expanded bullet test

[dmproske]

The other weekend I got bored and decided to test out the ammo I had on hand. I soaked a pile of newsprint for 24 hours and set it up against a tree. I then fired my defensive loads into in from a distance of 5 yards. Guns used were a Glock M22 .40 S&W and a 1911 govt.

The loads used are

#1 Winchester Ranger-T .40S&W 165grn. RA40TA

#2 Remington Golden Saber .40S&W 180grn Bonded Load

#3 Speer Gold Dot .40S&W 165grn

#4 Speer Gold Dot .40S&W 180grn

#5 Winchester Ranger-T .45acp 230grn +p Ra45TP

#6 Remington Golden Saber .45acp 230grn Non Bonded Load

#7 Federal Hydra Shock .45acp 230grn.

I would have liked to test the .45 gold dot, but didn't have any on hand. The Rangers penetrated the most. The RA45TP penetrated the most of all loads and had the biggest wound channel in the newsprint. The Ra40TA was close behind and out penetrated everything but the .45 ranger.

I wanted to measure penetration but forgot my ruler and camera at home, as I could have also took pics of the wound channels.

http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w204/dmproske/

[The Rabbi]

Can you guess what the penetration was?
Also, which ones expanded the best?
Did any of them fragment?

My understanding is that there is an optimum to hollow points. Don't accelarate it enough and it won't expand. Accelarate it too much and it will fragment and fail to expand.
AN article in a recent Shotgun News stated that the optimum for 9mm was the 147gr sub-sonic. That was news to me.

All the ammo you picked was good stuff, btw. I wonder how much difference any of them would really make in an actual shooting, given the many other factors involved.

[dmproske]

Hard to guess about penatration, but I would say about 8-10" in soaked newsprint. They all expanded pretty good. The hydra shock came apart.

I was suprised in the performance of the bonded golden saber. It performed just as well as the Gold Dot. The Ranger-T seemed to expand a little more freely as it wasn't a bonded load.

Next time I will try some bonded Rangers and .45 Gold Dot. These loads may perform differently when shooting into 2 legged varmints, or when you have to shoot through glass, wood or wall board before getting to the suspect. I don't have the time or resources to put on that kind of test.