Federal Hydra-Shock Ammo

[kn1080]

Fellow second amendment supporters,

Ive always been taught that the hydra-shock was the way to go... Now as I get older, Im beginning to wonder. Whats so special about the hydra shock? Is there anything that sets it apart from the other brands of personal defense ammo out there? Is there anything special about that little post in the middle? What is the post's actual purpose?

What kind of personal defense ammo do you use and why? not caliber but type.

 

[theicemanmpls]

Link Removed

 

[KimberRB]

I use hydra-shock for only one reason. Its what LEO use in my area.

 

[Glockster20]

Fellow second amendment supporters,

Ive always been taught that the hydra-shock was the way to go... Now as I get older, Im beginning to wonder. Whats so special about the hydra shock? Is there anything that sets it apart from the other brands of personal defense ammo out there? Is there anything special about that little post in the middle? What is the post's actual purpose?

What kind of personal defense ammo do you use and why? not caliber but type.

I think the Hydra-Shok from Federal isn't better than any other premium JHP such as the Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, or Winchester Silver Tip. If you really want to see a comparison, get a stack of soggy phone books and shoot each type of bullet into them. This will give you a really good ballistics picture, wound profile, dept, etc..

Depends on which firearm i'm carrying; if it's a 9mm, i like the Speer Gold Dot 124gr. JHP +P. For the .40, I generally like the Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP.. unless i am carrying a sub-compact, then I go lighter. On the 9mm, my thinking is this; .357 magnum or a 9mm +P? Both fire a .36 caliber bullet weighing roughly the same weight, .357 mag 125gr. and the 9mm a 124gr. Both bullets travel at mach speeds with the .357 having the edge. This of course also gives it the edge over the 9mm in stopping power. However, if you're a semi-auto guy/gal and you don't like the stout recoil or the cost of .357SIG, then a 124gr. 9mm loaded at +P pressure makes for a dandy self defense round.

 

[kn1080]

I think the Hydra-Shok from Federal isn't better than any other premium JHP such as the Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, or Winchester Silver Tip. If you really want to see a comparison, get a stack of soggy phone books and shoot each type of bullet into them. This will give you a really good ballistics picture, wound profile, dept, etc..

Depends on which firearm i'm carrying; if it's a 9mm, i like the Speer Gold Dot 124gr. JHP +P. For the .40, I generally like the Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP.. unless i am carrying a sub-compact, then I go lighter. On the 9mm, my thinking is this; .357 magnum or a 9mm +P? Both fire a .36 caliber bullet weighing roughly the same weight, .357 mag 125gr. and the 9mm a 124gr. Both bullets travel at mach speeds with the .357 having the edge. This of course also gives it the edge over the 9mm in stopping power. However, if you're a semi-auto guy/gal and you don't like the stout recoil or the cost of .357SIG, then a 124gr. 9mm loaded at +P pressure makes for a dandy self defense round.

Thank you for the insightful post.

Do you have any idea what the actual purpose of the post in the center of the hydra-shock round is?

 

[Ed Hamberger]

I think the Hydra-Shok from Federal isn't better than any other premium JHP such as the Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, or Winchester Silver Tip. If you really want to see a comparison, get a stack of soggy phone books and shoot each type of bullet into them. This will give you a really good ballistics picture, wound profile, dept, etc..

Depends on which firearm i'm carrying; if it's a 9mm, i like the Speer Gold Dot 124gr. JHP +P. For the .40, I generally like the Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP.. unless i am carrying a sub-compact, then I go lighter. On the 9mm, my thinking is this; .357 magnum or a 9mm +P? Both fire a .36 caliber bullet weighing roughly the same weight, .357 mag 125gr. and the 9mm a 124gr. Both bullets travel at mach speeds with the .357 having the edge. This of course also gives it the edge over the 9mm in stopping power. However, if you're a semi-auto guy/gal and you don't like the stout recoil or the cost of .357SIG, then a 124gr. 9mm loaded at +P pressure makes for a dandy self defense round.

I have to agree, Federal helped pioneer the self defense loads in with their Hydra-Shok rounds, but like Glockster20 said, there are an assortment of others with just as hot a product on the market. Although I'm still partial to the Federal Premium Hydra-Shok rounds. The post in the middle helps contol the rounds expansion upon impact.

 

[NMHunter]

Fellow second amendment supporters,

What is the post's actual purpose?

What kind of personal defense ammo do you use and why? not caliber but type.

The post is supposed to direct the fluids that enter the cavity and direct them to the outside wall thus ensuring the consistency of opening, mushrooming. If the cavity is not blocked up it does seem to work just as advertized.

There has been a lot of development of bullets since the Hydro-Shok came out. It has been upgraded since then, too. I use any of the newest generation of expanding bullets that Marshall & Sanow show to be in the 90+ percentile for one-shot-stop. Being a cynic I understand that noting works one-hundred-percent of the the time but those give me the best chance of working. I test some of the ammunition before I carry, once I determine 100% reliability I use the most accurate.

