.
Looking for info on .38 or .357 ?
more interested in consistent And economic shooting .
chuckhawks.com
has good info on all calibers,
pistol and rifle.