.223 Hornady Tap vs 5.56 Hornady T2 Tap for HD

C

CodeSection

New member
I have been reading various threads, some of which are several years old. If there is a current thread that addresses my question below, please point me to that thread.

Which is better for my HD scenario, .223 Hornady Tap or 5.56 Hornady T2 Tap both in 75 gr? I read there is a small difference between the bullets and that the velocity difference between the two may be 175-200 fps different.

My facts: 16" barrel, 1:7 twist, used with silencer. Longest open area/space in my house roughly 35 yards. My house has thick interior walls, some solid block, some drywall. Exterior solid block walls. Closest neighbor around 50 yards away.

I appreciate all suggestions!
 
I see no advantage with heavier bullets. The AR hanging above my bed is loaded with Federal 50 JHP. I don't live in town. In fact I can't even see another house so caliber and bullet choice is unencumbered.
The two Hornady offerings are different mostly in marketing as I highly doubt the bullets/loadings are different.
 
A .223/5.56 rifle is tremendously overpowered for HD work. If you miss the target, that bullet will sail through your house and hit your neighbor a mile away or more.

Ditch the rifle and stick with #4 birdshot in a 12 gauge for home defense. Plenty o' thump at close range, and won't kill your neighbors.
 
Last edited:
the T2 is a slightly higher pressure than the TAP .223. i think heavyweight .233 is a fine defese round depending in your living situation. but i do think the lighter/faster bullets have even more devastating effect on extreme close range targets and are much safer. 50gr VMAX is always a great choice. they also make TAP in a 55gr. heavyweight's give better penetration, but your talking an almost 3000fps round, so who really cares, all the expanding rounds are going to be insanely effective. but only you know your house and locations of neigbors and roads, so think about whats best for you

my ar is loaded with 50gr Hornady GMX with a couple "penetrators" in the bottom. but it stays in the safe, i have a 9mm AR at the ready with 90gr XTP's that should fragment rapidly through barriers. but i am ging to grab my pistol unless something out of the movies happens at my house, not likely
 
Last edited:
I appreciate the responses. I have very large open areas in my house that I feel would be better suited using my Tavor rather than my .40 Sig.

With that in mind, just quickly reading Hornady's TAP ballistics and gelatin performance, it appears the 55 gr penetrates wallboard at 17" vs the 62 gr penetrating wallboard at 12.75". I suspect this is due to a higher velocity of the 55 gr (~183 fps with 16" barrel).

So then when I read the 75 gr T2, it shows wallboard penetration at 10". The .223 Tap shows wallboard penatration at 11.75".

Based upon Hornady's figures, wouldn't the 75 gr T2 be better suited to reduce wallboard penetration?
 
based on those figures, absolutely. bullet construction i everythig, and if that is specifically tailored to do what they claim, then by all means. take hornady's word for it before the internet forums for sure. if you get to shoot outdoors, ou may want to oserve your own testing, i piece of wallboard doesnt cost much, and can be cut to dozens of squares. i am very suprised to hear that the 55gr tap penetrates more than the 75gr, i thought they were of similar construction, and conventional wisdom disagrees, there must be something pretty remakable about the T2. like i said before, if your housing situation allows for it, by all means a rifle is better than a pistol at just about everything, especially a short bullpuppy. my housing situation also allows for a rifle, but i have many sharp corners and closed hallways, which is why i choose a 5" AR, probably similar in length to your tavor. m neighbor aren't very close and are not right next to me, and they live at a higher plane than my house, dosn't mean i don't have to be careful, as there are a couple areas that would put me shooting, at least close to, my neighbors house. if they are saying 10" through wallboard, that's better than most pistol rounds anyways
 
A .223/5.56 rifle is tremendously overpowered for HD work. If you miss the target, that bullet will sail through your house and hit your neighbor a mile away or more.

Ditch the rifle and stick with #4 birdshot in a 12 gauge for home defense. Plenty o' thump at close range, and won't kill your neighbors.
Click to expand...

Absolutely incorrect. Check your facts, this myth has been disproven time and time again. 223/5.56 has been proven to penetrate walls less than common handgun calibers and buckshot, which is why it is such a popular recommendation and choice for home defense.
 
I found this on Hornady's site..."Due to the longer duration of peak pressure produced by Superformance™, the post peak/declining port pressure at common carbine and mid-length gas port locations is still higher than that produced by standard propellant."

And ...."the gun is still in the process or firing while it’s trying to extract the cartridge case."

http://www.hornady.com/ammunition/superformance-in-gas-operated-firearms

Has anyone used Hornady's T2 TAP in a Tavor?
 
