Howdy Fellas,
I just went down to the range to test out a few SD bullets that I had picked up since they were recommended by buddies of mine.
For this test/comparison I filled my trunk up with milk gallons filled with water. I fired 4 of each of the following SD bullets and retrieved them to compare weight retention, expansion, penetration, and occurences of core/jacket seperation. The test gun was my wifes XD subcompact 9mm. I fired the bullets about 3' away from the jugs and the time of day was about 12:30 PM MST, temp about 78 degrees.
I first tried Corbon DPX, the all copper bullets in 9mm. They penetrated an average of 3 to 4 jugs and all expanded quite nicely. At their largest point, they averaged around .710" Give or take a hundreths of an inch. Weight retention was superb! They all measured the same 115 grains that they began with. This is a great round!
Next I tried out the Winchester Ranger T's in +P. They all averaged around 3-4 gallons of water jug penetration. They expanded to an average of .647". There was no core/jacket seperation any of the bullets I recovered. Weight retention was superb as well. They remained teetering around 123-124 grains, the starting weight for these bullets. The talons that came out were wicked cool too!!
I then tested out the 9mm Golden Sabers and they penetrated about 3 gallons every time. These weren't the +P variety either. They expanded quite nicely to a diameter of about .643" on average. They kept their weight to the same 124 grains that they started out as too! There was no core jacket seperation in any of the bullets I recovered back too. Super nice!!
Last of all I tested out the super hot Corbon JHP +P in 125 grain. I was recommended these because of their great #'s on speed and what that meant in terms of power. First of all, it was a pain to figure out just how much these bullets penetrated because they went all over the place!! They penetrated an average of 2-3 jugs each time. In all four specimens, there was not only massive core/jacket seperation but disintigration of the bullet itself!!! I found little sparkles of lead and pieces of jacket strewn about all the jugs that each bullet went thru. In at least two cases the jacket was left behind in the preceding jug while the lead slug went into the next gallon by itself. Expansion wasn't that great either. At it's widest, the slugs measured an average of .459" accross. Weight retention was terrible too!!! Over half the weight was lost on average!!! They averaged around 65 grains upon retrieval. Definitly not impressed with this load of ammunition and wouldn't recommend it for SD.
I was surprised how good some of these rounds performed but was surprised how badly the Corbon JHP did. Just goes to show that what they sell at Sportsmans Warehouse is seldom the best. The gun counter guys here at my local store are always advising people to buy Corbon JHP because they are the "hottest" and fastest round around. I'd post pics but I can't figure out how to "shrink" my pictures to fit. Let me know what you guys think though.
I just went down to the range to test out a few SD bullets that I had picked up since they were recommended by buddies of mine.
For this test/comparison I filled my trunk up with milk gallons filled with water. I fired 4 of each of the following SD bullets and retrieved them to compare weight retention, expansion, penetration, and occurences of core/jacket seperation. The test gun was my wifes XD subcompact 9mm. I fired the bullets about 3' away from the jugs and the time of day was about 12:30 PM MST, temp about 78 degrees.
I first tried Corbon DPX, the all copper bullets in 9mm. They penetrated an average of 3 to 4 jugs and all expanded quite nicely. At their largest point, they averaged around .710" Give or take a hundreths of an inch. Weight retention was superb! They all measured the same 115 grains that they began with. This is a great round!
Next I tried out the Winchester Ranger T's in +P. They all averaged around 3-4 gallons of water jug penetration. They expanded to an average of .647". There was no core/jacket seperation any of the bullets I recovered. Weight retention was superb as well. They remained teetering around 123-124 grains, the starting weight for these bullets. The talons that came out were wicked cool too!!
I then tested out the 9mm Golden Sabers and they penetrated about 3 gallons every time. These weren't the +P variety either. They expanded quite nicely to a diameter of about .643" on average. They kept their weight to the same 124 grains that they started out as too! There was no core jacket seperation in any of the bullets I recovered back too. Super nice!!
Last of all I tested out the super hot Corbon JHP +P in 125 grain. I was recommended these because of their great #'s on speed and what that meant in terms of power. First of all, it was a pain to figure out just how much these bullets penetrated because they went all over the place!! They penetrated an average of 2-3 jugs each time. In all four specimens, there was not only massive core/jacket seperation but disintigration of the bullet itself!!! I found little sparkles of lead and pieces of jacket strewn about all the jugs that each bullet went thru. In at least two cases the jacket was left behind in the preceding jug while the lead slug went into the next gallon by itself. Expansion wasn't that great either. At it's widest, the slugs measured an average of .459" accross. Weight retention was terrible too!!! Over half the weight was lost on average!!! They averaged around 65 grains upon retrieval. Definitly not impressed with this load of ammunition and wouldn't recommend it for SD.
I was surprised how good some of these rounds performed but was surprised how badly the Corbon JHP did. Just goes to show that what they sell at Sportsmans Warehouse is seldom the best. The gun counter guys here at my local store are always advising people to buy Corbon JHP because they are the "hottest" and fastest round around. I'd post pics but I can't figure out how to "shrink" my pictures to fit. Let me know what you guys think though.