Better Than Average

After years of conducting terminal performance testing I thought I would have by now come up with a secret formula to decipher the effectiveness of defensive handgun ammunition. After all, most all of the other big time gun writers have come up with such a formula. Maybe they were all smarter than me.

One of the things I have learned is that from a practical standpoint there is not a lot of difference. This may come as a surprise but if you look at it logically, there is not a lot of difference in defensive handgun ammunition before it is fired. A 9mm shoots the same size bullet as a .357 and a .40 S&W bullet is only 0.045 of an inch larger in diameter than a 9mm bullet. That’s about the equivalent to the thickness of a Dorito chip! So, is it logical to assume that the difference in terminal performance is about that of a Dorito too?

Maybe so. The magic formula I come up with is not magic at all. In fact, it is as simple as I think you can make it. If you were selecting ammunition for your defensive handgun I’m sure you would want ammo that delivered better than average performance. Well, after testing hundred of defensive handgun loads in 10% ordnance gelatin I’ve found that average is any load which penetrates to a depth of about 13.72 inches and expands to 0.58 of an inch or more. Interestingly, you can find at least one of these loads for almost any reasonable defensive handgun cartridge.

In my book, Handgun Training for Personal Protection, this Better Than Average (BTA) concept is detailed and bunch of BTA loads are listed for a bunch of cartridges. Now, you may not agree with my approach to selecting defensive handgun ammo but I believe, better than average is about as narrow of a distinction as you can make when it comes to the terminal performance of defensive handgun cartridges.

Here are ten of the BTA loads I have identified. For more you’ll have to buy a copy of my 4.5 star book which is only $ 14.07 at Amazon and currently ranked number 21 in shooting books. The Kindle version, which is ranked number 6 in shooting books, is only $ 10.99.

LOAD                                                                          IV        PEN    RD       RW 

.327 Federal Magnum

Speer 115 gr. Gold Dot HP                                         1438    16.50   0.65      113

.380 AUTO

Remington 102 gr. Golden Saber                                 883      13.75   0.59      102

9mm Luger

Remington 124 gr. Golden Saber +P                            1068    15.00   0.64      124

ASYM 115 gr. Barnes TAC XP + P                           1273    15.00   0.59      115

.38 Special

Speer 135 gr. GD Short Barrel                                     865      14.50   0.58      134

.357 Magnum

Buffalo Bore 125 gr. Tactical                                       1416    23.00   0.59      125

.40 Smith & Wesson

Remington 180 gr. JHP                                                957      16.75   0.61      180

Federal 165 gr. Hydra-Shok                                         965      15.50   0.58      165

.45 ACP

DoubleTap 160 gr. TAC XP MANN Load                1114    16.50   0.63      160

Speer 185 gr. Gold Dot HP                                         1080    14.00   0.72      185

IV = Impact Velocity, PEN = Penetration, RD = Recovered Diameter, RW = Recovered Weight