Federal vs. Speer

T

tote'n a roscoe

Moderator
hola amigos,
i was running a test to see which one of my personal protection rounds were better. i found a piece of 2 1/4 solid oak wood and shot it first with my 155gr 40 federal hydra-shoks. it did not completly penetrate, it just barely poked out of the back side. my seccond test was with my 180gr speer gold dot 40 and that bullet shot clear through and into the ground from 15 ft away. im sticking with the gold dots for home protection
 
That's an interesting test but it's hard to define "better".


The bullet that penetrates less MAY hit harder because it completely dissipated its energy inside the target. More penetration does not always equal "better", IMO. A FMJ would have done "better" than both of those.
 
It is not a reliable test in my book.

You took different styles of hollow point with two separate weights and two separate powder loads (as well as velocity and muzzle energy) to a piece of wood that will have density differences according to how the grain runs and the thickness of the "growth rings".

These values add up to test failure as no positive results can be determined except that one round failed to completely pass through the target.
 
not a fair test.

but given that test result ...

... i would definitely take the bullet that ALMOST penetrated over the bullet that clear passed.
 
I'm afraid you wasted two perfectly good bullets. JHP's are not supposed to expand in wood. They acted the same as a JFP of the same weight would with the greater sectional density of the heavier bullet giving it greater penetration.

In flesh or ballistics gell they would have behaved differently. The sectional density varies with expansion so the penetration depth may have been similar.
 
also, I thought the point of specific HD ammo was NOT to penetrate thru wood/etc/etc/etc
Click to expand...

I agree. Wood doesn't expand HP's--it clogs itup and makes it act like hardball. If penetration is your measure of how effective the round is, then you could just use hardball to begin with.

All SD bullets are designed to penetrate adequately while making a bigger hole, but not excessively to the extent they are more likely to endanger the innocent . Glasers were designed for home defense.
 
For defense purpose try the water jug test or gel test. That is more like human flesh. No person is as hard as a piece of oak. Not a fan of hydrashok here. I do like Speer Gold Dots but my favorite is Remmington Golden Saber.
 
I agree with the rec for the HST over the Hydrashok.

I use the 9mm 124gr. HST in my Sig and HK, but I use the 125gr Speer GD in my .38spl S&W. I have used the GD in my autos also. I would trust either round for personal defense.

As others have already said, your test shouldn't be used to base your decision on which of these to use since you tested two different bullet weights. I believe that alone could account for the penetration difference.
 
Way back in the days of LRN (and into the era of FMJ), the Army used pine boards to gauge penetration ability. That might sill be useful information in Military circles; might not. If you want to gain useful information from a test like this, you'll need more wood and more bullets.
 
Of course the heavier load penetrated deeper. Its momentum carried it through the penetration. HP's need hydraulic pressure to expand; it wont expand in wood. Expansion is what controls penetration depth. I'm sorry but your test will not tell you much other then the Speer load will go through the wood you shot at and the Federal did not.
 
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