I am currently loading Corbon HP. But I haven't seen too many members raving about this bullet. Any comments pro or con for this load?

And is there a better load you would suggest?

Thanks for the help.

What weight of Cor Bon?,,, JHP or DPX???


The short answer is that it is hard to find a bad .40 load

Corbon isn't mentioned very often, but it's usually highly rated in ammunition tests in magazines and such. Gold Dots and Winchester Rangers are two other brands I really like. But yeah, just about any premium load is going to work well for you.

I personaly like the Speer 165 GN GD . It does very well in my guns and shoots to point of aim @ 25yds.

Corbon makes impressively good ammo. Which load are you using?

I have never heard anything bad about Cor-Bon ammo. I carry the Winchester Ranger T-Series (RA40TA) in 165Gr. I've shot a few of them into different media, and they really open up, even into gallon jugs of frozen water. The Winchester PDX-1 works well too, plus it has a bonded core.

Thanks for the responses. In 2 mags I have Corbon 135gr JHP, and in two other mags I have 165gr JHP.

I was told during shooting classes that in the unfortunate event of a confrontaion outside the home you want a faster bullet...hence the 135gr.

And if an altercation occurs in your home you want a heavier bullet that can travel through walls, door, etc and still down an intruder.

Does that make sense to you all? And how do you feel about Corbon's now that you know the weight.

No that doesn't make sense. In all cases you want a bullet which will deliver maximum energy into the intruder while stopping inside their body. You do not want bullets penetrating walls of your home and hitting family members, neighbors, bystanders, etc.

The bullet weight thing is unique to each caliber. For example I like the heaviest bullet for 45 ACP, 230gr. However the heaviest bullet in 9mm, 147gr, has a poor track record. For that weak caliber you need a light bullet going as fast as possible to attempt expansion in the target. Corbon's philosophy is a light-for-caliber bullet going really really fast and providing good expansion. Under testing it generally performs as advertised.

Between the corbon 135 gr. and 165 gr. JHP loads, I'd have to see gelatin test results to tell you which one I like most. My concern is that the 135 gr. cartridge is an underpenetrator, but it's velocity and energy are getting into the .357 magnum zone. My hunch is that the Sierra JHP that the 135 gr. load utilizes will throw off serious secondary fragments and because of that have a smaller expanded diameter that allows sufficient penetration. If the 135 grainer penetrates well, then it would be my choice. A phone call, or e-mail to Corbon would likely give you gel penetration results for the 135 and 165 gr. loads. I like 12" - 14" penetration but would live with a little less, but certainly not under 10".

FWIW, I would not use either load for law enforcement, or for a dedicated car gun because they do not use a bonded bullet.

I would also like to add that switching loads in handguns based on whether one is inside, or outside, or because of hot weather/cold weather is a complete waste of time IMO.

Noir1911,
No, that makes no sense whatsoever. Of the 2 Cor-Bon rounds you mention go with the 165, however there are better rounds available. IMO stay away from the Cor-Bon 135 (big mushroom and shallow penetration in our testing). Pick the best round available to you in quantity and ensure your guns functions 100% with it. Then, load ALL your mags with the same ammo (keep it simple so you don't have the wrong ammo at the wrong time). keep in mind ammo is but a very small percentage of the survival equation.

Thanks for all for all of the info.

Swat Lt... Can you name off some of the loads you consider superior? Would GoldDot be one?

Yes, I consider the Gold Dot in 180 & 155 superior, plus several others.

I recommend you check out the link TPD223 posted in this thread as any of them should be fine:

good 40s&w defense load my m&p 40

Winchester PDX1 180 grain in .40 S&W is the new load selected by the FBI.

The 180 PDX-1 id the same round as the Winchester bonded 180 Q-4355 shown in the link. It should be good ammo.

Swat, Thanks for all of the help. I've been looking at Gold Dot. I'm trying to decide between 165gr or the 180gr. Could you shed some light on your opinion.

I noticed that you didn't list the 165gr as a load you'd reccomend. Is there a reason for that?

Thanks again.

Performance during the testing I saw and some others have reported wasn't terribly good. I know of at least one state police agency that went to the 155 after a few OISs with the 165, but I don't know all the details. They seem to be happy with the 155 GD after having several OISs with it.

The FBI used to issue the 165 GD in both medium velocity and high velocity loadings (maybe sigp220 can comment as he works for them) but have gone to the 180 bonded Q4355. I don't think the 165 GD is a terrible round, just that there are better ones available. I like the terminal ballistics, not to mention prefer the felt recoil of the 180 jhps, over the 155s and 165s.

Again, ammo is but a small part of the equation. There are a lot of okay .40 cal rounds, just some are much better than others.