I got a few interesting 9mm examples donated to me since the last round of terminal ballistic testing so I got out today to test them.
Remington bulk 88gr JHP, IMI 158gr subsonic, Swiss P SeCa 99gr
Swiss P SeCa 99gr: This unique looking bullet was donated by JR from TSE. It penetrated only 12 layers (out of 21) of the Level 2 kevlar vest.
In wet paper it penetrated 8.75" and expanded to .460". This bullet is of a very unique design. It is pure copper with a hard expander inserted into a large hollowpoint. On impact the expander is pushed backwards causing the nose of the hollow point to open up. This system seems to limit the amount of expansion but it should also prove to be 100% reliable as there is no open hollow point to get clogged up with heavy material.
Swiss P expanded round, unfired round and round fired into kevlar vest
Remington Bulk 88gr JHP. This little bullet is really designed for use in the 380 ACP cartridge but I had a box left over so I thought I'd try them in the 9mm. While it has velocity, the lightweight hollow point didn't make an impressive impact in the kevlar vest. It was stopped on the vest's surface. Note the kevlar weave pattern impressed on the bullet's nose.
Loaded to max velocity the bullet almost completely disintigrated on
impact with wet paper. The largest fragment only penetrated 4.75" and it lost 1/3 of its weight in the process.
IMI 158gr Samson subsonic is a bullet I have long waited to get a close look at. Now that I have I don't see how it improves on the commonaly available 147gr offerings. This bullet is a FMJ design to comply with military use requirements. It actually bounced off the surface of the vest and was lost in the grass. :shock:
In wet paper it penetrated 13.5" with no expansion. This is the exact same performance exhibited by the Montana Gold FMJ 147gr bullet tested previously. So other than an interesting oddity the Isreali round offers no performance over currently available subsonic rounds.
Remington bulk 88gr JHP, IMI 158gr subsonic, Swiss P SeCa 99gr
Swiss P SeCa 99gr: This unique looking bullet was donated by JR from TSE. It penetrated only 12 layers (out of 21) of the Level 2 kevlar vest.
In wet paper it penetrated 8.75" and expanded to .460". This bullet is of a very unique design. It is pure copper with a hard expander inserted into a large hollowpoint. On impact the expander is pushed backwards causing the nose of the hollow point to open up. This system seems to limit the amount of expansion but it should also prove to be 100% reliable as there is no open hollow point to get clogged up with heavy material.
Swiss P expanded round, unfired round and round fired into kevlar vest
Remington Bulk 88gr JHP. This little bullet is really designed for use in the 380 ACP cartridge but I had a box left over so I thought I'd try them in the 9mm. While it has velocity, the lightweight hollow point didn't make an impressive impact in the kevlar vest. It was stopped on the vest's surface. Note the kevlar weave pattern impressed on the bullet's nose.
Loaded to max velocity the bullet almost completely disintigrated on
impact with wet paper. The largest fragment only penetrated 4.75" and it lost 1/3 of its weight in the process.
IMI 158gr Samson subsonic is a bullet I have long waited to get a close look at. Now that I have I don't see how it improves on the commonaly available 147gr offerings. This bullet is a FMJ design to comply with military use requirements. It actually bounced off the surface of the vest and was lost in the grass. :shock:
In wet paper it penetrated 13.5" with no expansion. This is the exact same performance exhibited by the Montana Gold FMJ 147gr bullet tested previously. So other than an interesting oddity the Isreali round offers no performance over currently available subsonic rounds.
