+p Necessary?

[O'Dell]

I currently use HST's 147 gr. in my MK9, and use the 230 gr. HST's in my .45. I don't think you have to worry too much about all the penetration, expansion hooha.........a .45 makes a BIG hole, no matter what your using.

My favorite gun quote: "A 9mm may not expand, but a 45 will never shrink."

[yqtszhj]

My favorite gun quote: "A 9mm may not expand, but a 45 will never shrink."

We're going to have to call that "O'dells wise quite of the day"

[gmcjetpilot]

Done my own testing with my Chrony Beta Chronograph. Bottom line:

Compared to regular ammo,
+P goes faster out of a short or a long barrel pistol = more energy

There is not much more to say. Is it necessary? I suppose if you want a
round that potentially can penetrate more. Also +P are almost always
associated with better quality bullets made to expand and not designate.

I recommend +P CCI Speer Gold Dot (very hot fast rounds), second +P
Federal HST (nice rounds used by Law Enforcement), both in 124 Grain.
The third is Hornaday +P Critical Duty 135Grain. Little disappointed the
Hornaday was a little under speed, than advertised, but then I was
shooting out of Glock 26. However the others were out of the same
Glock 26. Critical Duty is a bigger 135Gr bullet however. I am sure it will
do the job, but Gold Dot and HST are my preferences; all are rated for
penetration.

Self Defense Rounds cost a lot more, with the nickel plate case, no flash
powder and other features, I gather they're slightly higher quality control,
thus slightly higher reliability and ballistic performance. However I have
had 100% reliability with my Kahr CM9 and Glock 26 using +P self
defense rounds with regular old target grade RN 9mm ammo, commercial
reloads and my own personal reloads. I would not feed any pistol a steady
diet of +P for target shooting for cost and wear and tear on the weapon.
Some 9mm pistols like the Dimondback DB9 are not +P rated. That
is why I passed on that make and model. With that said a non +P
version of the Speer Gold Dot or other self defense round would do
the job in the DB9 or CM9/PM9. In general round nose (RN) is not
a good self defense round, +P or not.

[TheTman]

I used standard velocity 230gr Hydra Shoks in my CW45. They are said to expand at a lower velocity than many other HP bullets. I never did any testing to find out, for sure. I also heard from the gunsmith at the indoor range I go too, that using the 185gr loads with the shorter barrel .45 pistols are more effective than the 230gr, less mass to get moving to a faster velocity out of the shorter barrel. Again I didn't do any testing. Just took his word on it. That is all just hearsay, so I wouldn't take it as gospel.

[jocko]

so true

[QUOTE=O'Dell;289544]My favorite gun quote: "A 9mm may not expand, but a 45 will never shrink."[/QUOTE

ol Jocko's favorite quote: U just gotta pray the round gets there though

[drewski115]

Post mortem bullet examination is like muggsy posted the definitive result.

I disagree….not about Muggsy but "post mortem being definitive result." That is like showing the winning game films of a 4-12 football team and saying they are a great team. What about the losses? What about the bullets that did not cause a death? How did they fair? All bullets from the same manufacture, the same caliber, the same box don't always yield the same result. Most shootings do not result in a death. So post mortem examination is a very very small percentage of bullets fired. Now if you mix in other bullets that were taken from a body that did not cause a death you get a better idea how good a bullet is but then there is the question what distance was the round shot at? What length of barrel? And so on. All makes a difference. Post mortem has it's place but I highly question if it is definitive. I think the FIRST video of Dave posted was the most informative. He tells shooters the best thing to do is find a caliber you can shoot well and keep on target then practice practice practice. Shot placement is king…..just saying.

[gmcjetpilot]

Here is a graph that tells the difference:
The take always:

Longer barrel more energy
+P is more energy (faster velocities)
+P helps short barrels as much or more than longer ones
Heavier bullet doesn't always mean more energy, mass x velocity squared.