John Farnam on Cor-Bon DPX ammo

[Preacherman]

John Farnam recently commented on Cor-Bon's DPX range of defensive ammo. Since this stuff is available for both hand- and long guns, I'm posting it here in GGD instead of a weapons-specific forum.

10Apr06

Pistol Bullet Performance:

The last time we did a bullet performance test was during a course in PA early last year. At that time, friend and colleague, Mike Shovel from Cor- Bon brought out huge blocks of ballistic gelatin, and we shot them with a varie ty of commercially-available, high-performance pistol ammunition. We required

each bullet to first penetrate four layers of denim before entering the gelatin. At that time, we discovered that denim retarded and frustrated th e expansion of a number of conventional, hollow-point bullets. In bare gelat in, most expanded just fine, but the denim barrier presented a problem for all but a few.

Last weekend, again in PA, Mike joined us once more for an Advanced Defensive Pistol Course, The gelatin tests continued:

Many commented last time that they wondered what effect a heavy, leather jacket would have on pistol-bullet performance and penetration. So, this t ime we required each bullet to penetrate a leather jacket AND four layers of de nim before entering the gelatin. Each student subjected his own, carry ammunition to the test. Here is what we found:

The combination of leather and denim frustrated most conventional, hollow-points. Most traversed the gelatin with badly-compromised expansion . Some did not expand at all. Even Cor-Bon's vaunted PowerBall (45ACP, out of my Detonics) did not do well in this test. I was surprised, as few rounds wil l out-expand PowerBall, but the layers of clothing, combined with the Detonic s' short barrel, conspired to thwart performance.

The one round that expanded consistently and completely, despite the leathe r and denim barrier, in all calibers, was Cor-Bon's DPX! DPX, in 40S &W, 45ACP, 357SIG, 38Super, and 45AutoRim, were all unimpressed by the leather and denim. Even 380Auto DPX, out of my little Kel-Tec, was immune. It expande d symmetrically and completely, penetrating nine inches of gelatin, after penetrating the clothing.

I am more persuaded than ever that DPX provides superior performance in the widest spectrum of circumstances, consistently outperforming any other bullet of which I am aware.

/John

To see more info on the ammo, go to Cor-Bon's Web site, click on "Products", and then click on "DPX Deep Penetrating X" in the pull-down menu.

And just to clarify, no, I don't work for Cor-Bon or get a commission from them - I'm just interested in defensive ammo that works!

[Azrael256]

That's very interesting. I notice that all of the bullets are very light, and I find that unusual. I suppose it's the difference in the metals, because I had always been told that heavy bullets expand better. It's rather difficult to wrap my mind around a 160gr .45ACP that actually penetrates and expands. Very neat stuff.

It's pricey as all get out, but I'm going to have to buy a few boxes to try it.

[Jim March]

Stephen Camp has tested this stuff in 45LC (225gr) and 38+P (110gr) and found good results in each.

These Barnes all-copper rounds are interesting because they're physically larger (longer) than their weight would otherwise indicate. That means more bullet contacting more barrel insides, generally a good thing where accuracy is concerned.

Cor-Bon appears to be doing their part right. The 45LC version shows very good shot-to-shot consistency indicating a well-chosen powder charge metered with some precision...all good news.

I'm not sure I like the low weight of the 38+P version but Mr. Camp's data shows it works regardless. Penetration is deeper than some heavier loads. I have to suspect the solid copper petals are expanding slower than lead would which is allowing a deeper punch.

In 38Spl+P I think I'll be sticking with the Gold Dot 135+P but in any other caliber, the DPX has to be considered a contender.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=202418 - 38

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=203493 - 45

[Dr.Rob]

Who was shooting .45 Auto Rim at an advanced defensive pistol course?

Just a thought.

Super light bullets bother me on some level.

[Wiley]

Over on Kel-Tec Range they have done some wet-pack tests with the DPX in .380.

The results were impressive enough that I'm going to switch from FMJ to the DPX as carry ammo in my P3AT.

