Ballistic gelatin test results : 40S&W 180gr Remington Golden Saber (Glock 27)

[Brass Fetcher]

Special thanks to RyanM and Francis for providing the material support for this test.

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Cartridge : .40S&W 180gr Remington Golden Saber

Firearm : Glock 27 with 3.5" barrel length

Block calibration : All depths corrected (From 7.9cm @ 558 ft/sec)

Shot 1 - Impacted at 915 ft/sec, penetrated to 11.5" and was recovered at 0.673" average diameter.

Shot 2 - Impacted at 915 ft/sec, penetrated to 11.8" and was recovered at 0.669" average diameter.

Shot 3 - Impacted at 936 ft/sec, penetrated to 12.2" and was recovered at 0.679" average diameter.

Shot 4 - Impacted at 927 ft/sec, penetrated to 11.7" and was recovered at 0.664" average diameter.

Shot 5 - Impacted at 928 ft/sec, penetrated to 11.8" and was recovered at 0.683" average diameter.

 

[P. Plainsman]

That looks good. Right around the 12" mark with strong expansion.

Excellent uniformity too.

As always, much thanks for the data.

 

[RyanM]

Gee, not as much penetration as I was expecting at all. Very unusual. I may have to consider going for a different bullet, if there's that much lot variation (I've seen another lot go about 14" from, I think a 4.25" barrel).

 

[GunNut]

Were they shot through denim?

If not, that could be the reason for the somewhat limited penetration.

 

[Brass Fetcher]

All shots were through bare gelatin block.

 

[alucard0822]

Wow, not to bad from such a short barrel, and consistency is an understatement, look at all the slugs lined up in the block.

Thanks for another great test

 

[Bilt4Comfort]

Wouldn't want one of those cutting a would channel into my chest.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

That's amazingly consistent! Nice ammo.

 

[The Annoyed Man]

JE223, have you done comparative studies of the 135 gr, 155 gr, and 165 gr JHPs against the 180 grainer just to see the relative merits?

I ask because I've just purchased my first pistol in .40 S&W after years of shooting .45 ACP. Right now, I keep it stoked with 180 grain Hydra-Shoks, but I'm willing to try other bullet weights if I can improve shootability while retaining lethality.

My pistol is a HK USP Compact with 3.58" barrel.

Just curious...

 

[MachIVshooter]

What was the weight retention? I use these bullets in my 10mm's (obviously loaded to much higher velocities). If you have any 10mm's with which to test, I (and I'm sure many others) would love to see the results of the 180 grain GS impacting at 1350-1400 FPS.

As an aside, my defensive loads with the Golden Sabre are 180 grainers at 1343 avg. from my Witness Compact (3.5") and 1406 avg. from my S&W 1006 (5").

 

[Brass Fetcher]

@The Annoyed Man - My testing so far with the Glock 27 (and by extension, guns with similar barrel lengths) has been focused around 180gr bullets... because I am looking at a certain performance parameter. Testing the lighter weight bullets would be a good idea. It's just a matter of paying for the ammunition and the gelatin blocks.

My price schedule is available here : http://www.brassfetcher.com/BrassFetcherTestingPriceSchedule.pdf

@MachIVshooter - I just weighed them :

(Bullets are out of order... Bullet 1 does not = shot 1, etc)

B1 = 179.7gr
B2 = 179.9gr
B3 = 180.0gr
B4 = 179.9gr
B5 = 180.0gr

 

[MachIVshooter]

(Bullets are out of order... Bullet 1 does not = shot 1, etc)

B1 = 179.7gr
B2 = 179.9gr
B3 = 180.0gr
B4 = 179.9gr
B5 = 180.0gr

That's excellent. I wonder if they'll hold together as well with a 400 FPS increase. I've only played with mine in potters clay, which tends to fragment anything not FMJ or hard cast. Fun to shoot, though!

 

[Brass Fetcher]

Try shooting your bullets into a half-gallon waxed cardboard orange juice jug, filled completely with water. Place maybe 40" of polyester pillow stuffing (pull it apart into small pieces, use a more expensive pillow - stronger fibers) into a cardboard box behind the OJ jug. That is a good test for bullet expansion.

 

[contactcole]

To those concerned about not passing 12", this is .66+" consitent expansion at <950fps from the G27. Very impressive IMHO. A longer barrel with greater velocity will bump that penetration past 12", of course as would less expansion, but that defeats the purpose. Nice performer, depending on expansion after barriers.

 

[hexidismal]

JE223, Once again thanks for posting the test results. Interesting and informative as always. I always look forward to checking out the new brassfetcher tests. Lots of people talk, very few TEST