I have been using 45acp PowerBall in my carry 45 for a while and noticed I was running low on them. The last I bought was a couple of years ago and I went to my local gunshop and bought a couple of boxes (all I could afford-$32.00 a box of 20). They were the same 165 grn+P that I had been using. Right off I noticed a newer box and looking at a cartridge I noticed a white colored nose cap instead of the old gray ones that were on my old ones. Well I decided to test a few to see if there was any difference. I took a water soaked phone book and backed up about 10 feet and fired two shots out of my LWT Commander. I thumbed through the book and discovered that the bullets had shed their jackets and seperated from the lead core, both shots. A impressive mushroom on the jacket but the lead was a lump,the nose cap undeformed, three seperate pieces from each bullet. They penetrated about two thirds of the phone book. I fired two in a Sig P220, the same results. I fired two in a Colt Gm,the same thing. I fired two rounds of my old stock in the Commander and they stayed together and preformed in a classic mushroom. Am I missing something or has anyone else noticed this? It may very well change my mind on PowerBall.

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Danny A.

I wouldn't sweat it, Danny. Wet phone book performance doesn't tell you much of anything about what a given bullet will do in flesh. I like Pow'rBall for the .45, especially in aluminum-framed guns, since it is so easy on the feed ramp.

I can't recall seeing any info on testing of them anywhere Danny?
Were your observations on the older stuff from your testing? It'd sure be interesting to compare if someone had any links to post from other testing! Thanks for taking the time to write up your concerns.

38/44-Do you know of any links of the stuff being tested? I'd really like to check into it, for exactly the reason you mentioned!

I think that Pow’rBall has more or less been outdated by some of the newer designs. I am not certain that I know when that happened.
I was cleaning out the odds-and-ends ammo box and saw a few blue tip .44 spl rounds and wondered why I stopped using them for defense loads..

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I checked some old 9mm PowerBall that I've got on hand through a HiPower and it holds together perfectly. I shot two rounds through it into a wet phone book and two rounds through it into some foam rubber with a piece of denim in front of it. This was at about 10ft. and both times it mushroomed perfectly.
I tried the new PowerBall 45acp into the foam and denim and it seperated into three pieces again. I tried the old 45 Powerball into the foam and denim and it mushroomed but the plastic nose cap seperated.
You figure it, this is giving me a headache.
Everyone have a great weekend.

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Danny A.

Take a couple Ibuprofens Danny, and relax. Then, get yourself some 1-gallon plastic milk or water jugs, fill them up and line them up and shoot them. It's not as good as ballistic gelatin or actual flesh testing, but it is MUCH better than paper or foam rubber. Then, if the new PB fragments, but still gets into the third jug in line, stay relaxed, because fragmentation is not a bad thing unless it is accompanied by insufficient penetration.

After years and years of blowing up water jugs with all manner of handgun ammo, I've found that the loads that are known to work well "on the street" are ones that expand, may or may not fragment, and stop in the third or fourth gallon jug, usually the third. Scientific? Of course not, but it gives one some comparative data, both qualitative and (roughly) quantitative, with which to work. You can also "clothe" the first jug with a few layers of fabric, if you want to check for the effects of clothing plugging a hollowpoint. With Pow'rball, I think that would be a waste of time and fabric.

I will tell you that .380 PB is a serious underpenetrator. I will no longer carry it. In .45, I've not bought any in a year or so, but what I've tested has left me feeling pretty comfortable with it.

I sometimes carry in my 3" 66. It gets going going fast and hits hard. Took out a coyote at about 40yds w/ one shot, made me a believer

Unless you have a good place to shoot jugs and lots of jugs, I can suggest the Box-of-Truth site.
They use the blue tips for comparison in lots of their “experiments”.
The Box O' Truth - The Box O' Truth

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

Thanks very much Roger!
Those tests are always good reads!