[wally]

Expansion without adaquate penetration equals failure. What's the penetration of these wonder bullets in the gel? but they'll be worthless if the gel was not calibrated.

Failure to expand with adaquate penetration will do the job if you've done your part with proper bullet placement. Bullet placement is paramount, the rest is feel good technology.

IMHO 9" penetration is not adaquate, sounds good until you consider a high percentage of self-defense shots have to go thru a hand or an arm first, its natural instinct to put the hands/arms up in front of a threat.

--wally.

[NineseveN]

Yeah, but the 9" came from a .380, which I think we can all agree is out-performed by the service calibers most of us carry. If the .380 does 9"...what does the 9mm or .45ACP do? Has to be more, common wisdom tells us that...and if it does get to 12"-15" after a leather jacket and 4 layers of denim, I'd say that's enough...provided the gel was calibrated of course.

More info is needed.

[fastbolt]

Oh my ...

An interesting, polite and well-mannered conversation involving the topic of handgun caliber/performance ...

Will wonders never cease.

I agree with a couple of the expressed thoughts that on some level lighter weight bullets aren't something which normally interest me ...

Times ... and especially technology ... change, though.

I think the DPX technology will bear some further consideration and watchful interest. It would be even more interesting if it were something that would be adopted on a large scale by L/E users, but I highly doubt that will happen anytime soon, if only for reason of cost, and the bullet design not being carried by one of the larger, major ammunition manufacturers. That being the case, the 'performance' standards will probably remain a bit less formalized than if it were adopted and tested by some of the major agencies which test such things.

No doubt it will be very interesting for non-L/E users of commercial ammunition, though, which will include folks like myself, once I retire in another couple of years.

Of course, with the cost of copper rising who knows what will happen with this line?

I agree with the comment about how the gel results would be a bit more interesting if it were known whether the gel blocks were checked via accepted standards for proper "calibration", but then again, I can well imagine that someone like Farnum would be very cognizant of this issue and have taken it into consideration when developing his information.

The debate involved in what really defines an acceptable penetration depth regarding gel/barrier testing remains somewhat unsettled ... at least from the perspective of some of the different L/E users having accepted somewhat differing 'standards' and guidelines.

[myusername]

I have not read a lot on these but IIRC DPX stands for Deep Penetrating X bullet because it uses the Barnes X bullet. I'm sure they designed it to penetrate deep if they named it that.

I'm wondering how they do through auto glass and windshields. I'm thinking the little petals may break off.

[UncleBob]

These are not considered super light. The 45 ACP DPX is 185gr which is not considered super light. If you want super light try Aquila IQ!!

DPX uses the Barnes Copper X bullet for superior penetration. Even though it is a +p round it doesn't feel like it. Also has a low flash signature.

[DoubleTapDrew]

The DPX rounds sound very good from the various tests i've seen them in with good expansion and penetration. Its interesting they are an all copper bullet. I wonder if bullet manufacturers will experiment with other metals and get away from lead for a while if these bullets are as good as people make them out to be.
I'd love to throw a couple hundred rounds through my carry gun to make sure it is super reliable but I have a hard enough time paying $.50 a round for carry ammo let alone $1 (I know, I know, "what is your life worth" but I still have to pay the mortgage and Gold Dots and Golden Sabers work fine for now).

[Hypnogator]

FWIW, Taurus loads the same or a very similar bullet in their ammo. IIRC, the Taurus bullet has similar expansion-despite-heavy-clothing characteristics. Considerably cheaper than $1.00 a pop, too.

According to their respective web sites, CorBon DPX throws a 185-gr .45 ACP @ 1075 fps from a 5" tube. Taurus ammo is not +P, but still throws a 185-gr .45 ACP @ 995 fps from a 5" bbl.

I've shot about a half a box of the Taurus stuff through my PT-145. Didn't do any ballistic testing, but it was pleasant to shoot and reliable. I, too, don't really like the lighter bullet weights, but I'm starting to rethink my preferences.