Speer Gold Dot G2: Too Soon To Buy In?

[Paul]

I'd say it's a good example of why it's critical to test every lot of ammo. I can't speak for anyone else, but I've found that it can be a crapshoot when it comes to testing ammo. There's no guarantee that the next batch of wonder bread is going to anywhere near as good as yesterday's batch.

[DocGKR]

I suspect the G2 was designed around the FBI barrier requirements and not 4LD. I personally believe 4LD is a more useful assessment than heavy clothing.

[Jeep]

My guess, Doc is that you know some people at the FBI who tend to agree with your assessment.

[abu fitna]

Thanks very much for the test data Doc. I am glad to have us move beyond mere speculation about what might be and into discussion of what is. This is the best feature of this modern era. I recall well the days when all we had were third generation or worse photocopies of barely lit or over dyed gel studies or wound channel sketches of often unknown origin. I know you have spent many years under the yoke to carry discussions forward.

I assume from your usual meticulous attention to protocol we can now rule out temperature variables on performance of the silicon component?

Any other thoughts on factors contributing to failure? Material inconsistency between initial and full rate production? As Chuck speculated, effects of time / aging on plug material in comparison to factory tests with a short turn around from production line to lab versus distribution channel pipeline to lab?

[Chuck Haggard]

I suspect the G2 was designed around the FBI barrier requirements and not 4LD. I personally believe 4LD is a more useful assessment than heavy clothing.

Strongly concur.

One reason is that I have never seen a failure on the street with a bullet that is good in the 4LD testing.

Another being that sometimes real shootings have HEAVY clothing.....
One of my friend's at work shot a robbery suspect after a chase from the scene, the bad guy was wearing Carhart coveralls, a denim jacket, flannel shirt, long john top, and a T-shirt. It was almost zero and in a snowstorm when this incident happened. Worst case bullet clogging scenario, combined with low temps to reduce velocity, yet both of the 124gr +P Gold Dots expanded perfectly while giving more than sufficient penetration.

[DocGKR]

One can remove the polymer tip from the bullets prior to firing and the terminal performance does NOT change in most scenarios.

[lyodbraun]

Strongly concur.

One reason is that I have never seen a failure on the street with a bullet that is good in the 4LD testing.

Another being that sometimes real shootings have HEAVY clothing.....
One of my friend's at work shot a robbery suspect after a chase from the scene, the bad guy was wearing Carhart coveralls, a denim jacket, flannel shirt, long john top, and a T-shirt. It was almost zero and in a snowstorm when this incident happened. Worst case bullet clogging scenario, combined with low temps to reduce velocity, yet both of the 124gr +P Gold Dots expanded perfectly while giving more than sufficient penetration.

Nice, that it worked as it should that's a lot of material for the bullet to punch through, how did the suspect fair after receiving the gold dots ? im still not 100% convinced that these polymer tips help when going through all Barriers...

[Chuck Haggard]

Nice, that it worked as it should that's a lot of material for the bullet to punch through, how did the suspect fair after receiving the gold dots ? im still not 100% convinced that these polymer tips help when going through all Barriers...

Collapsed in his tracks.

[Jeep]

Collapsed in his tracks.

I suspect that helps to explain why you have a fair degree of confidence in the GD 124 +P load.

[Chuck Haggard]

I suspect that helps to explain why you have a fair degree of confidence in the GD 124 +P load.

We've never shot anyone more than four times, and those were all in one burst shootings where the bad guy couldn't fall fast enough. Training on WHERE to shoot bad guys and a robust training program that supports getting at or near 100% hits kind of helps the bullets work.

I realize that bullets ain't magic, and everything can fail, even rifles and shotguns, but what I really like about that loading is the consistency we have gotten across the board in a wide variety of OISs. If you can shoot, it's going to do it's job.

Oh, BTW, the snow storm shooting above, one bullet went through nothing but soft tissue, one went through the bad guy's wrist and shattered those bones on the way through and into the torso, both bullets worked pretty much the same. I would have expected the through the wrist bullet to be much more torn up, or to not penetrate as much as it did after hitting bone. It worked perfectly.