[jdgabbard]

What is everyone's feelings on Federal Hydra-Shoks in the .38 spl? Bullet constructions seems a bit unique, but how do they honestly stack up as a defensive round? Any ballistic tests in media/news print?

[Steve C]

Better than many not as good as some. See the link below.
http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=8&Weight=All

[Rustynuts]

Get the HST, newer version of the hydra.

[Steve B.]

I've got some Hydra-Shok's, so that's what I carry. I also use the 45 ACP 230-grainers.

[Soybomb]

http://www.tacticalforums.com/cgi-bin/tacticalubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=78;t=000964

Bullet designs like the Silver Tip, Hydra-Shok, and Black Talon were state of the art 10 or 15 years ago. 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.

Take that for whatever you like.

[massglockman]

i like the hydrashoks but they have extreme shocks that are just crazy price wise

[1911Tuner]

As good as any hollowpoint...maybe not as good as some.

HS was the first so-called "exotic" pistol round. The center post wowed the shooting fraternity and was much-touted as the answer to conventional hollowpoints having the cavities clogged with clothing and failing to expand.
We later discovered that the post helped very little with that...though it does tend to channel tissue and fluids toward the cavity walls and promote expansion.

Interestingly, the first Hydra-Shok ammo was loaded with unjacketed soft lead bullets to fairly mundane velocities. I've got a few rounds of that old ammo in .38 Special around here...somewhere. Can't remember the bullet weight, but it seems like it's 150 grain. The chronograph clocked it at a screaming 800 fps from a 4-inch Model 10 Smith...but it opened up nicely in gelatin.

[elderboy02]

Hydrashocks are OK. I personally like Gold Dots in every caliber. I am a big believer in their bonding.

[ArchAngelCD]

In a .38 Special I also like Gold Dots better but in a 9mm the 124gr Hydra-Shok is a great round.

[makarovnik]

I use handloaded lead wadcutters most of the time. I think they are a bit weak compared to some of the excellent +p ammo available. Don't hydrashocks tend to plug up after going through clothing?

[DogBonz]

Better than many not as good as some. See the link below.

That is about the best general assumption that I can think of. I truly believe that it depends on caliber. In 45ACP, I would trust Hyrda Shocks above almost any other. In other calibers.... Well, not so much. For instance in 9mm, I have settled on the 124gr Speer Gold Dots based on professional, non professional, and my own testing. I have fired 45acp hydra's into already dead animlas and all have expanded to almost 2 times their original size. They feed well, so I used to stock them in my SD/HD gun. But lately, I have been stocking the Hornady 200gr TAP's.

[hank327]

I really like Hydra-Shoks in .45 ACP, especially the 230 grainers. In .38 Special I much prefer the 158 grn LSWCHP +P to anything else.

[19-3Ben]

i like the hydrashoks but they have extreme shocks that are just crazy price wise

Hydra-shok is made by Federal. AFAIK,Extreme Shock is a different company, and different product. The only thing they have in common is that both are designed for defense and expansion. A fairly unanimous opinion on gun boards is that ES is a joke and a marketing tool, and that nobody other than Tactical Tommies would seriously consider ES for "social purposes".

[DENALI]

Hi there, you dident mention what size revolver barrel you'll be using, so I assume it's probably sub 2-inch like a Smith 442. At any rate I've always found the 129gr HS +P to give really good penetration from those shorter barrels but not much in the expansion department, expansion being to my mind not as important as the ability of the slug to at least reach the vital organs. In these short barreled weapons penetration is always KEY! Of course if you're shooting a 3-4 inch barrel you'll get more of both, either way the load has a very good performance history...

[Javelin]

Hydroshok was awesome until Corbon and a few others dominated the cartridge industry.

:)

[scythefwd]

I use them in my rossi .38sp. Took a little getting used to. The HS's were almost unmanageable to me in my charter arms .38sp. If you already have em, use em.

[woad_yurt]

Look at these. Check the figures out for .38SPL and .38SPL +P. How big of a punch do you want to throw?

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/

[Gun Slinger]

Still have ~400 rounds of Hydra-shok left over from when I bought them in bulk several years ago.

I still carry them to this day and believe that they will perform adequately should I ever need them.

S'pose that when I run out, I'll just find something else a little more 'current' to replace them, but 'til then I can't see not using them as they are just as good as when I bought them.

[sm]

Main deal for me is how a load feeds, extracts , repeats and shoots POA/POI,

Most .38spl were set up to shoot 158 gr loads...
Bullets going where aimed means a lot to me, no matter whose name is on the box, how old the technology is , or a lot of other factors.

Being honest, I actually like some of the older designs and current load offerings not in bright lights of marketing and advertising.
These are less monies, and more likely to be in stock.

