Federal Hydra-Shok (9mm, .45acp)

[egb206]

Anyone know where I can get Federal Hydra-Shok ammo around the Marion, Kokomo area in 9mm, and .45acp?

 

[XtremeVel]

Anyone know where I can get Federal Hydra-Shok ammo around the Marion, Kokomo area in 9mm, and .45acp?

Being the hydra shok is a older bullet, you might have a little trouble finding locally. With many more advanced options out there today, many shops might not stock the older rounds...

If you are set on them and can't find them, you could order from ammo to go. I know they currently have them in 9mm now, but not in .45... Their prices are good and you can just about get 50 for not much more than many want for a box of 20... They also have good prices for much more effective rounds such as the Gold Dots and Federals HST's.

FWIW, the 147 gr Gold Dot in the below link is a great round at a great price ( $22.95) for a box of 50...

Link here in case your interested.

Click here: HOLLOW POINT Ammo : Ammunition To Go

 

[KokomoDave]

Call Harley @ Down by the Tracks (Paid Advertiser) 574-699-6891 This is very close to Kokomo

If he is out,try:

Roby @ Bullsye 765-459-0077

Another source or two:

Brian's Surplus in Greentown 765-628-3196

Denny @ Off the Wall in Greentown 765-628-1899

I know Cwood (Paid Advertiser) sells ammo on here but he is far from Kokomo but might meet you if you buy a quantity.

Meijer in Kokomo had Winchester DPX in-stock for .45ACP. I can't remember what Rural King was carrying for hollow points but they are hit or miss sometimes.
Walmart in Kokomo is iffy on ANY ammo as a lot of people hit them up...

 

[1946]

McDonalds Guns east of Marion had some Hydra in 9mm a couple of days ago. Might want to check him out. He's closed on Sun. and Mon.

 

[thoffman]

hyrda shok two's are alot better but if you want hydra shoks you can get them at gander mountain..i know pretty far from kokomo. for kokomo you can try mc sports and dunhams i dont know any of the local shops but i heard there is a decent size one there

 

[egb206]

Thanks for the info guys! I'll check with McDonalds since he's closer.

 

[IndyGunner]

speer gold dots dude... trust me. Dec 20th some guy came to his door with a handgun, cops took 1 shot. He died. It was with 1 9mm 124grain +p gold dot to the chest. I trust it with my life. Google reviews, you wont find a single negative out there. (except for one test where they shot it at 10+ layers of denim... but who wears that many canadian tuxedos when they are trying to rob you...)

 

[Wabatuckian]

speer gold dots dude... trust me. Dec 20th some guy came to his door with a handgun, cops took 1 shot. He died. It was with 1 9mm 124grain +p gold dot to the chest. I trust it with my life. Google reviews, you wont find a single negative out there. (except for one test where they shot it at 10+ layers of denim... but who wears that many canadian tuxedos when they are trying to rob you...)

Dangerous thinking.

 

[IndyGunner]

Dangerous thinking.

He was walking around, someone called the cops on him. I think he broke into the house (woman and child at home). Cops answered. They said drop the gun and he raised it to them. Suicide by cop if you ask me. The messed up thing though was, it was an airsoft gun...

I dont blame the cop at all, if I was in that situation I wouldnt wait to find out if it was real or not. I talked to one of the cops that was there. My dad mentioned to him that the kids these days are taking the orange tips off. The cop said that bad guys are painting their real guns barrels orange to trick them

A real catch 22.

 

[AngryRooster]

speer gold dots dude... trust me. Dec 20th some guy came to his door with a handgun, cops took 1 shot. He died. It was with 1 9mm 124grain +p gold dot to the chest. I trust it with my life. Google reviews, you wont find a single negative out there. (except for one test where they shot it at 10+ layers of denim... but who wears that many canadian tuxedos when they are trying to rob you...)

Placement is the key, not bullet selection. Remember, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Don't get me wrong, the Gold Dot is one of the best of the breed. If the OP is dead set on HS the I second the Ammo To Go link. I've ordered from them many times and always been happy. Right now they are showing 147 only in 9mm (50 round box for $27.95) and none in 45.

All mine are fed either the Gold Dot or the HST with a few boxes of Ranger in reserve.

 

[IndyGunner]

Placement is the key, not bullet selection. Remember, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Don't get me wrong, the Gold Dot is one of the best of the breed. If the OP is dead set on HS the I second the Ammo To Go link. I've ordered from them many times and always been happy. Right now they are showing 147 only in 9mm (50 round box for $27.95) and none in 45.

All mine are fed either the Gold Dot or the HST with a few boxes of Ranger in reserve.

Exactly. If you cant hit anything with a .45 you might as well have a .22. When I first looked into handguns I thought I had to get .40 or above. I quickly learned that I couldnt hit sh*t with a glock 23. (ive had shotguns and rifles my whole life, ive shot 100 rounds through my glock 19, thats all the experience/practice I have as of yet with handguns... cant wait to get my permit so I can go practice every day.)

 

[Aszerigan]

Just wanted to mention the Hornady Critical defense ammunition. I used to carry Gold Dot ammo, still do sometimes. But with the reviews, the ballistic gel tests through denim, leather, multiple layers, etc.... I've gotta say I'm liking what I'm seeing in the CD ammo. Unfortunately for hand loaders, they don't sell the CD bullets commercially yet (although that may change after SHOT). Crossing my fingers.

For those of you not familiar with the Hornady Critical Defense, its a JHP with a soft rubber ball in the cavity of the bullet. It prevents the tip from filling with foreign substances (read: clothing) when it strikes its subject. It also begins the expansion effect. Really well reviewed on defense forums, its taking the place of Gold Dots in some of my EDC guns.