In current use are Remington Golden Sabre, and standard HP; Winchester Silver-Tip and DPX1; Magtech First Defense and standard HP; and Corbon DPX; Speer Gold Dot; Federal Hydro-shok, and Ny-clad.

 

[spf159753]

All the premium ammo made today are good enough in most cases. Shot placement is more important then bullet type.
JHP are the way to go for self defense.
Ball ammo, might over penetrate, and are not as good,as a fight stopper as JHP's are.
Oh, and some guns work better with different types of ammo in them.
Everyone has their preferences;ie, Ford, Chevy,Honda, Federal,Hornady,Remington,Corbon, etc.
In the old days ammo was not as good as they make these days. Now everyone makes a good version of self defense ammo.
Technology is better now.
Practice hitting your target more, and worry about ammo brand less.
No disrespect intended.
Good luck,stay safe.
Steve...

 

[wolfhunter]

Lighter weight bullets might be preferred for use in shorter barreled guns to keep terminal velocity up where it will cause proper expansion on penetration.

 

[Glockster20]

Lighter weight bullets might be preferred for use in shorter barreled guns to keep terminal velocity up where it will cause proper expansion on penetration.

Absolutely! For example, I carry my Glock 23 (compact) loaded with 165gr. bullets and my G27 (sub-compact) loaded with 135gr. bullets.

 

[handgonnetoter]

Fellow second amendment supporters,

Ive always been taught that the hydra-shock was the way to go... Now as I get older, Im beginning to wonder. Whats so special about the hydra shock? Is there anything that sets it apart from the other brands of personal defense ammo out there? Is there anything special about that little post in the middle? What is the post's actual purpose?

What kind of personal defense ammo do you use and why? not caliber but type.

I read an article about that at one time. It said the post helps direct pressure outwards, thus making the jacket mushroom out better. That is what that gun writer said anyway. I tend to like the Remington "Golden Sabre" type of ammo myself, especially in the 9mm rounds. Cor Bon makes some butt kickin' 9mm's too! God help me, I love all things guns and ammo too much!:laugh:

 

[kn1080]

Thank you friends for all of your imput. Id like to try something different and Im deciding what to switch to.

 

[ricbak]

Thank you friends for all of your imput. Id like to try something different and Im deciding what to switch to.

Well to change the subject a little,,,... I pray that you never have to use those rounds.

I have been getting HSTs because I can find them. I don't like driving all over for ammo. Also I have this thing about supporting our local people. The LEO's in the area use them (Hydras) and some where I read It was wise to carry what the police use. Is that Prudent?

 

[utimmer43]

Link Removed

Haven't seen this one before. Nice page.

 

[utimmer43]

... some where I read It was wise to carry what the police use. Is that Prudent?...

I've heard this before too. The idea is that if you use what they use, it will be less likely that you will be accused of using too much fire power. With the litigious mindset of some parts of the nation, I can see the point. But, in the day and age of castle doctrines, I'm thinking that there is less significance to the idea.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

Hydra-Shock is oldtechnology from the early 1990's.

Bullet development has come a long way since.

The newer HST and Gold-Dots are probably the best at this time.

Of course, where you put it more important than anything in the bullet design.

-Doc

 

[kn1080]

Hydra-Shock is oldtechnology from the early 1990's.

Bullet development has come a long way since.

The newer HST and Gold-Dots are probably the best at this time.

Of course, where you put it more important than anything in the bullet design.

-Doc

I am going to look into HST's and Gold-Dots. This is the kind of answer I was looking for.

 

[wolfhunter]

HydraShoks have been redesigned since the 90s and are still a top of the line defense choice

 

[utimmer43]

I go with the Gold Dots, really only because that is what my best "gun buddy" uses.

I think the article Iceman posted sums it up pretty well:

It’s a dirty little secret which rarely sees the light of day in most “stopping power” debates, but ammunition choice plays a much smaller role in stopping an attacker than shot placement.

Shot placement simply means putting the bullet(s) where the most damage will be done to the attacker. The primary target is what we call the thoracic triangle. The points of the triangle are the throat and two nipples. Shots to this area tend to make people FDGB (“fall down go boom”). Shots outside this area tend to have less immediate effects. Within reason, this is true regardless of caliber, ammunition, etc.

Almost any popular defensive JHP load (Gold Dot, Hyrda-Shok, SXT, Golden Saber, etc.) in a major caliber will be effective if shot placement is good. More importantly, if shot placement is bad, a “more powerful” round won’t do you any good.

What I take from that is this: Any of these premium brands will do. If you score inside that triangle, the difference between a perfect star-shaped, "gut shredding" mushroom with a .65" diameter and a less than perfect expansion with a .55" diameter is minimal. Either one is highly likely to drop the BG. Conversely, a hit outside that triangle (unless of course it's a head shot) isn't likely to stop him dead, regardless of which premium brand you use.

 

[aj's 40 cal]

i use both hst's and gold dots in my .40 s&w. i also have hydra shock's in 135 grain. my main carry ammo tho is 155 hst or the gold dots in my full size. great ammo for the price, but a horandy critical defence round is also hard to beat in a subcompact