Are all hollowpoints created equal?

[Mr.1904]

So i'm finding myself in a little bit of a pickle. I'm switching up my current SD rounds because the +p rounds i have right now i do not shoot accurate enough to satisfy me out of my dedicated SD/HD weapon.

So here's the pickle. I'm partial to Hornady ammunition for my reasons, reasons that i'm not entrenched in i'm just partial to their company and their product.

I can get 20 rnds of Hornady 200 grn XTP for about 14$ a box shipped. Not bad right? But i went ahead and looked at Freedom Munitions NEW JHP which they sell 20$ for 50 rnds, even better?


I really want to know if anyone has experience with Freedom Munitions JHP and the components used in their JHP ammo. Is it built to the same spec? Same QC? Would you trust it with your life?

I can get 150 rnds of .45 230 grn JHP for 67$ to my door from freedom munitions

or

100 rnds of Hornady .45 200 grn XTP for 75$ to my door.

Would i just be paying a few extra bucks for the brand when it comes to the XTP HP bullet?

[ExtremeX]

I don't trust any bullet from any manufacture until I take a bunch of them and fire it from my own gun to test reliability and performance.

Ya, its not cheap, but whats first hand knowledge or experience worth when it comes to something like this. I trust my own experience with the product.

I still shoot my defense ammo every 300-500 rounds after FMJ practice ammo, just to know the thing cycles correctly. I don't feel comfortable unless I spot check it every once in a while.

Big difference knowing it going to work, vs hoping it going to work.

So to answer your question... buy a bunch of both, and test it out, see what you like better, and buy some more and keep using it over time.

[Mr.1904]

Title changed for better clarification

[Rhythm of Life]

If your buying ammo for which expansion tests aren't publicly available I would definitely do some myself.

[AJD]

"Are all hollowpoints created equal?"

For the most part, no.

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887

Bullet designs like the Silver Tip, Hydra-Shok, and Black Talon were state of the art 15 or 20 years ago. These older bullets tend to plug up and act like FMJ projectiles when shot through heavy clothing; they also often have significant degradation in terminal performance after first passing through intermediate barriers. Modern ammunition which has been designed for robust expansion against clothing and intermediate barriers is significantly superior to the older designs. The bullets in the Federal Classic and Hydrashok line are outperformed by other ATK products such as the Federal Tactical and HST, as well as the Speer Gold Dot; likewise Winchester Ranger Talons are far superior to the old Black Talons or civilian SXT's.

I agree with one of the above posters, who said regardless of the ammo choice, you should make sure it functions reliably in your pistol.

[fighterpilot562]

ya, you gotta take it out and try it

[dougtoni]

Go with what feels right. Remember its 45acp, if it doesnt expand, oh well. Then it becomes a fmj. Which will still put the bad guy down.

[Rhythm of Life]

Go with what feels right. Remember its 45acp, if it doesnt expand, oh well. Then it becomes a fmj. Which will still put the bad guy down.

Some HP have trouble when dealing when jeans and other bulking material.

I'd rather use one that works.

[2nd Shot]

Go with what feels right. Remember its 45acp, if it doesnt expand, oh well. Then it becomes a fmj. Which will still put the bad guy down.

.45 or even 10mm that expands perfectly is an iffy proposition, as are all pistol calibers. I've met and known of at least a couple people with .45 slugs still stuck in them that were alive and well. Something to consider.

Hollow point defensive pistol ammo has come a long way in the last 20 years, and offer much improved performance in the way of reliable expansion and penetration. Take Federal's new HST for example - it's one of the first bullet designs to expand 2.5x it's original diameter, and is resistant to plugging. The Speer Gold Dot, and Winchester Ranger lines are also well proven.

The important thing to remember is that all of these mainstream factory developed loads were developed from countless hours of painstaking research and development, as a system, with the projectile matched to the velocity for the best, most consistent results out of the type of pistol most commonly used in. Most small ammo outfits don't have the big R&D centers and resources to tune their load to perfection and validate it's performance. Will it be better than ball? Almost certainly. Will it be as good as the premium duty ammo? Not likely.

[pyromensch]

reliability
accuracy, (not just of the ammo)
expansion

things to consider

in this order

[clutchy]

damnit!

i just bought a box of 9mm hydrashoks.... I guess I'll just go shoot pumpkins or something and then get something better....

[PEZHEAD265]

You are putting a value on your life and the lives of your loved ones.If you shoot a lot or had a lot of mags to fill I would use the cheaper ammo.My first mag or 2 would be the hottest ammo that I tested and found that worked well in my pistol.I would fill the rest with cheaper ammo that I tested and worked well in my pistol.The only bad ammo in 45 is one that doesn't function well through your gun.

[Juice5610]

Corbon DPX. Is what I use for defense. Fantastic stuff.

[FuzzyBrows]

he has a great channel reviewing factory rounds

[teflondog]

I use Federal HST in all calibers. I'm really impressed with its design. As an experiment, I pulled some of the 230 gr bullets and loaded them down to 700 fps (3.5 grains of Hodgdon Clays). Even at that velocity, they still expanded when shot through water jugs at 10 yards. I'm confident that they'll expand at the factory velocity of ~850 fps. I believe that the HST doesn't require +P loadings for reliable expansion.