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Originally Posted by swampman46
Excellent points you bring up. How does Hornady Critical Defense rate? And on a side note, with all this said, (and I know I'm a little off course here), I received free Hornady 115 gr XTPs last year with my reloading equipment. How do these stack up against factory SD rounds assuming about the same velocity?
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We haven't tested the Hornady Critical Defense, but we do tend to believe that gelatin testing of handgun bullets is reliable when performed by major ammunition companies and government agencies in calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin. I recommend looking at the energy and gelatin test data and see if the bullet is performing as you would like.
Nor have we tested the 115 grain XTP in gelatin or deer. XTPs have always been our "go-to" bullet for obtaining quick accuracy with just about any gun and powder. If some other combination wasn't providing accuracy, the XTP would quickly determine that it was not the gun or powder that was the problem. We have tested other weights and calibers of XTP in deer and it they always performed well with a nice combination of penetration and reliable expansion, with faster velocities giving more expansion, and slower velocities giving more penetration.
My concern with handloads is more functional than legal. Most prosecutors will never even know what exact ammo you used unless you tell them. Any ballistic lab results will trail far behind their decision to prosecute or not. Lawyer up quickly and say nothing except what your lawyer approves, focusing on the fact that your decision to shoot was based on your life and the life of your family being in imminent danger, and provide the facts you observed to determine the risk. Handloaded pistol rounds are simply much less reliable than good factory loads. Use good factory loads for self-defense, because they feed and function more reliably than most hand loads.