HydraShok Ammo
- Thread starter Nigma
- Start date
Just to save you some time, I have shot hundreds of hydrashocks in 9mm and don't find them to be any more impressive than anything else out there. I have used them on paper and on animals (to put down wounded animals, etc.) and they are certainly no magic bullet. If you are into hollow-points, in real life, any old hollowpoint is as good as the next.
Ah thanks for the replies!
Sadly I live in Montreal, QC - gun shows are rare here!
Saskcop - thanks for the pointers, though with what I've read and seen there seems to be a slight improvement over standard HPs vs. the Hydra Shoks.
I'd use the Hydras for home defense purposes and with my small hands shooting consecutive rounds of anything bigger than 9mm flies out of my target. I need something reliable and I need to have confidence shooting it. I'm sure Hydras don't make a big difference compared to your everyday HPs, but as Dizzy mentionned, the circomstances would require every little extra kick possible.
Chemist - I'll surely be ordering from you.
Thanks fellas!
Sadly I live in Montreal, QC - gun shows are rare here!
Saskcop - thanks for the pointers, though with what I've read and seen there seems to be a slight improvement over standard HPs vs. the Hydra Shoks.
I'd use the Hydras for home defense purposes and with my small hands shooting consecutive rounds of anything bigger than 9mm flies out of my target. I need something reliable and I need to have confidence shooting it. I'm sure Hydras don't make a big difference compared to your everyday HPs, but as Dizzy mentionned, the circomstances would require every little extra kick possible.
Chemist - I'll surely be ordering from you.
Thanks fellas!
I spent some time shooting a variety of different 9mm JHP's into media and found the exact opposite. The Hydra Shoks performed less well than other types. The area where the Hydra Shok was the worst was shooting through clothing. The hollow point gets completely clogged and the bullet doesn't expand at all. This is true for most JHP's but the Hyrdra Shok was the worst performer.
Out of this list the Golden Sabre is BY FAR the best performer. That bullet opens up huge and reliably every time and no matter what you shoot it through or into. I have 5 or 6 that all look identical yet were fired in different tests on different days.
The SXT would be my second choice. Opened up they look nasty but for expansion size and penetration they really don't exceed the performance of other high end bullets.
Shooting into wet newspaper, I found that .45ACP Hydra-Shok was good through old rags (simulated T-shirt) or old Jeans (simulated jean jacket) but failed miserably on an old down-filled jacket that I put up since it was covered in spark-holes from a campfire. Note to self: don't let your idiot buddy take your good downfill camping...
Other than that, I totally agree with Suputin on the Golden Sabre and SXTs. The difference for me was on price alone - I got the GS's cheaper than the SXTs buy a few bucks per 25-box, so they "won."
Any of them would be fine in a home-defense setting, though - provided the operator subscribed to the "shoot until the threat stops" theory rather than the "one shot must vaporize the guy" theory.
If the latter, Golden Sabre will do better under more circumstances than Hydra-Shok IMO.
Edited To Add: Don't forget about Speer Gold Dot (regular or +P) or CorBon DPX (regular or +P) either.
-M
Hydra-Shok ammo is a marketing term for Federal JHP's. Used to be a lead, .38, 'Hydra-Shok' that did squat.
"...forgot how much it costs to ship ammo..." Yep. Negates any on-line cost savings.
"...don't let your idiot buddy take..." Applies to your good, thick, tarp too. Even though it was just a plastic tarp, it was thicker. Got a cheap blue one back with no explanation. Sent my 140 litre cooler ahead, once with a buddy and his horde of children. Busted hunge when I got there. No explanation. No appology or an attempt to fix it. Don't lend any of my kit, to anyone, anymore.
"...forgot how much it costs to ship ammo..." Yep. Negates any on-line cost savings.
"...don't let your idiot buddy take..." Applies to your good, thick, tarp too. Even though it was just a plastic tarp, it was thicker. Got a cheap blue one back with no explanation. Sent my 140 litre cooler ahead, once with a buddy and his horde of children. Busted hunge when I got there. No explanation. No appology or an attempt to fix it. Don't lend any of my kit, to anyone, anymore.
