Is CORBON as good as they claim to be?

[Emop]

Just curious if anyone here uses Corbon ammo for their self defense rounds? I don't have any experience with them but I've read some good things any I am coming to rely on this forum for much better opinions than I've seen in the past. I understand that a lot of the info out there is anecdotal but I am hoping to hear what your experience has been.
The photos of the rounds on their website are beautiful but I am looking for something more important than good looking. I'm sure you know what I mean.
I did email them asking for suggestions for 357 Mag, 44 Mag, and 45 ACP but their response was useless. It may have been answered by someone having a bad day ;-)

 

[Pisgah]

What answer are you looking for? "I have shot 10 bad guys with Corbon, and all of them said they hated it worse than being shot with Winchester.''?

My experience with the brand -- no blood shed in its use -- has been fully satisfactory. Pretty pricey, though. Other than the pricey part, I'd say the same for numerous other brands.

 

[rwsmith]

Boutique ammo

The boutique ammos are pretty stiff loads. No question about that. Very important is the choice of bullet. Another good thing is that the boutique guys don't use 'cheap' bullets and their self defense lines of ammo have some thought and expertise behind it. There are loads of reviews on ammo and Corbon is frequently represented in those. I've never seen it do badly. I could look some up, but you can do that. I prefer a typical JHP design with a lead core. I think that the best of the ordinary manufacturers do just fine, at least in testing. Speer Gold Dot, Hornady Critical Defense, Remington Golden Saber, Federal HST are all very good.

You did't mention what cartridge you were looking for. If you have a short barrel, you have the limitations of a short barrel. Speer's Short Barrel ammo is designed for this.

Again, all of the boutique ammos have a 'hot' self defense product. My worry would be more the type of bullet they use.

 

[ContinentalOp]

My only experience with CorBon ammo was 20something years ago when I used their 115gr JHP +P load using the Sierra bullet, which was supposed to hit 1350fps. At the time I had run probably a few hundred rounds through my Beretta 92FS and never had a problem. It was highly recommended by people with more experience and knowledge than me. My memory may be a bit hazy, but I recall that it had been used successfully in actual shootings; I could be wrong, though.

I don't know anything about their current offerings.

Nowadays I keep my Beretta loaded with 147gr HST and am confident in that choice.

One good way to make a choice is to look up "Dr. Roberts ammo list" and choose from his recommendations.

Or, make it even simpler and just pick whatever HST or Gold Dot is available for your gun (my preference is for medium-to-heavy bullet weight-for-caliber, FWIW).

 

[SweetMK]

If you want boutique rimfire ammo, now, instead of buying it, you can make your own.

(X-MAS SALE!)NEW- Redesigned Li'l Gizzy 22 LR HP tool/maker/die | eBay

I saw a thread about this tool, and that took me to several discussions about the effect of point shape on rimfire ammo.

The effect of this tool is dramatic,, it can make round nose hit with devastating effects.

I am not proposing rimfire for self defense,, but, this rimfire info shows that ammo like CorBon can make a significant difference.

If you want to see the results yourself, on the cheap, you can order the eBay tool, and test some rimfire ammo on some cucumbers!!

 

[Genetically Swiss]

Some have questioned the actual velocities claimed by CorBon. I have never chronographed their ammunition.

GS

 

[Emop]

What answer are you looking for? "I have shot 10 bad guys with Corbon, and all of them said they hated it worse than being shot with Winchester.''?

My experience with the brand -- no blood shed in its use -- has been fully satisfactory. Pretty pricey, though. Other than the pricey part, I'd say the same for numerous other brands.

I suppose the type of answer I am looking for is no different than anyone else asking opinions of any SD ammo...

1) Any issues relating to reliability. "I never had any malfunctions with them. They seem very dependable compared to some other brands that I would not trust"
2) Any issues relating to consistency or accuracy. "I found them to be sort of erratic. My groupings were not nearly as good as I do with XYZ brand. "They're very popular on the competitive circuit"
3) Power - as compared to other brands of similar load."They seem to be really hot compared to XYZ brand" "Recoil is quite mild for that particular load. I'm use to much more kick with my Winchester 300 grain" They're great if you don't mind temporary day blindness from the 4th of July muzzle flash!"
4) Expansion I've seen some horrible ballistics results" or "they make the Flying Ashtray look like a collar button"
5) Availability "I think they're great, but they build to order and it takes months to get them"
6) History "They have a wonderful reputation. They're contacted to build special loads for the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police"

Sorry if I was unclear. I was just looking for good, bad, or indifferent opinions... Not walking dead stories.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I agree - as good as what/at doing what?

Having asked that, let me relate just how powerful Corbon ammunition can be - that might answer your question, actually.

As a cowboy action shooter I generally shot Ruger Vaqueros (the older type) in .45 Colt. I used to be a regular contributor to the Single Action Shooting Society's newspaper so I got an idea and I got into testing guns made by various manufacturers for "CAS" folks. Offhand I can't recall all of the guns I tested but they included a Beretta Stampede in .45/c, a couple of Charles Daly models in .45/c, a Uberti Model 1876 rifle in .50-95 as I recall, etc. This is the story of one Charles Daly SAA replica in .45 Colt. For the record, I bought that gun.

I took it to the range with my usual, lightly loaded cowboy action ammunition. That ammo was loaded to 600 fps, the CAS minimum. Corbon's .45 Colt ammo was loaded to around 1200 fps.

As you might imagine, felt recoil even in an easy shooting SAA revolver was massively different when I switched to the Corbon rounds. More importantly, however, was that I don't think I got three cylinders fired when the Corbon recoil shook the gun apart and the entire ejector rod/housing, etc., BROKE loose and went flying downrange. The ejector tube screw had sheared clean off. Needless to say I don't recommend Corbon's self defense rounds for an SAA although my Vaqueros will swallow them easily all day long.

So, how good are they? They're that good.

 

[Emop]

The boutique ammos are pretty stiff loads. No question about that. Very important is the choice of bullet. Another good thing is that the boutique guys don't use 'cheap' bullets and their self defense lines of ammo have some thought and expertise behind it. There are loads of reviews on ammo and Corbon is frequently represented in those. I've never seen it do badly. I could look some up, but you can do that. I prefer a typical JHP design with a lead core. I think that the best of the ordinary manufacturers do just fine, at least in testing. Speer Gold Dot, Hornady Critical Defense, Remington Golden Saber, Federal HST are all very good.

You did't mention what cartridge you were looking for. If you have a short barrel, you have the limitations of a short barrel. Speer's Short Barrel ammo is designed for this.

Again, all of the boutique ammos have a 'hot' self defense product. My worry would be more the type of bullet they use.

Thanks for the reply. Very nice job!

I was actually asking Corbon for suggestions for three different guns and calibers.

357 for a 686 3"
44 magnum for a 629 4" and,
45 ACP for a 1911 4.25"

Thanks

 

[Mister X]

Corbon DPX has been my preferred carry round for the last ten years. It came highly recommended by just about every instructor I've ever trained with and what they themselves carried. It's on Dr.Gary Roberts(DocGKR) list of recommend ammunition and that's good enough for me.

 

[ACP230]

I've been happy with all the Cor-Bon ammo I've used.
This includes the old LSWC hollowpoint hot .38 ammo.
Some .357 and .41 Mag rounds, and some 9mm.

 

[Telecaster]

Looks like acceptable penetration and consistent expansion for .357.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/#357mag

 

[41 fan]

In the past, I have chronoed several Corbon loads. The usually made the velocity printed on the box. My favorite was the 38 spl 158 gr LSWHP which made 1050 fps from my 3" model 65. Dean

 

[WR Moore]

Until it became so hard to find, the 115 gr +P 9mm was my primary load. Cronograph results were always within spec (1300-1350 f/s) and results were simply outstanding. Penetration is on the low acceptable side, ~10 inches.

The DPX does provide more penetration and is barrier blind, if that's what you're looking for.

When I couldn't find it, I went to Speer +P.

 

[rwsmith]

I know this is the AMMO thread.....

Thanks for the reply. Very nice job!

I was actually asking Corbon for suggestions for three different guns and calibers.

357 for a 686 3"
44 magnum for a 629 4" and,
45 ACP for a 1911 4.25"

Thanks

I used to not worry about money much. Now I HAVE to worry about money. The boutique stuff is expensive and I don't even buy much regular brand ammo. I would rather reload my own than pay for the boutique magnum cartridges.

BTW. Those advertised velocities are sometimes from 10" test barrels with no gap. All guns are different and certainly aren't anything like a 10" test barrel. "Your results may vary"......and they will, usually way downward. In my old Speer number 9 manual they compared a LOT of guns with the same ammo, and got really wide variations in velocity. They called the section "Why Ballisticians Get Grey". The only way you know for sure with your guns is to clock them with a chrono.

My friend has a .44 mag with a 9 3/4" barrel that is probably close to a test barrel, but of course it has a cylinder gap.

 

[Bill Lear]

In the main, Corbon seems to have settled on being the "in-between" company. By that I mean they aren't trying to make the most powerful loads in a given caliber, but loads that offer something more than the average "big box" maker.

A good example is the .460 Rowland. Underwood and Buffalo Bore load it to the max, while Corbon seems content to bring it in at the high-end of say, .45 Super power level which is actually a nice "mid-range" choice for those who don't want to load their own.

Corbon also loads for unique calibers that others do not. I have shot their ammo and it's a well-crafted as any other brand.

 

[iPac]

I used to not worry about money much. Now I HAVE to worry about money. The boutique stuff is expensive and I don't even buy much regular brand ammo. I would rather reload my own than pay for the boutique magnum cartridges.

Dilly Dilly!!!

My mind works like this, does the added cost of buying "boutique" SD ammo actually equate to "making the odds more in your favor"? Or, just how much better performance does a "boutique" ammo give over a more standard load/bullet?

All of those questions are highly subjective with a ton of variables, all of which change the answer. Almost to the point you can't guarantee anything.

So, for the cost of about $.10 per round, I'm pretty confident sticking with XTP homebrews tailored to my preference.

I would rather reload, period. To heck with buying loaded ammo. I've saved thousands. That 2nd hand, complete RCBS reloading setup I purchased back when I first started for $150 was the best investment made.