In my quest for the best home protection/self defense ammo, I took a page out of Dean Grennell's book, and bought 12 pounds of Duxseal, a heavy oil-based clay that comes in 1-pound blocks. My shooting buddy Jerry and I took it to the pistol range, stuffed it into a small plastic bucket, and proceeded to test every defensive load we could lay our hands on. The results were somewhat predictable for the most part, but there were a few surprises.
Our main goal was to test the new Speer 135-grain Gold Dot Hollow Point, which we bought as a component bullet. I loaded them in 38 cases to velocity ranges from 800 fps to 1000 or so, and every bullet expanded well, and held together, at all ranges we tested. If you ran them a lot hotter they'd probably come apart, but at normal handgun velocities they are excellent. Winchester WST tended to tumble, and several shed their jackets. Nyclads held together well, aside from a few petals peeling back and breaking off. Remington's scalloped-jacket 125 and 158 grain hollowpoints did VERY well, consistent expansion to around 55 caliber and excellent weight retention.
Bear in mind that Duxseal is a lot stiffer than gelatin, so while the results were different, they were still consistent from bullet to bullet. The temp was about 75 degrees, I think next time we test I'll let the Duxseal warm up in the sun, to soften it a bit more.
The surprise winner of all bullets tested was the old long-shank Remington 125 JHP load, I tested the same ammo I was issued in 1986, and it was amazing! The front portion expanded cleanly right down to the cannelure, retained ALL of its weight, and was recovered with a perfectly round .62 diamteter, flat as a pancake. Beautiful. Now I wish I'd saved more of that ammo, when our department had it! I believe Remington stopped making that bullet around 1990.
As for the Speer Gold Dot 135, anyone with a snubbie looking for good ammo would be hard pressed to find anything better. Speer says it was designed to expand reliably from 2" barrels, and it appears they have succeeded, with flying colors. Our testing was from a three-inch barrel, but there was plenty of expansion, more than needed.
I am currently unable to take any close-up pictures of the results, but I have saved all bullets for posterity, in case I find a way to photograph them clearly.
The results with the Speer bullet were pretty much what I expected, as I have tested the Gold Dot in calibers ranging from 44 Special to 40 S&W to 45ACP, and they have always been consistently good performers
Snubby carriers rejoice! You ship has just come in.......she's the S. S. Gold Dot!
Papajohn the Putty Popper
