Over the holiday I got a chance to test a few different rounds vs a stack of soaked newspapers. I fired the .38 Special loads from my Taurus Model 85 and the 9mms from my Keltec P-11. I used my KT because it is my primary CCW and it has the shortest barrel of all of my nines. I figured if the ammo performed well from my KT it would do equally well if not better from my other guns.
Test Medium: The newspapers were stacked in a plastic lined milk crate while I filled it with water. The stack was then left to soak over night and was drained before shooting. I considered not draining it but it was HEAVY. I let out a little water to make moving it outside a little easier.
Method: One shot of each type of ammo was fired into the wetpack at a distance of approximately three feet. I then used a cleaning rod to measure and record the penetration of the round. This proved to be a bit inaccurate as one round (Corbon 115gr +P) appeared to "backfill" with pulped newspaper which gave a shallower initial measurement.
Results: I didn't measure the expanded diameters of the rounds. I was more interested in whether of not they expanded at all, comparing the penetration of the rounds, and seeing if anything could be learned from the "wound" channels created in the medium. Here are my results for what they are worth.
.38 Special 100gr. Powr'ball:
This round was the biggest disappointment for me. I REALLY wanted this one to work well. My initial measurent put it at about 12 inches on penetration. I knew this wouldn't a deep penetrator so I expected a failure to expand. When I peeled the layers back I found the plastic ball from the tip at about 8 inches and the round was at about 12 inches. It was facing butt forward (it turned sideways after a few inches ) and didn't expand at all. I grabbed a couple of milk jugs and fired another round into them. The bullet passed through two jugs and missed the third so I was unable to recover it but it didn't appear to expand then either.
.38 Special 135gr Gold Dot Short Barrel: Performed as advertised. It expanded nicely and penetrated to about 7". This will be my new .38 carry load until I get a chance to try the 110gr DPX.
Remington UMC 115gr JHP: I tested this load last year with water jugs and it still impresses me as a really good load regardless of its price. It expanded well and penetrated to 8" in the wetpack. The wound channel (upper right corner) was really impressive. It appeared to open soon and retain a large amount of its weight. I think it would be an even better load from a longer barreled gun like my FEG Hi-Power. This is my primary practice/non+p carry round.
Corbon 115gr +p: Yikes. Initial impact was WAY more impressive than the others. The wound channel was really big. (first round second row) I intially measured the penetration at 8 inches but when I peeled the layers back I discovered that the round kind of backfilled its path and it had actually penetrated about 11 inches. It shed some its weight to fragmentation but overall I was impressed by it. I can't explain the deep penetration but the round overall seemed like it holds up to its rep.
Corbon 115gr DPX: Textbook expansion. (If there was a textbook about such a thing) Penetrated to about 9 1/2 inches. Can't explain why it didn't penetrate deeper than the regular 115gr. I can see why people like this load. The wetpack will sometimes plug up hollowpoints but the DPX doesn't seem fazed.
Federal 135gr Personal Defense: Expanded BIG. Big wound channel. Penetrated to about 7 3/4 inch. Nice load. But I am a bit leary because of the 124gr loads failure to expand. I've tested .45 Hydrashoks in the past the they were awesome.
Federal Hydrashok 124gr +p+: Not one of my favorite loads. At +p+ pressure it barely goes any faster than the regular 124gr HS. The hollowpoint plugged up and showed very little expansion. It penetrated to more than 12 inches.
Speer Gold Dot: I was given a handfull of these rounds a while back and I was never really sure of the weight. Due to its limited expansion and heavy feel I highly suspect it is 147gr. It penetrated to about 11 1/4 inches with what appeared to be full expansion as designed. This might be a really good hunting load or one for folks who really dig that much penetration. I would love to test one of the lighter loads for carry.
Remington FMJ: Typical FMJ. Round penetrated the whole stack. I put a dry catalog on the bottom as a stop for any rounds that penetrated the stack and the FMJ penetrated a few pages before it bounced off into the unknown. Didn't recover that one.
Test Medium: The newspapers were stacked in a plastic lined milk crate while I filled it with water. The stack was then left to soak over night and was drained before shooting. I considered not draining it but it was HEAVY. I let out a little water to make moving it outside a little easier.
Method: One shot of each type of ammo was fired into the wetpack at a distance of approximately three feet. I then used a cleaning rod to measure and record the penetration of the round. This proved to be a bit inaccurate as one round (Corbon 115gr +P) appeared to "backfill" with pulped newspaper which gave a shallower initial measurement.
Results: I didn't measure the expanded diameters of the rounds. I was more interested in whether of not they expanded at all, comparing the penetration of the rounds, and seeing if anything could be learned from the "wound" channels created in the medium. Here are my results for what they are worth.
.38 Special 100gr. Powr'ball:
This round was the biggest disappointment for me. I REALLY wanted this one to work well. My initial measurent put it at about 12 inches on penetration. I knew this wouldn't a deep penetrator so I expected a failure to expand. When I peeled the layers back I found the plastic ball from the tip at about 8 inches and the round was at about 12 inches. It was facing butt forward (it turned sideways after a few inches ) and didn't expand at all. I grabbed a couple of milk jugs and fired another round into them. The bullet passed through two jugs and missed the third so I was unable to recover it but it didn't appear to expand then either. .38 Special 135gr Gold Dot Short Barrel:
Performed as advertised. It expanded nicely and penetrated to about 7". This will be my new .38 carry load until I get a chance to try the 110gr DPX. Remington UMC 115gr JHP:
I tested this load last year with water jugs and it still impresses me as a really good load regardless of its price. It expanded well and penetrated to 8" in the wetpack. The wound channel (upper right corner) was really impressive. It appeared to open soon and retain a large amount of its weight. I think it would be an even better load from a longer barreled gun like my FEG Hi-Power. This is my primary practice/non+p carry round. Corbon 115gr +p:
Yikes. Initial impact was WAY more impressive than the others. The wound channel was really big. (first round second row) I intially measured the penetration at 8 inches but when I peeled the layers back I discovered that the round kind of backfilled its path and it had actually penetrated about 11 inches. It shed some its weight to fragmentation but overall I was impressed by it. I can't explain the deep penetration but the round overall seemed like it holds up to its rep. Corbon 115gr DPX:
Textbook expansion. (If there was a textbook about such a thing) Penetrated to about 9 1/2 inches. Can't explain why it didn't penetrate deeper than the regular 115gr. I can see why people like this load. The wetpack will sometimes plug up hollowpoints but the DPX doesn't seem fazed. Federal 135gr Personal Defense:
Expanded BIG. Big wound channel. Penetrated to about 7 3/4 inch. Nice load. But I am a bit leary because of the 124gr loads failure to expand. I've tested .45 Hydrashoks in the past the they were awesome. Federal Hydrashok 124gr +p+:
Not one of my favorite loads. At +p+ pressure it barely goes any faster than the regular 124gr HS. The hollowpoint plugged up and showed very little expansion. It penetrated to more than 12 inches. Speer Gold Dot:
I was given a handfull of these rounds a while back and I was never really sure of the weight. Due to its limited expansion and heavy feel I highly suspect it is 147gr. It penetrated to about 11 1/4 inches with what appeared to be full expansion as designed. This might be a really good hunting load or one for folks who really dig that much penetration. I would love to test one of the lighter loads for carry. Remington FMJ: Typical FMJ. Round penetrated the whole stack. I put a dry catalog on the bottom as a stop for any rounds that penetrated the stack and the FMJ penetrated a few pages before it bounced off into the unknown. Didn't recover that one.
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