Shootingthebull410 has already said that in his testing he has found a better round than any of the Hornady's he just hasn't posted the results yet. He seems to be a fan of Gold Dots so I wouldn't be surprised if those make the cut.
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Shootingthebull410 has already said that in his testing he has found a better round than any of the Hornady's he just hasn't posted the results yet. He seems to be a fan of Gold Dots so I wouldn't be surprised if those make the cut.
We already know that there are "better" loads in 9mm than the Critical Defense, proven through FBI spec testing, but almost all of those exhibit more recoil that the CD load does. Or a guy just can't find them available.
Not sure how something can be better than meeting the criteria (more than 12", less than 18" penetration).
YMWV based on barrel size.
Where do I go to see the "better" loads you mention. I'm also anxiously waiting STB's further videos.
I don't hesitate one second to carry Critical Defense in my 3" Beretta.
Given size matters, I'd be surprised there is one round that is "best" for any size barrel. Critical Defense meets criteria for 3", Critical Duty fails 3", but I'm sure meets criteria for other barrel lengths. I'm also sure Critical Defense fails with other non-3" barrel lengths.
tnoutdoors9 and his yeoman-level testing on our behalf are simply gems. BUT. He uses a Glock 19 4" barrel. If you use/carry something shorter like a 3" you might under penetrate, and something longer like a 5" you might over penetrate. You can't just take these type of videos at face value.
The Critical Defense is designed to quickly dump its energy on impact. According to Hornady, this works well on soft tissue and keeps it from punching through barriers (think walls, etc).
My personal preferences are the Federal HST and the Hornady Critical Duty as it turns out I'm a punching through barriers type of guy.
Every load on Doc's list....;
http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...f-Defense-Ammo
is "better" than the Critical Defense loading in purely terminal ballistics due to being able to pass the full battery of FBI testing. The CRitical Defense, in all of the other tests that I have seen, tends to penetrate into the shallow end of what we would like to see, 11-11.5" in my observation most of the time.
However, comma, one may not need the capability to pass the FBI auto glass testing as much as one needs a reliable low recoil load for a very small pistol. If that ammo happens to be the Critical Defense then it's not a bad choice IMHO. Certainly better than many other loads I have used in the past. I earlier noted that the CD tests better than Hydrashock or Federal's BPLE.
The casual test results seen on You Tube to not equate to validated gelatin testing. I don't dismiss those guys. I AM one of the go test it yourself guys in fact. I have talked to tnoutdoors, nice guy, does a good job, one of the few bright spots on YouTube.
What a wealth of knowledge and info. Thanks.
His focus is service use. The OP seemed to lean toward carry self defense for he and his wife. As all have said, what you are using it for is key (and I maintain [[as does the data]] so is barrel length you are using). For me, it is carry/self-defense with 3".
Everyone here is ahead of the curve simply because thought is being put into it.
Thanks.