Lost confidence in Hornady Critical Defense

[marcodo]

Longtime CCW guy. Rotate between A 45c M&P, a Kahr CM9, and a LCP. Depends on the season, clothing and time of year. Feel confident with all three.

Generally like to cycle through my carry ammo perhaps 1 or 2 times a year. I know some do this more often, but I have been comfortable with this.

Decided to cycle the LCP .380 carry ammo today. I carry Critical Defense as do many of us. I recall many years ago there was some issues. I recall about 3 years ago I had a issue with a round firing that was clearly underpowered. The sound was different and it did not cycle the slide. I put another 100 rounds through it without issues and decided to let it go.

Well today it happened again. Clearly a under powered round... a "PSSSST" not a bang. The bullet cleared the barrel but did not cycle the action. I'm not sure why but it really bothered me. I have been trusting my life with this and I think it let me down.

I have about 200 rounds left over but I'm inclined to give up on this and move to something else.

I shot all my other carry rounds in all my other guns without issues. I have never had any issues with any other carry rounds including Winchester-T, Federal HST, and Gold Dots.

By the way, it is the Critical Defense with the gold colored primers is all that I have.

Thoughts...am I being too sensitive?

 

[horsemen61]

Lost confidence

I do not think you are being to sensitive at all this ammo is in your carry gun. What if you need to use it that first shot needs to count and it doesn't work because it is under powered. I would switch to something else.

 

[jfrey]

Have you contacted Hornady about your issues?

 

[heeler]

Hmm...I recently purchased several boxes of CD for use in my LCP and the primers are the same color as the shell casing which is shiney nickel color.
Never had any issues with the CD to date.
However I bought some Monarch which I am pretty certain is really Privi Partisan in 380 and had many under powered rounds that left the barrel with more of a poot than a bang.
My guess is ammo is being made in such huge quantities that as much as we would hope it's all nearly perfect there is going to be times that this actually occurs.

Some 10-15 years ago I bought three boxes of Winchester Power Point ammo in 270 and more than half in the THREE boxes would not even chamber.
It happens.

 

[calaverasslim]

Sorry to hear about your loss of confidence with Hornady.

As with all machine made products, there is a very small, infinate number that are going to be substandard. Machines are not perfect, but more so than a human.

Having said that, I understand your concern but given the number of rounds that are fired each year and the number that are bad, I don't think I would boycott the product.

JMHO

 

[Kleanbore]

Same lot?

 

[Legion489]

"Too sensitive"? Well how much is your life worth to you? I agree however, that you might contact Hornady with your concerns and see what they say. If no one says anything, they might not even know there is a problem, or if they do, how big the problem really is.

The next problem is, how will you trust the next brand of ammo? How many boxes will you need to go through to see if they work, and who is to say the next round won't go "pop" instead of "BANG!" like the first 999 rounds did?

 

[Sig Bill]

I've heard others report CDs like that. Some didn't even fired though they got a good punch in the primers. Not good.

Also I had problems with the CDs feeding in my PF9 due to their design. Other ammo were 100%. I just don't use CDs.

 

[rswartsell]

Hornady is a respected manufacturer and has been for years. I don't personally use them (CD) ergo I have no informed opinion, but I would be highly surprised if Hornady were not anxious to learn the specifics of such experiences and to make corrections. Both for the individual and the brand as a whole.

I do use Leverevolution and am quite happy with it.

 

[The Man With No Name]

I have been going through some .38 and .45 Long Colt CD ammo lately without issue. Of course none of it has been stored long term yet. Personally I've never experienced that (in quite a few decades) with any self defense ammo. If I did I would switch brands and move on.

 

[Texan Scott]

Fire off the other 200 rounds. If it doesn't happen again, call it a fluke and buy some more, knowing they'll be from a fresh lot. If it does happen again, well, you'll be needing to buy another case of something anyway, won't you?

