if that lucky gunner test is an indication, the gold dot 147 doesnt seem to open up very well. why would you stick with that over HST?
i was surprised to see the ranger 124/127 +p stuff not open either.
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As mentioned, easier to find and cheaper than HST in my experience, but have some HST too. Would lucky gunner be as ST911 outlined:
"1) testers trained and experienced in terminal ballistic testing, 2) using calibrated ballistic gelatin, 3) following established testing protocols, 4) with credible sample sizes of test articles?"
I have my doubts. It was chosen due to being on the list (see #5) of someone who meets that criteria in spades. That rnd is also had extensive real world use among LE and I believe considered GTG. I'd use the HST without hesitation and perhaps it has the edge on LE Gold dot 147g, not sure. Personally, I don't hang on latest greatest bullet tech per se and will wait until people or orgs fitting the 1-4 criteria above supply their findings.
See link in post #18 for possible reasons for that as well as comments in this thread. Use of +p may in fact be a negative to terminal performance.
Priority is, 1 does it penetrate enough reliably across multiple types of barriers.
2, does it open up reliably across multiple types of barriers.
3 how far does I open.
At least that's they way I interpret what the experts say. Gold dot satisfies those. People don't get killed because their load opened up to .56 instead of .59". They have died because the round failed to stay together after passing through glass, or lacking to penetrate deep enough, or because they missed.
The ONLY reason a +P round wouldn't open up as well as a standard pressure load of the same brand is bullet design tweaks. It isn't the added velocity doing it; in fact, that is the inverse of what speed will do to a HP. No, I'd like to know (such as in the case of the HST +P) if the skives in the bullet are cut deeper/longer/somehow differently than the standard pressure ones. Maybe the metallurgy is different? I dunno. But speed is NOT the reason they may or may not act differently. It would be very disappointing to learn that a bullet company made a round "sturdier" because it was going faster, i.e. less likely to expand as well and relying solely on the speed to make it open. Hell, a lot of people use +P's for standard barrel-length results from shorter barrels.
I've only ever used 124 gr +P Gold Dots. After lots of experience not shooting it at anything, I like it.
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Is +P "necessary" for HST 124gr to perform well?
Nope.....