Federal Hydra Shok handgun round. Anything more powerful?

[Rob Taggs]

ALS,

Your right on the mark about glass. I've seen .38 Special and 9mm defeated by glass. Also seen .45 ACP fail to penetrate a Semi Tractor driver's side door. All of these instances were a fairly close range, within 20 feet or closer. All were +p rounds and hollow points.

After seeing this and others I decided to stay with a revolver in .357 Magnum. Seen far too many semi auto pistols feed jam and stove pipe for me to count.

 

[Dan4510]

I would much rather face someone who is not trained shooting a 45 at me, than face someone shooting a 22 that is training to shoot well.

Problem is too, most people will not put in the effort it takes to master a handgun that has a good measure of kick. Therefore, it only makes sense to equip yourself with what you can hit with. Ultimately any gun beats no gun. In many instances when I needed concealment over caliber, i have carried a small 22 and was confident in that i could shoot someone's eyes out with it if need be.

But ulitmately I prefer my p12 para ordnance that has 13 rounds of 45 black talon available and a 4 1/4lb trigger pull. Now you can hide on of those very easily with the proper holster.

dan

 

[Dan4510]

If you really want the ultinmate handgun round, you might want to think about the 10mm. Stock 200grain @ 1200fps. For sheer knockdown you can load 155 grain hollowpoints that step out at 1450fps with a conservative load of powder and it will group great too.

If you really want to get wild, try the 45 super. 185 grain @ 1300fps. Should embody tremendous knockdown power in a manageable round, but only if practiced with.

Dan

 

[Rob Taggs]

Dan4510,

Those are nasty rounds. I've heard it said that the 10mm is about equal to a .41 magnum round. Both will get the job done well.

 

[ALS]

There is always a .45 Win Mag loaded with 32 grains of 296 with a 200 grn hollow point.
1950 fps

You have to love a LAR Grizzly with 7 shot magazine.
The 2 foot flame it produces outside at high noon is also impressive.

This is the gun that got me banned from Bullseye Ranges here in Pittsburgh. They told me never to ever bring it back to their range. Something about it made the floor and the building around me shake every time I pulled the trigger. Funny I was only running the rounds at 1600 fps at their indoor range.

I wonder how bad it would have been at full power.

 

[SteveU]

Some of the single shot handguns are awesome. Shot a competitor 45-70 loaded with 300gr Barnes @ 2350 fps out of a 16" barrel. Gun, scope & bipod jumped 18" off the bench when fired. Cheap entertainment though, after 5 or 6 of these you don't feel like shooting anymore. The fellow that owned the gun shot a 250lb black bear with this load with a full frontal shot @ 75 yds, bullet was found under the skin in the back haunches after travelling lengthwise thru the bear.

 

[Cycle Freak]

When I still subscribed to American Handgunner a few years ago they reported that in actual shooting up to that point the most effective one shot stop(put the guy down- no further resistance) was still the .357 Magnum loaded with 125 grain Remington SJHP at I believe 14-1500 fps. But since most gals and some guys can't handle the full power .357 round practically no police carry revolvers anymore. A good replacement in an automatic is 10MM which duplicates closely some of the .357 ballistics but I have read even that round was dropped because of recoil and hard to control. I own both and do admit they can beat you up for extended shooting but in a law enforcement situation one or two rounds from either should put even the nastiest person down.

 

[askani79705]

Cor Bon DPX http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/corbon/dpx.htm
A good comparision between different brands toward the bottom of this page http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon .45 ACP.htm

 

[Dan4510]

If you can control a 45 you can control a 10mm or 357mag. The only variable is doing enough practice to control. I used a 10mm full power load shooting bowling pins and had no problem controlling it and did get a much better rate of carrying off the pins than with a 45.

I also used to have one of those state trooper N frame 357 S&W pistols. shooting full power rounds in it was no problem since it weighted a ton. I have also shot full power 357mag rounds from a 5 round ruger 2 1/2 barrelled pistol and its a job to hang on and be accurate.

Its all trade off-if you will practice get the biggest, fastest caliber possible, 45 super, 10mm, or 357 mag, if you cant consistently hit with those step down to 45, 38 super, 38, or 9mm.

It dont really matter how powerful the round is if you can NOT hit with it or jerk when you fire it. Its much better to hit with a 22 than miss with a 45.

