How well does your defensive ammunition work?

At the conclusion of my June CCW course, we invited all of my students (current and prior) to come to test their ammunition in my wet phone books. Much cheaper than ballistic gelatin which requires much special handling, wet phone books simulate human tissue. The goal is to see how well hollowpoint ammunition opens up and how deep it penetrates.

Here is the popular Winchester Ranger SXT:

 

For comparison, here is the much-maligned Winchester Black Talon. You’ll note the only difference is the color:

Another round that used to be a favorite was the Winchester SilverTip:

Currently by the Orange County Sheriff Dept is the Federal HST. It is a consistent performer in every caliber, and from our experience it works regardless of barrel length:

And finally, a round that I thought was ingenious and would take the market by storm was the Federal Guard Dog. It was a closed-bullet with no hollowpoint but always opened up regardless of barrel length. But you can’t find it anymore!