hornady critical defense question

[fishead]

I have a 686 with 6 inch barrel for home defense. I ordered a box of critical defense 125 gr .357 mag ammo online. I did not understand that this ammo was designed for short barreled guns. I have no doubts this ammo is lethal from a 6 inch barrel gun , but I am curious what the down side would be since this ammo was made for shortys.
thanks

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
The only "down side" might be that you get less speed INCREASE from a
longer barrel as the load is designed to get a specific speed , that the bullet needs to work as designed, from a shorter barrel with low flash
and reduced kick for lighter guns.
A standard load would be designed to get high speed from all barrels
and flash/control would be secondary.

 

[fishead]

thanks for your input groo .
I don't know if ammo that is appropriate for short barrel guns is inappropriate for longer barreled guns . Or am I thinking too much about nothing ?
thanks again

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Most handgun ammo designed for a short barrel gun uses a bullet designed to reliable expand at the lower velocities associated with a short barrel. I'm looking at the Hornady sight right now and Hornady Critical Defense .357 Magnum ammo uses a 125gr FTX bullet. That ammo is not specifically for short barrels. They list velocity numbers for an 8" barrel and a 2" barrel so they designed the ammo for use in a wide range of barrel lengths or they wouldn't supply velocity numbers from a longer barrel.

See for yourself at this link: Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Ammunition :: Handgun :: Choose by Caliber :: 357 Mag :: 357 Mag 125 gr FTX® Critical Defense®

 

[fishead]

ArchAngel,
thanks for the info. All my questions started when a guy from a local gun shop told me that if I shoot ammo that was designed for a short barrel out of my 6 inch 686 that the increased velocity would cause the bullet to fragment and lower the chances of stopping a bad guy with one shot. The man seemed knowledgeable but, I am not sure about his story.
thanks again and I agree with your comments.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Hornady Critical Defense is designed for the general public for SD, that will work in most cases and expand and penetrate properly in most weapons used.

The Critical "Duty" ammo is different and designed for the LE that need a bullet to penetrate metal, glass and wood or other objects that they may encounter.

The "Defense" ammo will do well for you but you should try the light and heavier bullets to see if either perform better in your weapons.

Good luck.

 

[OKFC05]

All my questions started when a guy from a local gun shop told me that if I shoot ammo that was designed for a short barrel out of my 6 inch 686 that the increased velocity would cause the bullet to fragment and lower the chances of stopping a bad guy with one shot

Well, we can get into all kinds of theory, and what "a guy" said is sorta true. However, I can also testify that the exact Hornady bullet hitting an arm bone will break the arm, but stop right there. If you have ANY idea that you can rely on a .38 (or most anything from a pistol) to make the proverbial "one shot stop" you have a serious training deficiency.
There is too much variability in exactly WHAT the bullet hits to count on anything but "shoot center of mass and keep shooting until the threat stops."
Ask the cop who emptied his .45 1911 into a redneck on meth and then still had to club him down with the butt of the gun what he thinks about "one shot stops.". By the way, the perp survived.

 

[Voyager28]

ArchAngel,
thanks for the info. All my questions started when a guy from a local gun shop told me that if I shoot ammo that was designed for a short barrel out of my 6 inch 686 that the increased velocity would cause the bullet to fragment and lower the chances of stopping a bad guy with one shot. The man seemed knowledgeable but, I am not sure about his story.
thanks again and I agree with your comments.

That story would be what Colonel Sherman Potter would refer to as "Horse Hockey".

Bob

 

[federali]

No arm in Asking

Ammunition designed to meet certain minimum performance standards in short barrels handguns will do just fine in a longer tube.

However, if you were to fire such ammo in a 12 inch barrel or perhaps a carbine, the added barrel length may add some drag and result in a lower velocity.

 

[fishead]

thanks for all the help. The hornady info says that this ammo is "optimized " for short barrel carry guns. After the gun shop guy's comments I did wonder what the difference would be between firing this ammo from a 2inch barrel or a 6inch barrel. I did not think that there would be any huge problems , but I thought I could learn something from your input - and I did.
thanks again