Ballistic Gel Tests

[muggsy]

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#rid=libertyrising

[Atlas993]

Thanks Muggsy! Great read.

[Ronni3_J]

Thanks! Glad to know both my EDC amo did well!

[muggsy]

You guys are welcome. I'm happy to be of service.

[TheTman]

That was interesting, my 230 gr .45 Hydra Shoks sure didn't expand much, and penetrated deeper than I might want, acting more like FMJ than a HP.
Thanks for posting, I am going to have to reconsider my choice of ammo for my CM45.

[Longitude Zero]

That was interesting, my 230 gr .45 Hydra Shoks sure didn't expand much, and penetrated deeper than I might want, acting more like FMJ than a HP.
Thanks for posting, I am going to have to reconsider my choice of ammo for my CM45.

Over penetration is preferable to under penetration ballistically speaking. Testing in gel does NOT tell you how the round will perform in actual human tissue but it DOES provide and apples to apples comparison of how different round perform in an indentical environment.

[Baklash]

There were some surprises for me when I first saw this study a couple weeks ago. I will change my EDC ammo based on this. In addition to the penetration I was particularly interested in the expansion. I chose a couple contenders with a little over penetration and had a consistent excellent expansion.

[Harrylee]

muggsy, after reviewing the data shown here I have changed my carry ammo choice, just ordered
Federal 230 gr HST had been carrying with Federal 230 gr Hydra Shok for a long time thinking they were a good defensive round. But the testing has shown over penetration with the 230 gr Hydra Shok . What needs to be understood is that a hollow point serves two purposes one that the energy is absorbate in the target and two that it doesn’t go thru the target to pose another problem as hitting an innocent. Here’s another test I found on the Federal 230 gr HST. Thanks buddy for the heads up and here’s the link



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWW2Y-IZpyE

[CJB]

I hav tryd Ball-is-tech gel on my hair, and ess nuthin bettur than plane ol dippitydoo.

S abuot the same as mamas jello if you askin me.

[muggsy]

I shaved my head just to save money on Dippitydoo. I put the savings into ammo purchases. :)

[CPTKILLER]

Good report.

[Hawkeye]

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#rid=libertyrising


Great Web page, both data and presentation. Thanks, Muggsy.

In my CW380 I have been carrying regular FMJ RN due to poor expansion of most .380 HPs. I have been considering switching to RNFP for somewhat better performance. I know some Kahrs don't like FP. But the Freedom Munitions RNFP I practice with have been feeding well so far. Then I saw the Web page you referenced.

I have picked up some Hornady 90 grain, FTX hollow points. Performance tests are impressive. If they feed well I probably have a new .380 carry round. Then I will probably also switch over my 9mm carry round, currently Federal hollow points.

[Ronni3_J]

I run the XTPs in my CW380 and HST 147+P in my CW9. I was happy to know my personal protection rounds did well


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[JohnR]

I was reading about some new ammo this morning, and it's gel test results. The ammo made a wide shallow wound and the bullet core penetrated beyond that, so the commenters complained about penetration - some said it wasn't enough, some said it was too much. No one seemed to realize that ballistic gel isn't a simulated human bad guy, and isn't really meant to be. Too many variables in the real world. Bottom line, it's easy to overthink thiss stuff. Learn to shoot well and your ammo choice is less critical.

[Hawkeye]

I have picked up some Hornady 90 grain, FTX hollow points. Performance tests are impressive. If they feed well I probably have a new .380 carry round. Then I will probably also switch over my 9mm carry round, currently Federal hollow points.

I know this is partly off-topic. Nothing is ever simple particularly when you change more than one variable at a time. In addition to trying Hornady Critical Defense FTX I decided to try Magguts parts in a magazine again. I removed them some time ago due to problems, FTFs and slide locking open with rounds still in the mag. Well, not willing to run an extended test that burned thru a bunch of expensive defense ammo, I have just removed them again.

The very first Magguts magazine with the Hornady Critical Defense FTX had three light strike misfires. Numerous Forum posts about light strikes (not Magguts associated) indicate one problem can be interference between the bottom of the striker and the top round in the magazine. Anyway, based on a very small sample, I am guessing Magguts must be associated with interference not experienced with the standard Kahr magazine. All the Hornady's fired and fed without a problem from the stock magazine. Also, I have never had light strikes with any ammo before.

I did a lot of reading about Magguts before I ever bought them. Seemed too good to be true. But most users seem very satisfied. Guess my gun is an exception.

[JohnR]

I put Magguts in both my Shield 9mm mags, no problems at all.

[S. Roche]

Thanks Muggsy. 124 gr. HST feed flawlessly in both my Sigs and from the information you provided perform well enough. No need for change here

[CPTKILLER]

Always useful.

[kwh]

I know this is partly off-topic. Nothing is ever simple particularly when you change more than one variable at a time. In addition to trying Hornady Critical Defense FTX I decided to try Magguts parts in a magazine again. I removed them some time ago due to problems, FTFs and slide locking open with rounds still in the mag. Well, not willing to run an extended test that burned thru a bunch of expensive defense ammo, I have just removed them again.

The very first Magguts magazine with the Hornady Critical Defense FTX had three light strike misfires. Numerous Forum posts about light strikes (not Magguts associated) indicate one problem can be interference between the bottom of the striker and the top round in the magazine. Anyway, based on a very small sample, I am guessing Magguts must be associated with interference not experienced with the standard Kahr magazine. All the Hornady's fired and fed without a problem from the stock magazine. Also, I have never had light strikes with any ammo before.

I did a lot of reading about Magguts before I ever bought them. Seemed too good to be true. But most users seem very satisfied. Guess my gun is an exception.


Thanks for the post.

[muggsy]

One thing to remember with these gel tests is that human flesh doesn't tear like ballistic gel. Human flesh stretches. Those massive temporary wound channels that you see in gel tests amount to no more than bruised human flesh in real life. You need penetration to reach vital organs and over penetration is preferable to under penetration.

[Barth]

That was interesting, my 230 gr .45 Hydra Shoks sure didn't expand much, and penetrated deeper than I might want, acting more like FMJ than a HP.
Thanks for posting, I am going to have to reconsider my choice of ammo for my CM45.

Before High Tech bullets, 230 gr Hydra Shoks were the Gold Standard (out of a 5" barrel).
I still believe it's a good round from a full 5" barrel.
But times have changed and there is much better ammo available that performs well from shorter barrels.
My recommendation is Federals HST 230 gr +P.
It's a thumper and performs well in tests I've seen.
It's my go to carry round in HK USPT45 and HK45c.:cool: