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straight from the horse's mouth
buschmaster
Member Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭
Federal HST seems to be the hottest ammo around lately, or to those familiar with the quest for a "magic bullet", certainly it's the flavor of the week.
whatever technology they are using in their HST line of ammo results in excellent JHP expansion across all calibers. however, when we get to .380, we (and they) stumble across a problem that has never been resolved: you get either penetration or expansion. you can't have both with .380.
so, .380 HST being what it is, expands wonderfully. 0.54" on average for the round parts, and a whopping, gobsmacking, record-setting 0.65" between the farthest reaches of its copper points.
and it penetrates 8-1/2 to 9-1/2 inches, which is rather miserable.
what keeps it from penetrating completely miserably is the fact that the engineers at Federal put as much effort as they could to maximixe penetration. not by making it lighter and faster, but how? repeat after me: using the heaviest bullet possible.
not just "a heavy bullet" at 90 grains, but the heaviest possible. they re-examined the engineering of the .380 cartridge and after some experimentation determined that the most they could get away with was 99 grains. so they went with that.
Ammoland did an interview with the Marketing Manager at Federal:
quote:
Q: Why 99 grains?
A: During the course of development, engineers evaluated numerous designs and weights. While they did find workable projectiles and loads were achievable at 90 and 95 grains as well, our data drove us to the 99-grain design, which provided the most consistent performance and balanced a number of key factors. Basically with HST 380 Auto Micro Ammo, we designed built the best performing bullet possible, and then we weighed it. The final number just happened to land on 99 grains.
Q: Can you elaborate on those mitigating factors?
A: Certainly. The higher weight of a 99-grain projectile provides slightly better penetration depth while achieving equal or larger expanded diameter. The resulting lower muzzle velocity yields a longer recoil impulse to reduce the perceived sharpness of recoil often associated with micro handguns, as well as providing a longer duration for slide stroke, which ensures reliable feed and function.
Q: If a 99-grain projectile was better, why not 100 grains or more?
A: Our testing revealed that 99 grains appears to be the practical limit for the 380, as a larger projectile will reduce available powder capacity in the case, to a level that impairs performance.
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/07/federal-premiums-hst-380-auto-micro-ammo/
light and fast, or heavy and slow? they went with heavy and slow because that's what worked.
whatever technology they are using in their HST line of ammo results in excellent JHP expansion across all calibers. however, when we get to .380, we (and they) stumble across a problem that has never been resolved: you get either penetration or expansion. you can't have both with .380.
so, .380 HST being what it is, expands wonderfully. 0.54" on average for the round parts, and a whopping, gobsmacking, record-setting 0.65" between the farthest reaches of its copper points.
and it penetrates 8-1/2 to 9-1/2 inches, which is rather miserable.
what keeps it from penetrating completely miserably is the fact that the engineers at Federal put as much effort as they could to maximixe penetration. not by making it lighter and faster, but how? repeat after me: using the heaviest bullet possible.
not just "a heavy bullet" at 90 grains, but the heaviest possible. they re-examined the engineering of the .380 cartridge and after some experimentation determined that the most they could get away with was 99 grains. so they went with that.
Ammoland did an interview with the Marketing Manager at Federal:
quote:
Q: Why 99 grains?
A: During the course of development, engineers evaluated numerous designs and weights. While they did find workable projectiles and loads were achievable at 90 and 95 grains as well, our data drove us to the 99-grain design, which provided the most consistent performance and balanced a number of key factors. Basically with HST 380 Auto Micro Ammo, we designed built the best performing bullet possible, and then we weighed it. The final number just happened to land on 99 grains.
Q: Can you elaborate on those mitigating factors?
A: Certainly. The higher weight of a 99-grain projectile provides slightly better penetration depth while achieving equal or larger expanded diameter. The resulting lower muzzle velocity yields a longer recoil impulse to reduce the perceived sharpness of recoil often associated with micro handguns, as well as providing a longer duration for slide stroke, which ensures reliable feed and function.
Q: If a 99-grain projectile was better, why not 100 grains or more?
A: Our testing revealed that 99 grains appears to be the practical limit for the 380, as a larger projectile will reduce available powder capacity in the case, to a level that impairs performance.
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/07/federal-premiums-hst-380-auto-micro-ammo/
light and fast, or heavy and slow? they went with heavy and slow because that's what worked.
Comments
heavy bullets are better!
and Federal's "Micro HST" loading in 9mm is 150 grain, does 17.3" penetration at 0.71" expansion.
heavy bullets are better!
At under 900 fps sounds like a good round in a suppressed 9mm.