Then again I am just fine with 158 gr LSWC standard pressure loads too...
These go where aimed , less prone to deflect and get some depth, or they do for me, as evidenced by shooting critters and dirt filled boxes with bones and something stretchy over the front to replicate the elasticity of skin.

I was poor kid coming up, Jello was for eating...*grin*

[Dahwg]

HST-is the next gen from Federal. If you have a choice between the Hydra-shok and the HST - go with the HST.

[lvcat2004]

Realistically speaking, I'm not sure if these top-of-the-line hollow-points from reputable companies such as Federal, Corbon, and Winchister and such have any significant differences IN VIVO.

There are some one-stop data, but I can't imagine myself shooting one round at the BG....most likely a double/triple tap, and whether the stopping power is 70% or 72% becomes rather unimportant.

Of course...shot placement above and beyond all...as we all know.

[DerbyDale]

The problem that plagues the Hydra-Shok (and other outdated designs like Silver Tip and Black Talon) is that they are plugged easily (from clothing), preventing proper expansion. Without proper expansion, the Hydra-Shok becomes little more than expensive FMJ rounds.

Will Hydra-Shoks still kill someone today? Yes... So will regular FMJ rounds or even a little .22. What we are talking about is; what’s most effective in stopping a threat as quickly as possible, and thus increasing your chances of surviving a bad situation. Remember the 1986 FBI Miami shootout where the BG took multiple rounds of 9mm (Silver Tips), and he was still able to fight back killing agents. It has been proven that the lack of proper expansion and penetration can cost you your life.

Why people keep buying this stuff when there are much better choices available is beyond me... :banghead:

[Zesty]

Probably not the best test, but I shot a bunch of .45acp ammo into a little over 2' of water. To be perfectly blunt, I was totally disappointed with the Hydra-Shoks, and my hard-earned money will never go towards buying this ammo ever again.....I would never recommend it to anyone I care about.

I tried it in 165 and 230 grain, standard pressure. The bullets always seemed to fragment alot, didn't expand reliably or impressively.

Speer Gold Dot, Winchester Ranger-T, and Federal HST and Tactical Bonded lived up to the hype and are the only ammo I have tried that I am still interested in carrying. The HST tends to be cheapest so I roll with that and sleep well.

[Dahwg]

The girl working the cash register at my preferred gun shop in town has a bouquet of these little HST "daisies of death" as she calls them. The HST has an amazingly consistent expansion and almost no Jacket Core Separation- something the Rangers are notorious for. ATK is the parent company of both Speer and Federal, so you're good either way you go.

A couple of pics:

First a nice daisy of death in .45 ACP
http://www.concealedcarry.cc/images/187_federal_tactical_hst_.40_165gr_1140fps.jpg

Second, Who'da thought an anemic little nine could get so big? :neener:
http://www.geocities.com/nxa_az_big_dog/hst1_s_comp.jpg

Finally there's an entire thread on the HST here (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=344993)

[Soybomb]

no Jacket Core Separation- something the Rangers are notorious for.
Could you provide more details? The only ranger load I'm familiar with having any core seperation issues is the ra9ta and I'd venture to say its one of the less popular loads anyway. The ranger t line is known for not having any core seperation issues if anything.

[Dahwg]

Could you provide more details? The only ranger load I'm familiar with having any core seperation issues is the ra9ta and I'd venture to say its one of the less popular loads anyway. The ranger t line is known for not having any core seperation issues if anything.

My understanding is that the T-series is a 2nd or 3rd gen bullet that was designed to fix that problem. The Ranger SXT (formerly black talon) was particularly notorious for core separations and I know Winchester has a Bonded ranger out. I would assume that the bonded should be just fine, but I haven't read any info on the T-series to know the track record- in theory they should be good too. Sorry I don't have much more info than that.

[USMCDK]

does HST stand for Hydra Shock Tactical??

I use the Fed-Premium HST-1 for my .45acp and damn it does exactly what your 9mm does.

I have shot mine at a 5gal bucket filled with sand and the dug out the round. HOOOO Nelly that's a nasty lil bugga if i don't say so... I have that in my SD when it at home. BUT.. my first round in the chamber is a glazer just in case the first shot should miss because of adrenaline.

[Soybomb]

My understanding is that the T-series is a 2nd or 3rd gen bullet that was designed to fix that problem. The Ranger SXT (formerly black talon) was particularly notorious for core separations and I know Winchester has a Bonded ranger out. I would assume that the bonded should be just fine, but I haven't read any info on the T-series to know the track record- in theory they should be good too. Sorry I don't have much more info than that.
I just assumed we were comparing apples to apples and comparing each company's premier line to the others, not old tech to new tech.