Dan

 

[chevrofreak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ALS:
Gold dots are the best at the moment. Time and technology march on. One of the worst objects for a hand gun round to go through is glass. The person you are shooting at will have more damage done from glass fragmentation over the impact of the bullet. Glass is a bullet killer.
I just bought replacement Federal Gold Dots for my 9 mm and .45. I was carrying magazines filled with alternating Hydra Shocks and Silver tips.

---

Gold Dots are fantastic, but they may not really be the best anymore. Winchester Ranger T does *very* well through glass which is why a lot of police departments are switching to it.

 

[Tempest]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan4510:
If you can control a 45 you can control a 10mm or 357mag.

Very different type of recoil. .357 and 10mm are much more powerful in a full load, and recoil is much sharper with a MUCH higher blast/noise.


It doesn't really matter how powerful the round is if you can NOT hit with it or jerk when you fire it. Its much better to hit with a 22 than miss with a 45.

Which is why you see cops carrying 9mm, .40, etc. %90 of cops are not gun enthusiasts. It's just another 2lbs. they have to carry around all day. The same is true of most gun owners, they have it "just in case". Better to give them something easy to shoot they might actually practice with instead of hand cannon.

---

9mm and above is fine for self defense, with good ammo.

 

[Dan4510]

I repeat, you can control a 10mm or a full load 357 if you are willing to practice with it to acquire the skill. If i could teach my 13 year old nephew to shoot full bore 357 and he could hit with it, kinda puts the idea that a full grown person cant, by the wayside. But i did start him on 38 level loads, worked on hitting skills and then moved him up with him very aware that it would be a big bang and that practice would be needed.

Practice is the variable, if you wont practice, essential skills will not be created and will come apart under pressure. Its amazing that a cop will not practice or consider his gun a piece of important equipment. A cop might not need it but 3 seconds in a 20 year career, but its the most important 3 seconds in the career. Fail that 3 second test, you fail all of it.

Dan

 

[mountravlr]

I only trust my D/A .41 revolver with 210 grain soft nose jacketed bullets for defense. It stays within an arm's reach at home or away.

 

[Mystic]

I have done a lot of shooting with a lot of different handguns and I really cannot feel much difference in recoil between a 9mm, a .40 cal, or a .45. When I shoot a .357 mag there is a sharper recoil but not too bad. I have shot a couple of .44 mags. I shot one .44 mag with light loads and it was incredibly accurate. Away from the gun with somebody else shooting you really notice the flash and the noise. But shooting the gun yourself you don't seem to notice the flash and noise as much.

Two of the worse recoiling guns I ever shot were very lightweight .38 Specials. You know, 5 shot light aluminum frame and good only at point blank range. I would rather shoot a full size .357 then guns like that.

I have shot .22, .38, 9 mm, .40, .45 auto and .45 revolver, .44 mag, .25, .357 auto and revolver, and maybe some other calibers that I have forgotten about. I have shot several different brands of guns. Colt, S&W, Ruger, Glock, SIG, H&K and others.

 

[chevrofreak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mystic:
I have done a lot of shooting with a lot of different handguns and I really cannot feel much difference in recoil between a 9mm, a .40 cal, or a .45

---

agreed

 

[Magnumwideglide]

We switched to the Speer Gold Dot from the Hydra Shok. Careful on Cor-Bons claims. I've read their FPS claims, and I've chronographed them as well. I read and article in law enforcement mag that tested a Cor Bon round 150 FPS under their advertised velocity. Same length barrel as the test barrel if I recall correctly.

 

[chevrofreak]

Quote:

---

Careful on Cor-Bons claims. I've read their FPS claims, and I've chronographed them as well. I read and article in law enforcement mag that tested a Cor Bon round 150 FPS under their advertised velocity. Same length barrel as the test barrel if I recall correctly.

---

Definately not the first time I've heard this.

 

[thooks]

It's all about placement, folks.


FWIW,

I carry LEO 9MM 124gr +P+ Federal Hydra Shoks in my 9MM's.

I carry Winchester Ranger-T's 125gr. JHP in my .357 Sig.

I carry Federal 125gr. JHP in my .357 Magnum and .38 Special.

 

[GSA]

9mm : Ranger T +p+ 127gr
357Sig : GoldDot 125gr

 

[Reg# 43897]

Have some +P+ Hydra-Shoks (as well as some 9BPLE)but would love to try some +P+ Black Talon (AKA: Ranger) rounds. Strangely enough, I always shoot much more accurately with +P+ ammunition. Currently issued with Golden Sabre 147gr stuff. Prefer middle weights at max vel...

John.