Review: Possibly the best self-defense ammunition.

     My father-in-law recently bought me a box of  Hornady's Critical Defense® ammunition. The message I got with it was that he had converted his carry ammo to this product as well. Right off, I was impressed that he put that much stock into ammunition. He also left with it an article from a reputable gun magazine. (Guns & Ammo and Shooting Times have both done articles, as have quite a few more.)

A little back-story...

     About a month prior, a few conversations happened about ammo. First, my father-in-law was discussing with my wife the pros and cons of hollow point rounds after a debate happened at the local sporting goods store. The clerk basically took the position that my wife's 9mm  hollow points were not effective in Alaska in the winter, due to the heavy jackets worn up here. He argued that the round would mushroom too soon and not get proper penetration.

     Around the same time-frame, my father-in-law asked me to start thinking about what kind of ammo I would like to carry in my new XDm 45 ACP. The conversation again went to ballistics, although our conversations get more in depth with velocity in relation to bullet weight as well. I quickly set to looking up some options, but he would drop the Critical Defense rounds off before I gave him an answer.

     Back to the ammo itself. I really like the concept of this round, and the videos put out by the manufacturer are pretty impressive. In the cutout image, you notice a filler in the hollow portion of the bullet. One would think that this would cause the round to act more like ball ammunition, but this is not the case. In fact, what Hornady discovered in testing this bullet, is that the clerk wsa only 50% right. He was correct that standard hollow points were less effective for me to shoot someone wearing a Carhart coat. Where he was wrong is that the round would not mushroom too soon, and in fact may not spread at all!

     What got the ball rolling (according to the story in the magazine I read) was a presentation of ballistic tests to the FBI. Apparently, all the impressive images of the damage done to ballistic gel seemed convincing until an agent said words to the effect of - "that's great if I'm shooting a naked suspect."

     So, that got people thinking. It was discovered that when shooting through FBI standard winter coat material, a standard hollow point would in fact cut a swatch (think cookie-cutter) that would remain in the hollow area. This material would then prevent the expansion normally caused by the body's blood and fluids exacting pressure on the inside of the hollow point. The end result was much more like shooting someone with a full metal jacket round. (Therefore, the clerk's theory of less penetration was completely wrong.)

.45 acp test

     The end result would be a hybrid round that combined elements of Hornady's FTX rifle bullet and the standard jacketed hollow point. The material you see inside the hollow cavity is designed to be flexible to a specification that is consistent with the round's weight and velocity. The material in the .380 bullet is not the same as you find in the .45acp round. The filler allows the round to penetrate the clothing without clogging the nose. Once the projectile is through the coat and enters the body, the bodily fluids have enough pressure to push the flexible material inward and then out evenly. The tests show that the result is proper penetration and nearly perfect mushrooming each time. This means that maximum damage is done past the coat and in the body (6-7 inches worth) with an additional penetration of a few inches more past that. In other words, the maximum energy occurs where tissue and organs are... a more fatal shot.


     The price? Depending on your caliber, you are looking at $1.00 to $1.50 per round (about $22 to $30 per box of 20.) My one wish is that I could get this in a 24-30 round box, as I use high capacity magazines.

     These are only available as a factory loaded round. That is due to the fact that the powder used is part of the specification to get the velocity that corresponds to the filler material, and the bullet is crimped to avoid setback. (Setback is the result of the bullet being pushed further into the case by repeated chambering, which causes excessive pressure when fired. This excessive pressure could cause damage to a semi-automatic pistol.)

    I highly recommend this round. Unfortunately, I can't give you my personal test results because I can neither afford to buy blocks of ballistic gel, nor can I just go shoot someone with one. I will however embed the YouTube video that Hornady provides, and you can click the link in the first paragraph to read the features I didn't cover in this blog.

     As a disclaimer... These are my personal views on this product. I have not been paid by any company for this review. I have made every attempt to use my own language throughout this posting, and any similarity between what I have said and any other article is coincidental. The images belong to Hornady, and are used only for reference purposes.