.45 Hydra Shok

[StrawHat]

Kevin

 

[mscampbell2734]

dd they switch to the Ranger "talon" derivative? I have a 3" RIA in 45acp and need a carry round. I remember the 9mm 127 +P and +P+ Ranger rounds.

Do you mean the SXT? If so yes.

 

[Racer X]

Do you mean the SXT? If so yes.

It went Black Talon, Ranger T(alon), then SXT, I think.

 

[OldK22]

Federal on the left and my all time favorite on the right. Cor Bon when only the best will do.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Which is going to hurt more...a baseball at 1200 fps or a bowling ball at 850 fps?

Personally...I really don't want to be the test dummy for that answer. Both are gonna hurt.

 

[Bald1]

Opening day of deer season November 94 I killed a 3pt buck with 38 spl 129 gr Hydra Shocks. Complete pass through giant exit hole at 20 yds…… now you may ask why would I shoot a deer with a 38. I was field dressing a deer when this small buck came limping by basically on 3 legs. I was crouched over and my slug gun was 10 ft away leaning against a tree. The 38 was on my hip. I used to hunt a State Park and it sounded like a war zone on opening day. Lots of bad shots and misses.

 

[Racer X]

Opening day of deer season November 94 I killed a 3pt buck with 38 spl 129 gr Hydra Shocks. Complete pass through giant exit hole at 20 yds…… now you may ask why would I shoot a deer with a 38. I was field dressing a deer when this small buck came limping by basically on 3 legs. I was crouched over and my slug gun was 10 ft away leaning against a tree. The 38 was on my hip. I used to hunt a State Park and it sounded like a war zone on opening day. Lots of bad shots and misses.

That is my only real reservation about hunting. Wounding and the animal suffering.

 

[stansdds]

Which is going to hurt more...a baseball at 1200 fps or a bowling ball at 850 fps?

My answer is, "yes".

 

[Robert Henley]

You can go to the Lucky Gunner Ballistics website, and it has all the key statistics like penetration and expansion. The Federal HST is one of the best loads, especially in .45 ACP.

 

[Taj]

The Hydra-Shok was NOT the flying ashtray, that was the 200 gr Speer JHP load, which would not feed in most unmodified Colt 1911s.

The Hydra-Shok 230 gr load was the standard LAPD SWAT and SIS load until about 2000 give or take, when it was phased out in favor of the Winchester Ranger 230 gr load.

The old Hydra Shock is a great load but the Federal HST will slightly out perform it these days. The HST (in 45ACP) consistently gives 15 -16 inches of penetration and comes out of the gel at .900 to an inch in diameter. The 9mm is giving the same penatration and coming out of the gel @ .700+ diameter.

The Speer Gold Dot 2 in 9mm , which is a bonded round is giving the same penetration but does not expand quite as big at .650 or so expansion. LAPD went the GD2 across the board a few years back and was so impressed, even the SIS guys are packing hi-cap 9's vs the old days when they carried two 1911s in .45acp. Federal has always made great defensive ammo.

 

[Taj]

It went Black Talon, Ranger T(alon), then SXT, I think.

Yeah, SXT stands for "Same exact thing" as Black Talon. They just changed the name and color.

 

[mscampbell2734]

The old Hydra Shock is a great load but the Federal HST will slightly out perform it these days. The HST (in 45ACP) consistently gives 15 -16 inches of penetration and comes out of the gel at .900 to an inch in diameter. The 9mm is giving the same penatration and coming out of the gel @ .700+ diameter.

The Speer Gold Dot 2 in 9mm , which is a bonded round is giving the same penetration but does not expand quite as big at .650 or so expansion. LAPD went the GD2 across the board a few years back and was so impressed, even the SIS guys are packing hi-cap 9's vs the old days when they carried two 1911s in .45acp. Federal has always made great defensive ammo.

Actually no, G2 in 9mm and 40 but stayed with HST for 45s

 

[Patrip]

The Hydra Shok developed a little bit of a spotty reputation for the cavity plugging around the central post and then acting more like a FMJ, which is why we now have the HST design. Federal's HST, the Speer Gold Dot, and the Winchester Ranger T are all better bullet designs than the old Hydra Shok.[/QUOTE]

Our department was issued the Hydrashok from early mid 2000 to 2022. The early ammunition they gave us was the Hydrashok with the post. They said it was a "wonder bullet" and scads better than the Ball Ammo. I shot both into the same medium and of course one did not "mushroom" as expected and merely deformed the same as a ball ammo round.

The HSTwas better

Then we had to follow the trend and go back to the 9mm. But at least we get the Critical Duty 135 grain rounds. Hopefully they are better.

 

[stansdds]

The Hydra Shok developed a little bit of a spotty reputation for the cavity plugging around the central post and then acting more like a FMJ, which is why we now have the HST design. Federal's HST, the Speer Gold Dot, and the Winchester Ranger T are all better bullet designs than the old Hydra Shok.
Our department was issued the Hydrashok from early mid 2000 to 2022. The early ammunition they gave us was the Hydrashok with the post. They said it was a "wonder bullet" and scads better than the Ball Ammo. I shot both into the same medium and of course one did not "mushroom" as expected and merely deformed the same as a ball ammo round.

The HSTwas better

Then we had to follow the trend and go back to the 9mm. But at least we get the Critical Duty 135 grain rounds. Hopefully they are better.

Luckygunner.com does a lot of testing using calibrated gel covered by denim. In their tests, the 230 grain standard pressure HST was quite uniform in expansion. The 165 grain and 185 grain +P Hydra Shok's were inconsistent and the 230 grain Hydra Shok showed virtually no expansion. The Hydra Shok was interesting, but still relied upon older jacket and core technology. It needed a lot of velocity in order to achieve expansion and you simply don't get that sort of velocity with the 230 grain 45 ACP.

 

[Valmet]

Despite more recent bullet designs, the hydra-shok is still fantastic (in any caliber). I've always been partial to the 230-gr Remington Golden Saber in .45ACP but would feel as adequately armed with a Hydra-Shok, HST, Gold Dot, etc…

 

[chief38]

I have found over the years that some 1911's will not reliably feed certain hollow point ammo as they were never designed to do that. The 1911 was designed over half a century before hollow points were even available.

I so rarely (almost never - except sometimes when actually shooting it that day) carry a 1911 pistol. On that rare occasion, I will only carry 230 grain FMJ (Ball ammo) as all my 1911's are 100% reliable with it. Expansion is nice, but in the case of a 45 caliber bullet, expansion is less important than reliability. The 230 grain FMJ bullet is heavy enough and powerful enough that unlike lighter and smaller bullets doesn't need expansion to accomplish its job.

 

[demkofour]

There is also the fact that a 9x19mm may kill a man, but the 45 ACP will also kill his soul.

Great quote there!
But almost exactly 24 years ago on a quiet Sunday afternoon, the Federal HydraShok 9mm performed flawlessly for me against a felon who was high on heroin and cocaine and hell bent on not going back… that round (3x) on that day definitely fulfilled that quote.

 

[Oldsalt66]

It went Black Talon, Ranger T(alon), then SXT, I think.

I believe that Ranger SXT pre-dates Ranger T.

 

[KEN L]

Actually, the original flying ashtray was the Super Vel.

 

[Model19man]

Actually, the original flying ashtray was the Super Vel.

Pretty sure the Flying Ashtray is a Speer bullet. It could have first appeared in the Super Vel line I don't remember much from back then.