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Thread: Gel test: .44 mag 240 gr SJHP & .357 mag 125 gr JHP

  1. #1
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    Gel test: .44 mag 240 gr SJHP & .357 mag 125 gr JHP

    .357 mag Underwood 125 gr Montana Gold JHP video link

    357 mag Underwood* 125 gr Montana Gold JHP fired from 4" S&W Model 13 through four layers of denim into calibrated gelatin.

    BB: 588.7 fps, 3.1"

    Impact velocity: 1,503 fps
    Penetration: 16.2"
    Retained weight: 105.2 gr
    Max expansion: 0.573"
    Min expansion: 0.445"


    *This is an old load. Underwood now uses Speer Gold Dots.



    .44 mag HSM 240 gr SJHP video link


    .44 mag HSM 240 gr semi-jacketed hollow point fired from 7.5" Ruger Redhawk through four layers of denim into calibrated gelatin.

    BB: 588.7 fps, 3.1"

    Impact velocity: 1,114 fps
    Penetration: 19.3"
    Retained weight: 240.7 gr
    Max expansion: 0.682"
    Min expansion: 0.628"

  2. #2
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    that is WAY too much penetration.

    yeah, I know all the stuff about cops shooting thru cars first and sideways thru men, but there's 100x as many civilian, agile adults, (ie, readers of this forum) as there are "field" cops. So, basically, you don't want more than 10" of penetration. It doesn't profit you to have it, magnum recoil slows down repeat hits, you aint carrying a revolver with such a barrel length, either.

    Overpenetration is a waste of what little power you've got going for you (with a handgun). Obviously, the jackets on these jhp's is way too thick/tough for ccw use. They were designed for shooting deer. Guys want exit wounds/blood trails for hunting, to help them find an animal that ran after being hit. While an exit would can help you cause a sucking chest wound and collapse an attacker's lung, that effect is far too slow to be of any real help in a handgun type fight. Such things are won or lost in the first 1-2 seconds of the encounter, unless luck intervenes.

  3. #3
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    First off, no one made any claims about the suitability of either load for defense but I think most folks would agree that >19" is more than necessary for defense in town. On the other hand, 10" is totally inadequate for defense.




    That said, I would feel perfectly comfortable carrying the .357 load for defense in town though I would prefer 125 gr Gold Dots. I also think the .44 mag load would be well suited as a "compromise" woods load, offering reduced (for a .44 mag) recoil but still getting decent penetration and expansion, which makes it reasonably suitable for defense against people, small predators like mountain lions, and small bear. In a place like Arizona Rim country, it would be a great defensive load.

    For the record, I carry a G23 loaded with 180 gr Gold Dot around town and for woods defense, I either carry a G22 loaded with 180 gr FMJ or a 10mm Witness loaded with 200 gr XTP.

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