View Full Version : Golden Sabre vs Hydro Shok
Im going to buy several boxes of defense ammo for 45acp and 9mm. I was looking at Remington Golden Sabre or Federal Hydro Shok. Thoughts?
NCPatrolAR
08-15-08, 02:07
Im going to buy several boxes of defense ammo for 45acp and 9mm. I was looking at Remington Golden Sabre or Federal Hydro Shok. Thoughts?
Get Winchester Ranger instead. ;)
Robb Jensen
08-15-08, 06:49
Or the Federal HST 230gr +P.....:D
Ranger RA45T or Fed.HST2 standard pressure.
Gold dots make ammo selection easy...
All you have to do is buy them.
John_Wayne777
08-15-08, 08:04
Im going to buy several boxes of defense ammo for 45acp and 9mm. I was looking at Remington Golden Sabre or Federal Hydro Shok. Thoughts?
Remington's Golden Saber ammo in .45 ACP has some of the nastiest muzzle flash you can imagine. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Federal's Hydra-shok is an old design that doesn't perform as well as newer bullet designs on the market. They tend to be prone to plugging up than some of the more modern loads.
When it comes to defensive ammo choices I would recommend sticking to the loads that do well in IWBA testing. In .45ACP that would be:
Barnes XPB 185gr HP (45185) loaded by:
Cor-Bon (DPX45160)
Taurus (TCB45ACP185HP)
Winchester Ranger-T 230gr JHP (RA45T)
Winchester Ranger-T 230gr JHP +P (RA45TP)
Federal Tactical 230gr JHP (LE45T1)
Federal HST 230gr +P JHP (P45HST1)
Federal HST 230gr JHP (P45HST2)
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr JHP (23966)
I would rate the Winchester "Ranger" loadings at the top of the list because they provide excellent performance AND they have a flash retardant in the powder that they use. This means no objectionable muzzle flash. I'm going to be switching to Ranger ammo when I shoot up all my stock of Gold Dots.
Grant is actually selling the Winchester "Ranger" line of ammo now. I'm sure he can hook you up.
MisterWilson
08-15-08, 08:24
If I recall correctly, the Hydra Shoks had issues with failures to expand which prompted the design & manufacture of the HST. I don't know how much truth their is to that, but all the HST ammo I've seen has been new while all the Hydra Shocks I've seen are dusty and generally found in stores that don't move much ammo (And when it's $1+ a round, who can blame them?).
Another perk of the HST's is that you get over twice as much ammo for nearly the same price, as they come in boxes of 50 compared to 25.
Federal HST's
Winchester Ranger T-Series
Speer Gold Dots
Buy whichever shoots the best out of your gun and is most available to you in your area and leave those Golden Sabers at Wal-Mart where they belong.
to parrot what has already been said:
the Gold Dots, HSTs, and Rangers are all current gen ammo, and you cannot go wrong with any of them...it comes down to personal preference...
the golden sabers, hydroshoks, and some others are earlier generations of personal defensive ammunition and are not as likely to reliably expand as the current generation...
considering that the Federal HSTs are available on the .net for $24/box of 50, I don't see any reason not to use them
I carry Federal HST 147 gr in my Glock 17
I too carry the HST's in both my 1911 ang G17.
I can get 50 rounds of HST for the same price or less than 25 rounds of the other brands, which lets me practice more with my carry ammo. Much less muzzle flash than the Golden Sabers. Reccomended by Doc. I see no downside to the HST's.
-RD62
Gold dots make ammo selection easy...
All you have to do is buy them.
Too funny! :D
I recommend buying a sampling of several loads (Ranger T's, Federal HST's, Gold Dots) and selecting whichever one your weapons feed, are most accurate with, and which you can get for the best price. Personally, I use Federal HST 124-gr +P in 9mm.
The Hydra-Shok is a very outdated design, in fact Federal hasn't updated the design in 15+ years. The only reason they still make it, is people and dept.'s are still buying it. It will be phased out within the next 5 years or so.
Of the 2 you give to choose between, I would go with the Sabre.
But if I had my choice either the Gold Dot or HST.
Here's a pic of each.......HST on left, GD on right. The Gold Dot is a bonded bullet, so it won't expand as much in bare flesh/geletin, as it's made tougher to go thru media on it's way to it's intended target.
http://w3.gorge.net/scshields/bullets1.jpg
Here's an actual HST bullet from a shooting. It went thru windshield glass and took out the perp center mass........1 shot stop.
That stuff on it is gelatin. I had it in a box with bullets that had been shot thru gelatin, and were in my car on a very hot day, so the gelatin decided to migrate over everything in the box.
http://w3.gorge.net/scshields/hstglass.jpg
PRGGodfather
08-15-08, 22:55
+1 John Wayne 777
+1 John Wayne 777
John Wayne 778?
+1 John Wayne 777, is the algebra term for 778 :D
PRGGodfather
08-16-08, 16:07
LOL!
C'mon, guys -- I became a cop so I could avoid doing math! And now that I'm an LT Admin POG, the lobotomy took the algebra part right out! ;)
Heck, if I had any brains -- I would have been a fireman!
Be safe,
Alan
+1 John Wayne 777, is the algebra term for 778 :D
John_Wayne777
08-16-08, 23:18
+1 John Wayne 777
Cool! My first celebrity endorsement! I always knew this day would come.
PRGGodfather
08-17-08, 00:11
Let's not throw off the covers just yet! I've been having fun!
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but can't seem to find any Federal HST in my neck of the woods.
Is the gr 147 that can be readily had in Winchester SXT (my local area) doable? How about any other manufacturer's 9mm in gr 147 (modern technological advances) fine to use as opposed to the yesteryear's version?
Golden Sabre would be the next choice............
Gunfighter13
08-17-08, 01:51
Im going to buy several boxes of defense ammo for 45acp and 9mm. I was looking at Remington Golden Sabre or Federal Hydro Shok. Thoughts?
It's going to be very hard to find something in 45 ACP that is equal to the Ranger T LE ammo. I have been in two off duty shootings when I was carrying Ranger T ammo. Both times the bad guy was DRT on the first hit according to the coroner's report.
I do like the performance of the 147gr Gold dot for the 9mm. I have seen good first and second round stops when using Gold Dots.
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but can't seem to find any Federal HST in my neck of the woods.
Is the gr 147 that can be readily had in Winchester SXT (my local area) doable? How about any other manufacturer's 9mm in gr 147 (modern technological advances) fine to use as opposed to the yesteryear's version?
I've gotten all of mine from Ammo-to-go.
Good selection, prices, and fast shipping. I have bought from them several times with no problems.
-RD62
I've gotten all of mine from Ammo-to-go.
Good selection, prices, and fast shipping. I have bought from them several times with no problems.
Same here. They're a preferred supplier for most of my ammo.
. . .Ammo-to-go. . .Good selection, prices, and fast shipping. I have bought from them several times with no problems.
AmmunitionToGo. . .Awesome and Thanks!
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