Just throwing that out there.

 

[marine4life]

A hundred rounds thats it. And you are giving advice on pistol ammo. Ca'mon man. I hope you are a ballistics expert to chime in. Hear say is alot different, what shoots well out of your handgun is the key. Maybe you should try and match ammo with the pistol first. It might help tighten up your groups. I'm not clowning, I'm just saying.

 

[IndyGunner]

A hundred rounds thats it. And you are giving advice on pistol ammo. Ca'mon man. I hope you are a ballistics expert to chime in. Hear say is alot different, what shoots well out of your handgun is the key. Maybe you should try and match ammo with the pistol first. It might help tighten up your groups. I'm not clowning, I'm just saying.

No offense taken, thats why I said I have little experience. But what ive seen in ballistics tests, gels, reviews, and personal conversations with LEO friends who have had to kill people, and my marine buddy who has been in iraq twice and afghanistan once... 9mm gold dot 124g +p do the job just fine. Shot placement is key.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Just wanted to mention the Hornady Critical defense ammunition. I used to carry Gold Dot ammo, still do sometimes. But with the reviews, the ballistic gel tests through denim, leather, multiple layers, etc.... I've gotta say I'm liking what I'm seeing in the CD ammo. Unfortunately for hand loaders, they don't sell the CD bullets commercially yet (although that may change after SHOT). Crossing my fingers.

For those of you not familiar with the Hornady Critical Defense, its a JHP with a soft rubber ball in the cavity of the bullet. It prevents the tip from filling with foreign substances (read: clothing) when it strikes its subject. It also begins the expansion effect. Really well reviewed on defense forums, its taking the place of Gold Dots in some of my EDC guns.

Just throwing that out there.

Critical Defense was not working as advertised due to lower-than-advertised velocities, many being 200fps+ slower.

A lot of very serious folks clocked these bad boys and even more wrote Hornady. Whether the problem was corrected, I do not know, but I've not seen a recall on the stuff so there's more than likely many old boxes still floating around.

If it's around in 10 years and I can get one with a date code from this year (assuming they've fixed the problem), you might find me carrying it in 2021.

Meantime, I'll stick with what's proven. Right now that's Hydrashok because that's what I found new in my ammo collection. Prior to that it was Winchester PDX1 (advertised 920fps non-+P from a .45acp). Gold Dot is OK, but no better than the other stuff out there.

In handguns, .38spl+P on up, they all perform about the same in water, wetpack and Jello.

Josh

 

[egb206]

Wow, I never expected this many replies, I bought some Hornady 9mm's. I might try some Gold-Dots..since Big-R has them on sale right now.

 

[cosermann]

fyi - Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

 

[Wabatuckian]

fyi - Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

This type of thing meant something once. Now, not so much.

I test each individual batch to ensure that the rounds perform as advertised. That's all.

Most rounds you find today will expand to 125% to 150% and penetrate 12" to 14". They typically hold together, which makes no sense to me as long as penetration is apparent.

Buy a name brand in a common weight (230gn for .45acp and 124gn in 9mm, for example) and be happy.

Also remember that originally, 147gn 9mm HP was not intended to expand. It was more for accuracy from submachine guns. The Sierra Match King only expands sometimes, too.

People who wanted more weight but didn't want to step up in caliber got upset that the 147gn 9mm didn't expand, and the manufacturers set out to fix it.

Still, they are better barrier penetrators than expanders.

Josh

 

[cosermann]

This type of thing meant something once. Now, not so much. ... and the manufacturers set out to fix it. . ...

This is out dated ==> Selection of best ammunition for a defensive handgun
This is out dated ==> Ammunition For The Self-Defense Firearm

However, the link I provided is not. Last updated Oct. 2010.

Post 1986, ammunition mfgs set out to design bullets to balance penetration and expansion characteristics of virtually all service calibers. This is the reason why it doesn't matter so much if one is choosing between the best modern designs. There's as much consistency among manufacturers as there is because they're engineering to acheive similar results. Simple.

Definitely test your ammunition. Especially if you're using a barrel on the short end of things, and to confirm batch performance.

.. . Most rounds you find today will expand to 125% to 150% and penetrate 12" to 14". ...

Most, but not all. Those listed do so most reliably. There are still major mfgs selling their older technology bullets. Hydra-Shoks are a good example. If you're going to test your ammo, you'll find out how it performs. Since not everyone does, providing lists based on recent testing can be helpful.

If the OP wants to use old technology Hydra-Shock bullets, fine by me, but there's been more development in the area of handgun bullets in the last 20 years than there had been in the last 200.

Development it behooves one to leverage.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Think about this: What do you want out of a bullet?

I carry original Hydra-Shoks. The reason is this: They plug with clothing.

In .45acp this is a bonus. It's not a penetrative round and I want it to act as a FMJ if it has to, especially in this weather.

Same with the PDX1 (which, btw, was developed for the FBI).

The original Hydra-Shok developed a street record which has not been beat.

Remember, when you gain expansion, you lose penetration. Just the way the parachute in the form of an expanding bullet works. Hornady XTP is limited on expansion for this reason.

When you only have so much energy to work with, you are necessarily limited. If I want more than the old style Hydra-Shok can deliver, I'd have to go to .45 Super.

Why do they keep developing new rounds? They have to have something to keep raking in the bucks. They're reaching a point of diminishing returns; I'd argue that they're already there, in fact.

The data you posted is flawed. There is no calibration BB visible or calibration numbers for said BB. Looks like they just cooked up a few batches of Kind and Knox and popped it.

The best 9mm round is arguably the 9BP, or its police version in 115gn +P+. Last I knew its track record had not been beaten.

Josh