Have you ever wanted to compare a massive amount of self-defense ammunition against other brands? Have you had trouble finding an easy way of doing this?
Enter LuckyGunner.com and their massive collection of data on this very subject.
If you want to jump right to the good stuff, click here to see their full report!
They took 117 different self-defense rounds and compared them all to each other based on all sorts of performance marks.
Yea, really.
Their goal:
The goal of our project is to test as many loads as possible in order to determine how they compare to the FBI standard recommended penetration depth of 12-18″. We also want to know how well the bullets expand when they encounter a barrier of heavy clothing before entering the gel. Whenever feasible, we tried to duplicate the testing protocol reportedly used by the FBI, but our first priority was to be consistent, using the same procedure and conditions for every load we tested.
With the test, they deviated from the FBI standards as far as firearms used during the test. What did they focus on instead? Short barrel pistols. That’s smart, considering most people who carry concealed carry a compact firearm vs a full-size (I think). Here is the lineup that they used for testing purposes:
- .380 ACP: Glock 42, 3.25-inch barrel
- 9mm: Smith & Wesson M&P9c, 3.5-inch barrel
- .40 S&W: Glock 27, 3.42-inch barrel
- .45 ACP: Kahr CW45, 3.64-inch barrel
Their explanation:
This is one area where we intentionally deviated from the typical FBI test. Ballistics testing is most often conducted with full size or “service size” handguns with barrel lengths of at least 4”. However, most armed citizens carry smaller guns with shorter barrels, which means the bullets they fire will fly at a lower velocity than what is advertised by the ammo manufacturer. Ballistics data gathered using full size barrels can be misleading if applied to these small concealable pistols. We ran our tests with popular concealable handguns with barrel lengths we think are more representative of what the average citizen is actually carrying.
Then… oh my gosh the data. And so elegantly displayed. They provide images of the ballistic gel, images of the expanded bullets, velocity, diameter and more. It’s truly a remarkable project and we’re thrilled that they have put it together.
See how your favorite rounds stack up against the rest in the full report by clicking here.
