Ammo Lite

[Midskier]

Hey, does anyone know anything about Hornady's new critical defense lite .38 and 9mm. I can sort of understand the idea at least with the .38 , what are the odds the 9mm will cycle properly ? Well I hope it does I bought my wife 2 boxes of 9mm to try through her cw9 and fns. 27% reduction in recoil........


Dan T

 

[IndyGlockMan]

Only way to find out is to shoot some.

 

[NHT3]

Idea is less felt recoil.. I have shot some of the Liberty 9MM with the 50 GR bullet and it's not advertised to be low recoil it does have less felt recoil. I was also concerned that it would not function the pistol but it worked fine.. It's always a good idea to test your carry ammo to make sure your particular pistol feeds and functions with it.
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&quot]-- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]GSSF member[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Ruger MK III, M&P & 1911mechanic [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&quot] –[/FONT] Certified Glock armorer

 

[in625shooter]

Not knocking anyone's decisions, it is theirs to make and obviously some ammunition companies are obliging. I am torn, while the manufacturers have made great advances at the same time why mess with very proven designs (like 158 gr SWC HP in 38 special, with 38 Special I know the bonded 130 ish gr are suppose to do better through barriers etc but still) or etc in 9mm. If one has issues with felt recoil of very basic defensive calibers perhaps a step down in calibers is more appropriate, like buying a decent performing vehicle but putting a governor on it. The oppisite is Just like others trying to make a 500 S&W out of a 45 acp. if that aint enough perhaps a step up would be better. JMHO.

 

[possum_128]

Not knocking anyone's decisions, it is theirs to make and obviously some ammunition companies are obliging. I am torn, while the manufacturers have made great advances at the same time why mess with very proven designs (like 158 gr SWC HP in 38 special, with 38 Special I know the bonded 130 ish gr are suppose to do better through barriers etc but still) or etc in 9mm. If one has issues with felt recoil of very basic defensive calibers perhaps a step down in calibers is more appropriate, like buying a decent performing vehicle but putting a governor on it. The oppisite is Just like others trying to make a 500 S&W out of a 45 acp. if that aint enough perhaps a step up would be better. JMHO.

I agree. Why would you want to dumb down the caliber of your gun. If one cannot handle the recoil then either buy a gun that weighs more or shoot a gun in a smaller caliber.

 

[VERT]

Less recoil also means less power, penetration, etc. That does not mean these "Lite" rounds are a bad idea. Hornady Critical Defense is already what I would consider to be a short barrel offering. Lighter weight bullets with either less powder or a faster burning powder will result in a cartridge that should work well in short barreled guns. Honestly I question the need for +P 9mm duty ammunition in sub 3.5" - 4" guns. Right now the personal protection market is flooded with subcompact pistols and cheap snubbies. These guns are already neutering the potential of the 9mm and 38 spl cartridges. I doubt the "Lite" offerings will hurt performance much, who knows they may actually cycle better in the small autos. If the ammo is reliable, shoots where you point it and increases the confidence of the owner then I say go for it.

Please don't read this as I am advocating using reduced power loads for self defense. Rather read this as my saying that subcompact guns do not offer the potential of larger guns. Everything is a trade off. I do own a small handgun (Smith Airweight) and I will admit that it is very convenient at times. But I also realize that I am giving up something in the way of capacity and performance.

 

[unshelledpilot]

My wife bought the 9mm for her Beretta nano. She shot about 100 rounds and said it felt softer. It's all about running it through your gun before you carry.

 

[sliptap]

PocketGunsAndGear didn't have much luck with the lite 38 out of a snub nose:

[video=youtube;bZ70135VFmo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ70135VFmo[/video]

I've never been impressed with Critical Defense ammo. I think she's much better off practicing with a better round. The 124 gr. standard pressure HST comes to mind (and is what I carry).

I know women are more recoil sensitive, but I was shooting my father's SP101 when I was 12. It just takes practice!!

 

[Cheysdaddy]

I can see using the lite ammo for something you keep primarily in your house. Some of the stuff Ive seen and have considering getting for such a reason say it wont penetrate drywall which could be a good thing if you have children in the home. I dont know that I would necessarily use it in my EDC but to each their own

 

[Leo]

I cannot see the need for less powerful rounds in the .38spl. For some reason the market started making all regular loads for the .38spl whimpy at least 10 years ago. If you look at the specs from the mid to late 60's the majority of over the counter ammo was all 158 grain and loaded 75 to 100 ft lbs higher than is common today. If they get much weaker we should just carry stones and a sling shot. (I know that was enough once but I am not a Hebrew shepherd)

 

[Midskier]

Hey guys and gals - we finally got chance to hit the range. We ran the the Hornady LITE 9mm through a shield, FNS and the wife especially liked the pink tipped ammo through her purple framed CW9. Each round functioned perfectly through each gun. And yes we each noticed the recoil was less. I think it might be a good option for those really sensitive to recoil. That aside she prefers her CW380 over any of the 9s and absolutely loves the para elite pro - go figure.

Dan T

 

[Drail]

Specially engineered for all those flyweight plastic guns. The proper way to solve recoil problems is to make the gun heavier - not make the ammo lighter. But the market today is all about flyweight plastic guns. So here we are.