[Skunkabilly]

Yo yo yo.

What's the best thing to load my gat up with? What's the difference between the Ranger SXTs and Hydra-Shoks?

I can't find the SXTs anywhere but the Hydras seem to be easy to find.

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Jeff More
Irvine, PRC
All your AR-15 are belong to us!

 

[Skunkabilly]

My bad...pls move to ammo can! Me so solly!

 

[LAK]

I believe that they are both very good.

But I would go with the HydraShoks as they are available. See how reliable they function in your pistol, and if they are accurate enough for you stay with them.

 

[BillD]

According to several people who do test ammo in gelatin and study autopsy reports, there is little difference in any of the "premium" JHPs. As long as you are shooting a name brand, the difference in wound channel would have to be seen with a microscope. The Speer Gold Dot bullet has a reputation for being better on penetrating barriers. The big deal is reliability in your pistol. If you can hold 3" with any of this ammo at 20 yds, that will fulfill all of your accuracy needs for self defense. Find one the works in your pistol and then practice shot placement.

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"Even the most normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats"
Mencken

 

[Lee114]

Get Speer Gold Dot. The jacket is chemically bonded to the bullet. It expands and retains the jacket more consitently than any of the other brands. I have personally seen it tested against all other premium brands of jacketed hollow point and there is a difference.

 

[BillD]

The number 2 reason for a failure to stop is insufficient penetration. The number one reason is improper bullet placement (either the target wasn't hit at all or it wasn't hit in the right place.

So yes, Gold Dots are very good bullets, they are what I carry. They will help with penetration. They won't make you a better shot. They may give you a slight edge IF you can make the shot. However, if you can make the shot almost any name JHP will do the job. Hydra-Shoks are a very good round. If they are reliable and if you can make the shot, they will do the job.

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"Even the most normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats"
Mencken

 

[mgothers]

I'm just curious here...Why would you use hydra shocks over just a hollow nose? I mean I don't know a whole lot about amunition and the way the various ones do what they do, but it would seem to me I'd rather an acurate shot to hit, then let it mushroom inside and do it's damange then have it mushroom first and for what? To make a bigger hole going in? Big deal, I'd rather deliver the acurate shot and let the damange on the inside speak for itself. I mean if you are using a low caliber, fine go with the "flying ashtray", but if you are using a .45, then god, a hollow nose should stop most people coming at you.
Again, I don't know a whole lot, just thinking what makes sense to a newbie here...

Matt

 

[Mus]

Personally between the two my vote is to please dont shoot me

[This message has been edited by Mus (edited 10-19-2001).]

 

[D.A.Mike]

After years of carrying Hydra-Shocks "just because," I recently spent time researching and experimenting with several other brands of premium hollowpoint ammo. They're all very close in performance and real-world differences are likely to be insignificant provided you do your part. I eventually decided on Speer Gold Dot in 230 grain for my full sized 1911. If I owned an Officer's model-sized 1911, I'd probably consider the 185 grain version. I think the Gold Dot is a well designed bullet.

All that being said, I have a friend who carries FMJ in his Glock 21 and I can find no real fault in his choice of ammo.

 

[BrianMajors]

If you're set on one of these two brands, I'd go with the Hydrashocks. Also, I don't know what type of "gat"

you have, but my experience with the SXT's is a lot of hanging up on the feedramp with my Kimber.

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"Double-action in an auto pistol seems to me an ingenious solution to a non-existent problem." -Jeff Cooper G&A mag Oct. 1973

 

[JimH]

Originally posted by Skunkabilly:
Yo yo yo.

What's the best thing to load my gat up with? What's the difference between the Ranger SXTs and Hydra-Shoks?

I can't find the SXTs anywhere but the Hydras seem to be easy to find.

I carry +P Ranger T (black Talon) but I have shot several deer with hydra-shoks. I can't tell much difference. The Win has an accuracy edge in my guns but not enough to make me look real hard to find them.

They are not the same as the regular Win. "civilian" SXT (copper bullet) which I suspect you know from your description. I don't care much for those but it is really hard to mess up a 230 gr. .45

Press on,
Jim Higginbotham

 

[PoodleShooter]

I have tried several types of SD ammo, and always go back to hydrashocks for 9mm and 45acp. Just my experience/preferences.

 

[Kestryll]

mgothers,
Hydra-Shoks and hollow points actually do the same thing, the difference is that the man who invented the H-S placed a post in the cavity to direct the fluid content of the human body to increase expansion.
A normal hollow point looks kinda like this \/, or this \_/, inside the cavity. A Hydra-Shok adds the post, \|/ to put more pressure on the sidewalls of the bullet and encourage expansion. Neither one begins expansion before impact.
As a side note, the same man who developed th H-S also developed the Starfire bullet for PMC. In the Starfire he designed flutes in the cavity to cause expansion in fluid at specific locations, again to encourage expansion. I believe his name is Burzinsky (sp?).

The hollow point expands inside the body to increase frontal area thus making a larger wound channel and compression channel. According to some theories it allows the bullet to stay in the body dumping all it's energy on the target as well. If this is accurate, I don't know. Handgun bullets are anemic in general so whatever adds to the effect is a good thing!

Just some random info,
Kestryll.

 

[JRJ]

I also choose the Speer Gold Dot in 230 grains. Reliabilty, accuracy, and out of my 5 inch 1991a1 the expansion versus penetration was the best in wet phone books.

 

[MulsanneArnage]

Shot Placement, Shot Placement, SHOTPLACEMENT!!! Actually, I carry a S&W Ti re-chambered for 454 Casull+P++. Even if I miss, he drops like a sock.

 

[Randy Cain]

Three years ago while working the streets as a patrol officer I had occasion to dispatch 6 deer for humane reasons after they were hit by cars (in separate incidents).

The first five deer were shot with Federal Hydra-Shock 230 45ACP. ALL went clean through without expanding. They could have just as easily been ball ammo.

The 6th deer was shot with Winchester SXT (civilian stuff). That deer looked like he had been shot with a rifle. I saw pink spray out the other side. I immediately had a new favorite round.

I started carrying the 230 JHP "Tactical" (restricted to LE) afterwards but never had occasion to try it out. It feels "hotter" than either Fed Hy-Shock or Win SXT. I may give it a chance this hunting season.

Anecdotal evidence for sure as I don't have enough shootings to be valid statistical data. But based on my own experiences, I'll take the SXT.

------------------
Randy Cain
http://www.randycain.com

 

[LW McVay]

Originally posted by mgothers:
I'm just curious here...Why would you use hydra shocks over just a hollow nose? I mean I don't know a whole lot about amunition and the way the various ones do what they do, but it would seem to me I'd rather an acurate shot to hit, then let it mushroom inside and do it's damange then have it mushroom first and for what? To make a bigger hole going in? Big deal, I'd rather deliver the acurate shot and let the damange on the inside speak for itself. I mean if you are using a low caliber, fine go with the "flying ashtray", but if you are using a .45, then god, a hollow nose should stop most people coming at you.
Again, I don't know a whole lot, just thinking what makes sense to a newbie here...

Matt

Not sure I understand what you are asking or saying? A Hydrashock is a hollowpoint.

 

[LW McVay]

Moving to Ammo