BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,977
- 113
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.
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.