Anyone else move to .40 or .45 for winter carry?

[BehindBlueI's]

Notice how closely it resembles the center test bullet from the hydra-shok 9mm. It passed through the front and back of a winter jacket, flannel shirt, undershirt, and the (pretty skinny) guy wearing it.

 

[wtburnette]

That's something I'll just have to disagree with Mas on. There's a reason wallboard and heavy clothing are part of the FBI test protocol, and a bullet that plugs is going to have trouble with those tests. Resistance to plugging is a design difference, not a caliber difference. You'll find bullets in all the duty calibers that expand just fine through Carhartts, leather coats, etc. in the real world as well as doing well in testing. You'll also find bullets in all the duty calibers that do not expand in the same circumstances.

While penetration depth in clear gel doesn't correlate to "official" gel, these tests can show you which expanded reliably and which didn't:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#9mm

HSTs offer extremely consistent expansion in either 9mm or .45 in the heavy clothing test. Old school Hydra-shoks don't expand consistently in either caliber. See below, 9mm on top and .45 on bottom.

HST:

Hydra Shok:

And I'll say that these tests and my real world observations match up very well, which validates the FBI protocol. I've got some pics in my phone of some hydrashoks that passed through multiple layers of clothing. I'll see if I can upload it.

Ok, it's uploaded in the next post.

The lucky gunner tests and the lower price of the HST's convinced me to switch a couple of months back. Always nice to hear more validation of my choice

 

[88E30M50]

I've switched over to HSTs in just about everything. I still carry Golden Sabers in my .40s but even there, have about half of the pistols loaded with HSTs. The 230g standard pressure HSTs have become my standard for .45s. For 9mm, it's all 147g HSTs now. The BoneFrogGunClub.com price coupled with the performance make them a no-brainer.

I think what Mas was saying is not that bigger calibers perform better but that if there is a chance of sub standard expansion, he wants the bullet to be big anyway.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I think what Mas was saying is not that bigger calibers perform better but that if there is a chance of sub standard expansion, he wants the bullet to be big anyway.

And my counterpoint is there's not much chance of substandard expansion due to clothing if you pick the right bullet, regardless of caliber, as shown by both testing and real world results.

 

[88E30M50]

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[cayce]

I don't go .40 to .45 but I do upgrade my 9mm ammo for winter use.

 

[Crittersdad]

I carry my 1911 all the time

 

[STEEL CORE]

No my .40's are year round.