.40 ca. ammo Hornaday Critical Defense or

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If you like the idea of consistent performance through clothing/barriers that Critical Defense offers, check out Federal's EFMJ.
Performs as well as any premium expanding bullet, also has a closed nose so that it can't clog, but instead of costing $20 for a box of $20, you can get them for ~$25-30 for a box of 50 from Policehq, or Ammo to Go.
 
Carter said:
Of course I find a link to where I can find 147 +p 9mm hst and .45acp Hst after I order my ammo for christmas....
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Can civilians buy from this website? It would seem to be only for law enforcement or military.
 
But bullet is traveling alot slower
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The 180gr HST in .40S&W does about 689mph. I don't think I know of anybody fast enough to dodge that.

If you are shooting at 50 or 75 yards I can see the concern. Then it would be easier for the wind or other things to effect the ballistics. At less distance than that, I don't think the difference in speed will make a impact on performance.

Just my opinion.
 
I wouldn't shoot anything below 155gr, and preferably 165-180. Momentum is an important part of the picture for adequate penetration, and greater mass gives greater momentum.

We aren't shooting nines, after all!
 
hammerklavier said:
I wouldn't shoot anything below 155gr, and preferably 165-180. Momentum is an important part of the picture for adequate penetration, and greater mass gives greater momentum.

We aren't shooting nines, after all!
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I think the power ball in .40 135 grains travels at 1325 fps.
 
CorBon Pow'RBall is, in essence a plastic Glaser ball stuffed into a lead core JHP bullet.

The plastic ball appears to delay bullet expansion, which allows it to achieve deeper penetration than conventional lead core JHP bullets of the same weight.

IMO, Pow'RBall is NOT a good choice as a general-purpose CCW load.

Hornady Critical Defense is also NOT a good choice as a general-purpose CCW load, IMO.

Both are more expensive and don't provide an advantage in expansion reliability compared to a modern JHP bullet like HST.

If you desire a bullet with both energy and adequate penetration then I suggest either CorBon DPX or Black Hills TAC-XP, both which are loaded with the Barnes solid copper TAC-XP hollowpoint bullet. You're going to pay more for either load, compared to HST.
 
The Corbon Powerball ammo is about $29.99 for it in .40 cal, and .45 ACP.'

The Corbon DPX loads are low velocity loads.
 
Really kind of apples vs. oranges here. The Critical Defense loads were made to expand everytime going through the F.B.I. 4 layer denim protocol. Not steel, windsheilds, and so on. It was designed for civilian use where shooting through something to hit a bad guy is not likely. The Pow-R-Ball is made to go through the above mentioned objects, retain most of it's weight, minimum deflection, and still get good expansion and penetration on the bad guys. Decide what you need the load to do and make your decision based on that.
 
SIGLBER said:
Really kind of apples vs. oranges here. The Critical Defense loads were made to expand everytime going through the F.B.I. 4 layer denim protocol. Not steel, windsheilds, and so on. It was designed for civilian use where shooting through something to hit a bad guy is not likely. The Pow-R-Ball is made to go through the above mentioned objects, retain most of it's weight, minimum deflection, and still get good expansion and penetration on the bad guys. Decide what you need the load to do and make your decision based on that.
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Very interesting that's two different scenarios that citizens and officers must consider. Power Ball may overpenetrate and endanger others while it is best for shooting through cars barriers at on patrol those light high speeds.
The other round like 9mm may not be strong enough to put the target down. The civilian in home protection must consider over penetration. The slower moving bullet which is heavier is more likely to stay in target to dump all energy into it.
So if it's indoor home protection the bigger slower load is preferred? Like the 180 grain .40 cal bullet which travels slower unlike the it's faster counterpart 135 grain goes alot faster and the best weapon for outdoor shooting for distance and barriers /cars.
 
choose one that better fits what you think you may face in a real life situation that also is reliable and accurate out of your gun. I prefer the Hornady CD myself. I want the surest expander so as to minimize unintended casualties.
 
That article is kinda misleading.... You even state that it is "untested and unknown" against barrier material. That's hardly the uneffective the article claims.

I don't see critical defense performing any different through barrier material than other common hollow points. It's probaby more effective through clothing for which it was designed.

But I agree if proven barrier penetration is on your list of requirements, then I wouldn't use for SD until it is tested for that. IMO, the only caliber that I find Critical Defense far superior in right now is .380 where clothing penetration is a hurdle for the caliber and barrier penetration is non existent regardless. Anything larger and it's HST for myself.
 
That article is kinda misleading.... You even state that it is "untested and unknown" against barrier material. That's hardly the uneffective the article claims.
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There's no claim that Critical Defense is ineffective - only that its terminal performance against anything other than bare gelatin and gelatin covered with clothing is unknown. It may perform as poorly as Glaser Pow'RBall does against sheetmetal and windshield glass.

It's probaby more effective through clothing for which it was designed.
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The best modern JHP loads demonstrate nearly identical penetration depth performance in both bare gelatin and gelatin covered by four layers of heavy denim cloth. (The best performing JHP loads are the ones with the least differences in penetration depth between bare gelatin and gelatin covered by four layers of heavy denim cloth.) Actual in-service performance usually falls somewhere between these two extremes.
 
youtube is your friend on this one and there were a few threads with pictures showing different bullets and if they actually expanded or not when tested I dont recall ever seeing Hornady CD not expand. On the other hand some of the others had problems. I guess its what your shooting at that matters most. Are you going to be shooting through windshields and glass or sheetmetal doors maybe through your house into another room or into the neighbors? Heck just shoot FMJ. Be careful about shooting through sheetmetal doors and other things if the deadly threat is trying to flee they tend to frown on that. Again its what do you want expansion, penetration, uintended collateral damage you will be liable for or maybe just an excellent self defense load for a normal self defense situation thats what you must decide . We all have an opinion just try to decide based on what real world scenarios would be, or we'd all just go buy a Bazooka.
 
Which bullet weight shoots to point of aim with YOUR particular pistol? Figure that out first, then start worrying about which bullet is prettiest.

My SIGs' sights shoot to point of aim with 180-grain bullets. I get the best deal on premium JHPs, locally, on Gold Dots. For the same reason I use Gold Dots, price, plenty of other local LEOs do the same, and the bad guys keep falling when we place the shots well. (It is customary in this region for LEOs to buy/furnish their own duty weapons and ammo.)
 
Rexster said:
Which bullet weight shoots to point of aim with YOUR particular pistol? Figure that out first, then start worrying about which bullet is prettiest.
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Outstanding! The truth. I love it...

Les
 
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