 

[lowercase]

I use Critical Defense in my S&W .38s, 9mm Glock, my Makarovs, and my Ruger LCP .380.

So far, all I've noticed is that they throw a lot of sparks on occasion.

I've actually been moving away from it with the .38s in favor of wadcutters. Thanks for the update.

 

[marcodo]

I don't recall if it was the same lot or not. I don't think it was.

I vaguely recall an issue when CD first came out that was traced back to something with the primers. I recall that it was since corrected and one could tell based on the primer color. I just don't remember specifics.

Too bad because the CD has fed flawlessly and shoots poa for me. In the 380 world it has received pretty good reviews

I'll shoot the remaining lot. I was thinking about going to a FMJ for the .380 anyways based on some of the input I have read here anyways. Never been really happy with the penetration tests.

Might try some Buffalo Bore...seems like many like it

I have been pocket carrying my Kahr CM9 more with the HST's. Never an issue.

 

[FMF Doc]

I have neve had the problems the op described with CD, but I do find that it doesn't feed well in many firearms because of the sharp angle of the nose. Right now I am trying out some TAP from Hornady in my new G19. It is a more traditional JHP shape and isn't filled with a polymer tip. But my go to round for years has been Remington Golden Sabers. I like a nice big hole in my JHP, and I have found few bigger than these.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

You've had it happen on two rounds. I'd move on to another brand of ammo as well.

 

[gpjoe]

I have shot 9mm, 45 ACP, and 38 Special Hornady Critical Defense without issue, though I have read about failures to fire, and now this. The only one I still carry is the 38 Special but I'm ready to abandon Critical Defense just based on the OP's experience, especially when there are tons of other options.

 

[Bigjake]

Sucks, but I'd consider ditching the lot an overreaction. Hornady is known quality, and even good stuff can miss a beat here or there.

My personal experience, YMMV. If nothing else, it should reinforce your malf drill practice. Complacency kills.

 

[tryshoot]

I use speer gold dots in my lcp, and never had a problem. Have used other hornady ammo with good results, but not ever shot any .380.

 

[sniperlongshot]

i know the traditional answer about buy your defense ammo, don't make a bullet designed to kill someone etc..... but many of my law enforcement friends agree, as an amatur reloader and shooter, carrying your reloads for defense is not a mortal sin in the court room, because i carried a reloaded round in my defence weapon " i did so because it was as much of a humane bullet that i could carry" "if...i wanted to have a bullet specificaly to kill someone i'd have bought...(take your pick)...anyway, their all deadly and i like my 38spc 147 grn silver tips with 4.3 gr of red dot, and 250gr hornady sst fmjhp .45 longcolts with 8 gr of unique, i don't reload 380 so usually a basic hp does me fine, in the end it comes down to shot placement and a good dbl tap, i don't wake up hoping to use my defense weapon, and god i hope that i never have to, but chances are i could easily be one of my reloads or a factory bought bullet, the bottom line circumstances will determine the courts decision in the end.

 

[sniperlongshot]

your biggest concern should be, how does the ammo you use function in your particular gun, and frankly, i trust my reloads more than i do factory ammo, because i know what i loaded and if i havn't had issues with my primers, then i feel confident that it will function properly if i need it

 

[JEB]

this sort of thing is excatly why i carry reloads. i KNOW they are going to fire every. single. time. the fact that they are more accurate and much less expensive than factory ammo is just a bonus!

 

[Kleanbore]

Any response from Hornady?

 

[marcodo]

Sent them an email this morning through their website.

I still have 4 unopened boxes that I asked for a refund. Gotta believe this will fall on deaf ears but lets see.

Anyone with Buffalo Bore ammo and LCP experience? Not sure which one to order.

 

[coop2564]

I thought Hornady just released CD last yr?

 

[Skribs]

I'm personally not a Hornady fan. They place emphasis on faster follow up shots at the cost of penetration, and often have loads that fail to meet the minimum FBI specs.