Issue link: https://let.epubxp.com/i/820998
24 LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY MAY 2017 www.officer.com F IR E A R M S TA C T I C S core separation after barrier. I have been shooting bullets into bal- listic gelatin for about 20 years. Every Hornady cartridge I have tested has been in the top 1 percent of performers, each time I have tested them. The Critical Duty 9mm cartridge is probably the best performers Hornady has offered, which is saying a lot considering Hornady TAP is also in the top 1 percent of cartridges I have tested. In accuracy tests, Critical Duty and my FNP-9 seemed to get along very well. I could easily get a 15 yard group under 1.5 inches, firing from a rest. Critical Duty is the law enforcement cartridge. The off duty version is Critical Defense. What's the difference? Critical Duty has a bullet/powder/ballistic com- bination designed to allow ideal perfor- mance in a duty sized barrel. If used in a shorter barrel, the cartridge may not give ideal velocity and minimum flash. I can't beat around the bush here and the numbers don't lie. I have tested cartridges for 20 years and Hornady cartridges have always been stellar performers. Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense Liberty Ammo Civil Defense is a 50 grain lead-free cartridge, whose bullets are primarily made of copper. This is a completely different approach from cur- rent cartridges. Lighter bullets generally recoil less, but greater mass will get them through solid barriers. The greatest advantage of the Liberty Ammunition products is the fact that they are half the weight of competitive products. This makes a difference in standard capacity magazines. The Liberty 50 grain bullet traveled only a few feet per second shy of the advertised 2,000 fps. It looks like the projectile was designed to break up in its intended target, with the largest part of the projectile delivering the deep- est penetration. One section only went 2.5 inches, another went 3 inches. The heaviest portion traveled 10.5 inches in bare gelatin. After barrier, this product put most of the bullets at 3.5 inches. Liberty Ammunition was easy to shoot. The recoil was very light and they exhibited great accuracy. The cartridges are completely slick feeling, which gave the impression of smooth functioning. Liberty Ammunition also offers a 55 grain 9mm with similar velocity called National Defense. G2 Research Telos The G2 Research Telos cartridge is based on a 92 grain solid copper bullet designed to segment in seven sections. The multi-segmented projectile is machined, rather than molded, which also makes it look a little futuristic. The segments are designed to spread, which quickly dumps the energy of the projectile(s) into the target. The G2 round divided quickly in gelatin, tangential to its travel. It was very hard to capture in a block. Several times, the segments left the block after 8.5 inches. There is a central projectile, which penetrated at the advertised 10.5 inches plus. Shooting through a barrier had almost no effect on the product. Let me explain: Usually, post barrier results are different, because the bullet behaves differently. This bullet didn't care what it struck. The 92 grain projectile cut clean holes on paper, often turning in sub 1 inch groups. This product needs further testing before being sworn in, but it cannot be described in "normal" ballistic terms. On another note, considering what it showed us so far, it may be a great off duty product. Note to self, send G2 Research an invoice for tearing up my ballistic gelatin. Colt Defense 124 gr JHP Colt Defense cartridges are made by DoubleTap Ammunition and marketed under the Colt Defense Ammunition brand. These are 124 grain +P cartridges with external scores on the bullets for controlled expansion. The bullets have SIG SAUER Elite Performance Ammunition uses five skives and scores, which give perfect "flowers" in ballistic gelatin. I was able to produce these flowers ever y time I shot them in ballistic gelatin. This is ideal performance for a 9mm cartridge.