Policemag: Stopping Power: Myths, Legends, and Realities

[wilco423]

Thanks for the info, Doc!

[tpd223]

How did the HSTs hold up? It's our current duty round.

And thanks for your observations on the OIS/4LD consistency. Always nice to have real world data to back up a position.

Very well. Even through heavy clothing.

On a funny note, one shooting I attended a missed round struck one of those giant (5 gallon maybe?) plastic jars of hot pickle wienies they sell in many bars arounds here.
Jar exploded, wienies and pickle juice everywhere, I found the perfectly expanded 147gr HST laying on the floor where it came to rest after shooting through the jar and the wall behind it. Except for being covered with sheetrock dust it looked exactly like the bullet poster test bullets.


Ref Hydrashock 9mm; we used both the 147gr and later the 124gr loadings, both proved to be poor duty ammo. We consistently had bullets fail to expand in OISs, other times the bullets would over expand and fragment, this causes shallow wounds to the bad guys.

[Bulldog7972]

I do not know of one single 9mm HydraShock that worked well in several OIS that I've either been involved in, witnessed or investigated. Most failed to expand. I'm going back several years ago of course because we all stopped carrying them after a few OIS that involved this round.

[T2C]

I do not know of one single 9mm HydraShock that worked well in several OIS that I've either been involved in, witnessed or investigated. Most failed to expand. I'm going back several years ago of course because we all stopped carrying them after a few OIS that involved this round.

This is what we observed with the 147g Hydra-Shok in our area.

[S. Galbraith]

Dr. Roberts,

How did the old Hydra-Shoks do in 180gr .40S&W? We still have a bunch of it in our inventory.

[DocGKR]

A bit better than the stuff from the 70's and 80's, but no where near as robust in expansion and barrier capability as a modern load--they frequently plugged up with heavy clothing.

[Nemecsek]

The Level II, wienie and pickle jar protocal ballistic test is starting to replace ballistic jell in many jurisdictions. Keep up the good work.

Very well. Even through heavy clothing.

On a funny note, one shooting I attended a missed round struck one of those giant (5 gallon maybe?) plastic jars of hot pickle wienies they sell in many bars arounds here.
Jar exploded, wienies and pickle juice everywhere, I found the perfectly expanded 147gr HST laying on the floor where it came to rest after shooting through the jar and the wall behind it. Except for being covered with sheetrock dust it looked exactly like the bullet poster test bullets.


Ref Hydrashock 9mm; we used both the 147gr and later the 124gr loadings, both proved to be poor duty ammo. We consistently had bullets fail to expand in OISs, other times the bullets would over expand and fragment, this causes shallow wounds to the bad guys.

[Sixgun_Symphony]

To add to what DocGKR and others have said..

Extract from

“The Wound Profile & The Human Body: Damage Pattern Correlation.” (Martin L Fackler, MD, Wound Ballistics Review, 1(4): 1994; 12-19)

The test of the wound profiles’ validity [as observed in properly prepared and calibrated ordnance gelatin] is how accurately they portray the projectile-tissue interaction observed in shots that penetrate the human body. Since most shots in the human body traverse various tissues, we would expect the wound profiles to vary somewhat, depending on the tissues traversed. However, the only radical departure has been found to occur when the projectile strikes bone: this predictably deforms the bullet more than soft tissue, reducing its overall penetration depth, and sometimes altering the angle of the projectile’s course. Shots traversing only soft tissues in humans have shown damage patterns of remarkably close approximation to the wound profiles.

The bullet penetration depth comparison, as well as the similarity in bullet deformation and yaw patterns, between human soft tissue and 10% ordnance gelatin have proven to be consistent and reliable. Every time there appeared to be an inconsistency…a good reason was found and when the exact circumstances were matched, the results matched. The cases reported here comprise but a small fraction of the documented comparisons which have established 10% ordnance gelatin as a valid tissue simulant.