Model12Win said:
A .223/5.56 rifle is tremendously overpowered for HD work. If you miss the target, that bullet will sail through your house and hit your neighbor a mile away or more.

Ditch the rifle and stick with #4 birdshot in a 12 gauge for home defense. Plenty o' thump at close range, and won't kill your neighbors.
Click to expand...
Stop trying to troll people. You yourself stated less than two weeks ago that a .223 hollow point is a good round for home defense because it limits over-penetration:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6117907&postcount=17
Model12Win said:
a lightweight, high velocity bullet that will fragment very easily and not over-penetrate much like the various .223/5.56 defensive loads.
Click to expand...

In that thread you were hoping that a .308 TAP load would also limit penetration like the .223 does. Now you're repeating the myth that a .223 defensive load will over-penetrate? I think you're just trying to troll us.
 
Last edited:
Yeah model12, I generally enjoy your discussions, bit you seem to have outrageously flip flopped since just a couple days ago, unless you picked pit some of the advicw of your thread and took it as gosphel.

Look peoples, we can all get advice(opinions) from folks on here about this highly debated subject. But this stuff isn't hard to just go pit and test on your own. I solemnly swear that the next time I'm out, hopefully Sunday morn if not then thursday, I will bring some drywall, my 9mm and my ar. That way I can give the best advice possible next time.
 
A .223/5.56 rifle is tremendously overpowered for HD work. If you miss the target, that bullet will sail through your house and hit your neighbor a mile away or more.

Ditch the rifle and stick with #4 birdshot in a 12 gauge for home defense. Plenty o' thump at close range, and won't kill your neighbors.
Click to expand...

Some of the worst advice I've ever seen on the internet. And that is saying a lot.

A shotgun with buckshot is a viable choice, as would be a 223/5.56. Neither will go far after hitting building material. If they hit nothing the 223 will travel farther, but buckshot will travel far enough to do damage several houses away.

#4 birdshot is unacceptable.

I really like the 223/5.56 option better and most any expanding bullet of any weight should be fine.
 
Why all the new rounds to solve a problem that was solved long ago?

Any name brand 223 55 gr soft point load will solve social problems and limit over penetration.
If you live in rural settings I would go with the old Win 64gr power point as it will do as well for hogs as it will for people.

Another good choice is the old standby 12ga with rifle sights riot gun. Load # 1 buck (my preference) or # 4 buck. Keep 5 rounds of slugs on a stock side saddle so you can load a distance round if needed.

What ever weapon you choose, shoot some deer or hogs with it, see how your load of choice works and get efficient with that weapon. If you are not happy with the speed it dispatches an animal adjust your load or weapon until you are.

From my experience the 223 with a 55 gr soft nose gives the best balance for lethality and penetration in an apartment setting.

Stay Safe
 
Some very good advice. Thank you to all for trying to help!

I do live in a rural setting on 4.5 acres. One neighbor is about 50 yards away, while others are about 175-200 yards away. I will try various loads, including soft points and see which function well in my Tavor and which "gives the best balance for lethality and penatration". I will investigate at the same time the ballistics in order to try to find a load that will also limit drywall penatration.

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond! :)
 
I'm using the PRVI 75gn load in my HD carbine. Shoots great, plus it's cheap enough that I can afford to actually shoot it. Just put 20rds through my carbine yesterday.
I keep a 20rd Lancer mag full, and a second mag full of M193.
 
I vote for lighter and faster at close range for home defense. I also prefer polymer tip over soft point or hollow point. My AR in the gun cabinet is loaded with 60 grain V max from HPR. Ideally I would have gone for a 55 grain, but I bought it to also use for hog hunting and I settled on the heavier compromise round for that purpose.

If you're not worried about over penetration though, there's been some really interesting research done on the lethality of heavy .223 rounds such as the 75 gr OTM the military uses. I think you can get this from Black Hills
 
Also, I'll post a link when I get on my computer to a report and autopsy from a guy who ambushed several police officers and got into a prolonged firefight. He was shot something like 13 times with an AR15 and several times with a handgun, and ended up taking a shot to the ankle which dropped him long enough to wrestle him into handcuffs.

He took shots to the arm, hips, lower stomach, chest and throat. One shot collapsed a lung. He still put up a massive fight and died later on the way to the hospital. They determined that the Hornady TAP rounds didn't perform as expected and lacked terminal performance. Just one case though. Could it happen with any round? Probably. Just something to think about
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top