Hornady Critical Duty?

[Tmg]

So gun and ammo experts. What the verdict on these? Great, Horrible, average?

[ERMedic]

Speer Gold Dots!

[SCSU74]

hard to say, the data on their site shows great penetration, but not very good expansion compared to gold dot. Also, was unable to find any velocity or energy data on their site. Not sure if it is technically a bonded round or not, but in a duty round that should be mandatory. I saw it has a "flex-lock" bullet, seems like they are trying to pass it is bonded. Here are there FBI numbers for 9mm +p 135 g and Gold Dots 9mm +p 124g:

http://www.hornadyle.com/products/ha...-gr-9mm-lugerp

http://le.atk.com/ammunition/speer/h....aspx?id=53617

[Che]

So gun and ammo experts. What the verdict on these? Great, Horrible, average?

It depends on what gun and caliber you are talking about. Reliability should be #1 because if the greatest 'death ray' developed jams your pistol then that is not doable.

[Lawdawg45]

So gun and ammo experts. What the verdict on these? Great, Horrible, average?

Not an official expert, but I've used them in the past and was NOT impressed. The Critical Duty is their only round which meets minimum FBI standards for penetration, and their marketing hype would lead civilians to believe that you need to be a LEO to purchase the round, pure crap since this round is barely the equivalent of a Speer Gold Dot. I used their LeveRevolution round in .45 Colt for Deer hunting several years, and the advertised 950 fps actually chrono'd around 850 to 860. I also attempted to dispatch an injured Deer by the road side and the .45 acp version of the Critical Defense failed to penetrate the skull at point blank range. You'll find that everything Hornaday offers is light and under powered, if your department allows, stick with Speer, Corbon or Buffalo Bore.

P.S. Mom always said to include praise with every criticism, so here goes. The Critical Defense .380 is the only thing that would cycle somewhat reliably in my LCP!

[Carbonfiberfoot]

Stick with Speer Gold Dots, Federal HSTs, and Winchester Ranger Ts (or Buffalo Bore\Doubletap\Black Hills if you want fancy factory hand-loads).

Hornady's decision to only offer underpowered rounds in their 'civilian' lineup is an offensive marketing gimmick, and their handgun ammo is nothing special.

However, their 75gr TAP 5.56 cartridges are excellent. They are very accurate, and fragment reliably at realistic engagement ranges.

[XD4ME]

I have handloaded Hornady bullets in rifles and pistols I use for hunting/target shooting with good results. That being said, all my duty/carry pistols are stocked with Gold-Dots. Im not really sure what to think about their "Zombie" labeled ammo yet.

[Carbonfiberfoot]

...Im not really sure what to think about their "Zombie" labeled ammo yet.

From: http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Ammo_Cr...ions/index.htm

7.62x39 Hornady V-MAX vs. Z-MAX

Just wanted to show the differences between the 7.62x39mm Hornaday Zombie Max 123gr next to the Hornaday V Max 123gr, Both are noncorrosive, berdan primed, polymer coated steel case. One has ball powder, while the other has stick, and the jacket on the Zombie Max is twice as thick.

[reils49]

Speer Gold Dots!

Simply the best duty ammo on the market.

[mookster]

My vote is for the federal HST, that stuff is worth it's weight in gold. I will never go to work without that. I have never messed with the factory Hornady rounds, just the bullets for home brewed re-loads.

[XD4ME]

And here I thought they just put fancy green tips on standard loads to sell to a different market.

[ArkansasFan24]

I bought a 25 round box of 9mm +P to try out in the old lady's new Glock 19. I haven't had a chance to go try it out. It's definitely nice looking ammo, lol.

[Lawdawg45]

I'm sorry, but any company that sinks to the juvenile depth of producing "Zombie Ammo" has lost any credibility in the LE market, and what the Hell was Sig thinking with the Zombie P238 with radioactive green grips?

LD

[M1garand]

I'm sorry, but any company that sinks to the juvenile depth of producing "Zombie Ammo" has lost any credibility in the LE market, and what the Hell was Sig thinking with the Zombie P238 with radioactive green grips?

LD

Those are created for men using manicures for their toes.

Sig has come up with some hideous colors for their guns and grips for the past few years.

[M1garand]

Simply the best duty ammo on the market.

I believed in the same until attended product demo comparing Speer Gold Dot pistol ammo in various calibers to other manufacturer's. But if it comes to .45 ACP, Speer Gold Dot was it!

[Reedo]

The Critical Duty is the only pistol ammo I'd use by Hornady, but there are a lot better options out there. I know that people like Dr. Gary Roberts and others are still testing the Critical Duty to see if they do perform the same as what Hornady advertises. For personal use, I wouldn't be against someone using Critical Duty if for some reason they didn't have access to something else. If I were buying ammo for my department, I would not use the Hornady. At least not yet, as there hasn't been sufficient testing of it to prove it's ability.

Personally, I'm a Federal Tactical HST, Federal Tactical Bonded or Speer Gold Got guy.

[ArkansasFan24]

I have some Zombie bullets by Hornady for my .380. They're the exact same thing as critical defense with different coloration. They were the same price, and I thought the box looked silly so it was worth purchasing, IMO. I've actually had a lot of fun with it.

[Glockshooter23]

Critical defense is GOOD quality stuff, Don't let these bashers tell you any different! Speer is really good stuff too i use those and my secondary backup ammunition but use the Critical defense as my primary.

Check my boy's video's out here these are super great ballistic quality videos he uses for various SD ammunition from Winchester ranger/sxt's, Speed gold dots, Corbon, Hornady, Federal HST and the list goes on. Just check watch for your self on how well each ammo variety performs on ballistic sim test. Multiple calibers as well great selection

EDIT not allowing me to post his youtube link but just go to Youtube and type in "TNoutdoors9 channel" and venture from there well worth it

[ArkansasFan24]

I've been subscribed to TNoutdoors9 for a while now. Fun vids.