Ammo Question - Shooting through glass

[mikesays_hi]

I was sitting in my car the other day and wondered about the ammunition I was carrying. I have hollow points in my 9mm sig. Would it be better to have the first round as a non-hollow point in case I need to shoot through the car windows? (This would only be in the case of a last resort where I'm not able to drive away or exit the vehicle for other cover.)

 

[Chuck Spears]

Most top quality hollow points should do fine with with car windows. Ask a local cop what they use. Most law enforcement agencies take performance in this area into account when decided what brand to go with.

 

[JesseL]

Hollow points or wadcutter variations are often better at penetrating glass than the typical round nosed FMJ, particularly at acute angles. The sharp edge of the hollowpoint or wadcutter gets more 'bite' in the glass and is less likely to be deflected.

 

[Gentleman Ranker]

Actually, I was reading something online about this just recently.

Go over to the ATK LE site and check the Wound Ballistics section. They have a number of PDFs reporting demonstrations they've made at various agencies, usually including some performance data of HP rounds through glass.

Executive Summary: The non-bonded HST round does well through auto glass and very very well on soft targets. The bonded Gold Dot and "Tactical Bonded" rounds do not quite as well as HST on soft targets and very well on any kind of barrier, including auto glass.

Mind, the results tend to favor Federal/Speer products, and one should remember that this is promotional literature, even though the testing seems to have been fair. Still, you may want to take it with a grain of salt and look for other sources.

To the degree that you think it's an issue, you could put a bonded HP (like the Gold Dot) in first, then something un-bonded like an HST. Or whatever is equivalent from other manufacturers. I would think long and hard about using FMJ in a self-defense firearm.

regards,

GR

I am in no way connected with Federal, Speer, or ATK, nor do I necessarily argue that they are "the best". I just happened to see that information most recently. I'm sure there's something similar for other manufacturers.

 

[Rampant_Colt]

DPX ammunition offers the best possibility of expansion through glass followed by bonded loads like Gold Dot.

FMJ ammo for the military or the range

 

[Bob R]

Watch this video, especially the end. I think they get pretty good penetration through glass.

http://cygnus_lawenforcement.permissiontv.com/index_full.html?site=Officer.com&showid=378811

bob

 

[SJgunguy24]

The instructor in my CCW class told us to always try to carry the same duty ammo local LEO's use. If it's good enough for the police than it's good enough for me. And don't ever carry handloads, a lawyer will have a field day with that.

 

[mikesays_hi]

Thank you

Thank you everyone.

 

[p2000sk]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/buickot1_2.htm

This webpage covers the thought of a bullets trajectory being affected
when it encounters a windshield from various positions. Not that I have any plans to use the information, but it was very educational.

 

[spwenger]

Furthermore...

DPX ammunition offers the best possibility of expansion through glass followed by bonded loads like Gold Dot.

...according to a small, informal study shared by John Farnam, DPX handgun bullets do not deviate significantly from point of aim when fired through auto glass at compound angles.

Conventional jackets tend to strip off bullets that are fired through auto or plate glass whereas plated or bonded bullets (as well as the discontinued Nyclad bullets) tend to retain most of their weight. However, they are still somewhat vulnerable to being deflected from point of aim.

As a private citizen I am not particularly concerned about having to fire into vehicles but I can foresee scenarios where I might have to fire out of my vehicle while the windows are still up. This is one of the two reasons I spend the extra money for the DPX loads from Cor-Bon. The primary reason is that they show the best expansion when tested by firing through four layers of denim (I live at 6,500 feet above sea level and it can get fairly cold here in the winter).

 

[chipperi]

I carry Remington Golden Sabers. Now Remington claims that the BJHP was designed for Law enforcement just for that purpose as sometimes it used to stop a motorist. Personally I have never tried it.