Ranger t or hydra shok .380 ammo

[hotpig]

I would recommend against Hydra Shoks though. I tested those in water jugs and the expansion was nothing less than underwhelming.

Keep in mind that back yard water tests are good only for entertainment. Results may not even be in the ball park of what the ammo will or will not do.

Ammo mfg spend millions on R&D. There is nothing that you can do in your back yard to match them.

 

[LongRider]

Ammo mfg spend millions on R&D. There is nothing that you can do in your back yard to match them.

Absolutely, trust a company's marketing hype rather than what you see what you see with your own eyes. Just because Rangers separate, have mediocre penetration, near zero expansion and no talons to speak of, no matter what we meer mortals shoot it into, ballistic gel, wet news paper, water jugs, Sim test or Bullet tube test does not mean that they do not out perform every other bullet on the planet. Even, though other ammo performed far better when put through the same tests. Never trust your own observations when wall street and the media tell you different.

 

[wally]

Maybe I should go with golde sabers 102 gr

That's what I do with my P3AT and hope they don't expand too much. Placement, Placement, and Penetration are what count most for bullet performance.

--wally.

 

[hotpig]

LongRider


Your description does not match most tests both amateur and professional. Real world flesh and blood shootings prove the ammo to be one of the best loads available.

 

[tblt]

LongRider and Hotpig do you actually believe what your saying.
Tire manufactures,gun manufacturers,car and truck manufactures,vertually everyone that makes something spends money on R & D and they all say theres is the best.
The only real way is to ask people who own cars,trucks,tires ect(bullets),to see peoples opinion of them.My opinion chevy is better than ford,Donlop tires suck,Taurus auto's you cant trust with your life,
I'f you believe everything people tell you.you will be screwed over many times over in your lifetime.


Whats better coke or pepsi??? Ask coke they will tell you.only because of there R & D.

Come on I can't believe you even wrote this.

Alot of police use Federal but alot of people here don't like them pOLICE SPEND a lot on R & d are they wrong maybe

 

[tblt]

Longrider do you absolutly trust the doctors you go see,The car salesman you buy your car from,the military,the politicians,your kids,the news,the guy at the gun store,the bullet manufactures.I TRUST NO ONE.Most people are out for themselves and will screw you over to make a buck.

 

[hotpig]

tblt

I have been selling Winchester,Federal, CCI, and Remington LE ammo for ten years. I will never claim to be a expert but I do get a lot of feedback on the products that I carry.

Most customer reports on Ranger ammo do not match the problems LongRider experienced.

If you only believe what you see and disregard everything else that only leaves you two options.

First option is you have to be in a position that allows you to travel the country and sit in on dozens of autopsies

Second option is you have to be a serial killer and perform your own autopsies.

Other than that you have to go by published tests and word of mouth.

 

[Soybomb]

Most customer reports on Ranger ammo do not match the problems LongRider experienced.

I've never really looked at the performance of ranger in .380 but to be fair to the guy talking about it, how many of your customers have shot someone with .380 ranger? The ranger service calibers are excellent but maybe the .380 isn't? Like I said, I haven't checked

 

[LongRider]

Come on I can't believe you even wrote this.

DITTO. Please two posts responding to what I wrote. AND a PM. Please. Please reread my post.

Absolutely, trust a company's marketing hype rather than what you see what you see with your own eyes. Just because Rangers separate, have mediocre penetration, near zero expansion and no talons to speak of, no matter what we meer mortals shoot it into, ballistic gel, wet news paper, water jugs, Sim test or Bullet tube test does not mean that they do not out perform every other bullet on the planet. Even, though other ammo performed far better when put through the same tests. Never trust your own observations when wall street and the media tell you different.

Now tell me what do you think I was saying/meant? Maybe this will help I spent a good chunk of change doing my own tests. If you are still unsure check out this link it may help dictionary
Sorry if I was not clear. I will try to be more articulate in the future, remembering that the written word may not always convey my meaning to some folks

 

[LongRider]

Maybe I should go with golden sabers 102 gr

]That's what I do with my P3AT and hope they don't expand too much. Placement, Placement, and Penetration are what count most for bullet performance.

Agreed it is what I use but only because HST is not made for 380 as shown in the pic I posted it has excellent expansion (even though it separates on occasion) as well as being as accurate as the gun it comes out of providing good penetration.

Your description does not match most tests both amateur and professional. Real world flesh and blood shootings prove the ammo to be one of the best loads available

Not according to my experience (see posted pic for a small sample) and the below tests done at LEO facilities across the nation and the personal websites done by individuals of their tests. Granted I understand you do not think they are valid since they were not taken out of human beings. We will have to agree to disagree as I believe that they are fair examples of how one round compares to another. Since all ammo tested is shot into the same material under the same conditions

I've posted these before on other threads. These are tests done with 9mm & .45 but my experience with the same ammo in 380 was pretty much the same though much smaller. This first set are tests done at LEO facilities around the country and provide a great deal of comparative information of several different brands of ammo including Rangers and HST. They are downloadable PDF files so you will need Adobe Acrobat to read them if you do not have Adobe Acrobat . You can download it
Here

Los Angeles County - California
Riverside - California
Santa Clara - California
Fresno County - California
Kern County - California
Sacramento County - California
San Angelo - Texas
Pierce County Workshop - Washington
San Diego County Workshop - California
Portland Police Bureau - Oregon

The following are links to pages with some pretty dramatic pics of different SD ammo from a two different sites. Nothing like seeing the expansion difference side by side. Lots of 9mm pics
ballistics testing - round 1 - varied 9mm JHP's
ballistics testing - round 2 - varied 9mm JHP's
ballistics testing - round 3 - varied 9mm JHP's - shooting through tshirts
ballistics testing - round 5 - comparing 9mm JHP velocities
ballistics testing - round 6 - Federal HST 9mm vs 45 acp
ballistics testing - round 7 - shooting through denim - 9 mm, 45 acp, and 357 magnum

Terminal Ballistics .45 ACP
Terminal Ballistics 9mm

I will admit that my view is colored by the fact that I bought 300 rounds of 380 Rangers and 300 rounds of .45 Rangers only to be severely disappointed. I wish they did live up to expectations so that I would not have spent over $325 for what turned out to be range ammo. Which is why I did so much research and I did do a bunch more than those links and personal testing. Spending nearly a grand including the above before I settled on HST for the .45 & 9mm and Golden Sabers for the Bersa

 

[hotpig]

I've never really looked at the performance of ranger in .380 but to be fair to the guy talking about it, how many of your customers have shot someone with .380 ranger? The ranger service calibers are excellent but maybe the .380 isn't? Like I said, I haven't checked

I only had one LE customer with feedback that used his BU on a robbery suspect. This was back in 1999 or maybe 1998. He was using the old RA380SXT and killed the guy.

Three shots did hit the suspect in a close quarter gun fight.

The 380 is no magic bullet but I would still use the RA380T over the others. I would not have any worries about the GS either.

 

[tblt]

Sorry Longrider I re read your post.I guess Hotpig was the only one I should have refered too.

 

[LongRider]

Sorry Longrider I re read your post.I guess Hotpig was the only one I should have refered too.

No sweat, I need to remember that sarcasm is not always obvious to everyone when it is written on a board. Maybe use some smilies or j/k ing comment are in order next time out