Federal 9mm 124gr Hydra-Shok in Vyse Ballistic Gel.

What I found most interesting was the inconsistency with the two ballistic gels.

My agency issued 9m.m. +P+ Hydra-Shok to us back in the 1990's and we never had any complaints about how well it did in the field.

Jim

Interesting seeing the penetration a little higher out of the P365. Still not too bad.

Interesting. OP can you please discuss the need/purpose for the Vyse gel, how it's different or preferable (if it is) to other media, etc?

Interesting. Apparently it doesn’t.

I've become a fan/user of HST 147 gr +P 9mm JHP's for my CZ-75
Compact; they cycle well, and in my CZ the "kick" is not bad, and
they have good power/accuracy.

1KPerDay said:

Interesting. Apparently it doesn’t.

Click to expand...

It is supposed to be reasonably close to 10% gelatin for measuring the expansion and penetration of handgun rounds, and is also in and of itself, a fairly consistent medium for such tests. But the ClearBallistics gelatin does not properly represent the temporary stretch cavity, which you will clearly notice from tests of high-velocity rifle rounds.

I've always been a follower of the testing especially by Luckygunner.com . After reading some of the books by Jim Cirillo, I'm starting to change my way of thinking. He has survived more gunfights than probably any other LEO in the country being a member of the NYPD Stakeout squad. He is a proponent of the big flat head punching a big hole. In his writings, which makes some sense, hollow points work in a normal situation, but the performance can be changed by so many things like clothing, sheetrock etc. Not taking a stand and telling anyone what they should use or carry, just sticking the info out there. If you get a chance to read any of his books, it is good reading and full of first hand info.

Hollow points of the 60s and early 70s are much different than what we see today.

C-grunt said:

Hollow points of the 60s and early 70s are much different than what we see today.

Click to expand...

1970s HP: take a FMJ or wadcutter and swage a hole in it = hollowpoint.

BSW

I dont have much experience with the Hydra Shok as it is a bit before my time. I have some in the stockpile but I haven't done much testing with it. The Federal HST and Tactical bonded have always performed very well in various backyard experiments through sheetrock, car doors and windshield glass as well as plywood. Speer's GD is usually a solid performer as well but I've had a few failures when at lower velocities. Hornady Critical Duty is a very barrier blind round as well in ny experience.

I don't like beating up my favorite handguns with +P rounds, but I have a bunch of Federal and Remington +P+ 115gr hollow points that give me near .357 velocities out of the 16" barrel out of my H&K, Zenith, or Diamondback carbines.

For years the Federal 9mm +P 124gr Hydra-Shok was my first choice for a defensive round in my Glock 17. At the time it was widely used by police, had a good street rep, and seemed to give good results in test shooting. More recently, I switched to either +P 124rg Gold Dot or +P 124gr HST rounds, as current gel testing seems to indicate they produce better, more consistent results than the old Hydra-Shok. I still would not feel hugely disadvantaged with a magazine full of Hydra-Shok in my 9mm, however.

John Corriea conducted surveys on the topic of carry choices, both guns and ammunition, a couple of years ago. Lots of information there.
His videos explaining the surveys and results:
Biggest Takeaways of My Survey of 6,000 + Firearms Carriers (8 minutes)
Defensive Ammo Choice: Critical Defense or HST? (14 minutes)

and full results in graphics from the surveys:
Carry Choices for fans of Active Self Protection (6,277 responses)
Carry Choices for Rangemaster Certified Instructors (100 responses)

John also linked to the
Lucky Gunner Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition Ballistics Test

I was big fan of the Hydra Shoks back in the day. Still have some in .40 S&W.

Now days, it's either Speer Gold Dots or Hornady XTPs, depending on the season. All have performed 100% in shootings I've been in. Which is 0, so, there you go.