Hornady Critical Duty 135gr 9mm Ballistic Gel Test (HD)

Here's a test of the Hornady Critical Duty 135gr 9mm load in the Clear Ballistics FBI spec gel. Test fired from 10ft from a SIG P226.
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Disclaimer: These videos are strictly for educational and entertainment purposes only. Imitation or the use of anything demonstrated in my videos is done AT YOUR OWN RISK. All work on firearms should be carried out by a licensed individual and all state and federal rules apply to such. We (including KZbin) will not be held liable for any injury to yourself or damage to your firearms resulting from attempting anything shown in any our videos. I do not endorse any specific product and this video is not an attempt to sell you a good or service. I am not a gun shop and DO NOT sell or deal in Firearms. Such a practice is heavily regulated and subject to applicable laws. I DO NOT sell parts, magazines, or firearms. These videos are free to watch and if anyone attempts to charge for this video notify us immediately. By viewing or flagging this video you are acknowledging the above.
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[@bruisterlenoir6474]

I always appreciate how concise you are and I know that is deliberate. I get accurate information from a professional, I learn a lot of key information and I don't have to wait 15 minutes for you to get to the punch line. Thank you for teaching me well and not taking all day to do it. I have probably watched 30 or 40 of your reviews and I learn a lot each time. Thank you

[@Willis2515]

I began carrying this in both my 9mm's after MAC's review and your excellent review and information just backed up that it's a great carry round. Thanks again for all your hard work and videos.

[@GuitarLoveTV]

This is what i carry. Love the penetration and reliable expansion.

[@bigmike9128]

GuitarLoveTV that's what she said lol😂

[@justindunlap1235]

I also carry these, mainly because I spend allot of time on the water and these are sealed at the primer and case mouth.

[@georgelebessisjr9203]

Nice! I literally bought two boxes of this ammo today! Good to see a video that backs up my purchase!

[@OhNellly]

I just picked up a box of this ammo. Thank you for doing a proper gel test. The first couple videos I clicked on were testing the ammo on water jugs or a pork butt. It's easier to compare ammo's when you see the tests done on gel.

[@Mrgunsngear]

CALIFORNIA APPROVED HANDGUNS you're welcome.

[@j.r.777]

This is the ammo that I use in my daily conceal and carry. I have been very impressed with its performance and consistency.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Glad you find them helpful.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Awesome. Thanks for the support. The 40 CD load will be up soon.

[@ericdammobladesgunsgear]

I like the penetration and bought 2 boxes based on your vid, I do value expansion and still using the hornady +p loads staggered with this. thanks for test.

[@bprice1892]

Thanks. Ive learned alot from you and your videos.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Great. Thank you---it means a lot.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I agree. It really just depends what the shooter prioritizes. But, the FBIs tests have also lead the way in bullet technology. We likely wouldn't have Gold Dots, HSTs, Ranger Ts, ect.... without it so I'm glad it's there but it's not the end all, be all test.

[@bigwooleycritter]

Ahhh! The 9. Thank you, man. I'm like a realtor handing out business cards, pushing your channel on my buddies. Great shit. Thanks.

[@sedition517]

Nice work homie!

[@TommyboyGTP]

Your test is pretty much on par with the other ammo specific channels that have tested it. It's pretty good stuff, and does exactly what it's designed to do.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thank you

[@Mrgunsngear]

Solid choices there.

[@seanvine39]

I really enjoy your videos. Very informative, and concise. No b.s..

[@Mrgunsngear]

Good stuff.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Agreed. I've seen other tests with similar results.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Good stuff

[@Mrgunsngear]

Noted. Thanks.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thank you.

[@WAFFENSS69]

awesome review. thanks for sharing.

[@c.miller3802]

Quite possibly the perfect round for the Ruger9mm LCR revolver and a great hunting round

[@walterhwhite109]

Another great video.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Walter H White Thanks.

[@InstinctiveFirearmReviews]

I just bought 2 boxes of this! Good vid!

[@Mrgunsngear]

Instinctive Firearm Reviews Thanks.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@darrincashel6285]

Thanks for the video. In the future, would love to see a test of the Winchester 223 PDX1 in 60gr or 77gr.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thank you. Agreed.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks.

[@jimiguitar6324]

The Hornady Critical duty 9MM 135 Gr +P Ammo has out penatrated the 40 caliber..45 caliber and 357 Magnum the Hornady Critical duty 9MM 135 Gr +P Ammo is simply incredible what ever you hit its going down and staying down

[@GARYMANDIEVAN]

Cool Test

[@Mrgunsngear]

Great gun

[@flashlightfreek]

Great Videos!!! keep it up!!!!

[@Mrgunsngear]

+Oakley Man thanks

[@lauvredis]

Very good video.

[@eastcoastcharlie602]

I am thinking of trying this out on my AR9 Pistol which has a 10" barrel. The extra barrel lenght should give me what I hope to be significantly more velocity thus, it should also increase expansion. Will have to wait and see. Informative video.

[@Dietzeeeee]

The +P version of this round seems to expand more and penetrate less from other videos I have watched. Thanks for the video this is the first non +P test I have seen of this round.

[@KingPowdi]

whats the actual diferrence?

[@paulgutiereziii4792]

thanks for the vid, been looking for a below 1000 fps load.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks for watching.

[@toddworkman2817]

Check out the 147gr HST. They come in at right around 970fps through my shield with a 3" barrel. I get nice uniform expansion and good penetration.

[@72cmcinc]

Nice review. Not sold on this one exactly, but worth investigating some more...thanks!

[@nikpassmark6465]

This is what I carry in my glock for my EDC. I've only shot a few rounds of this, but it was very nice.

[@BennyLR]

I love this ammo for my Canik Sub Compact. The 135gr shoots like a lazer out of the gun and the recoil is remarkably soft. I have confidence that my bullet will go where I tell it to go and that I can repeat as necessary. That is the only thing I care about. I wont use plus P rounds in a sub compact becasue that powder will not burn correctly in a short barrel to produce any extra velocity.

[@adventurfly879]

This round is built to defeat barriers first. Thats why it penetrates so deep. Also with non-clear fbi ballistic gel it expands fully. So some of these tests dont really show its true capabilities. This is a fantastic round for self defense. Especially if you may need to shoot through dry wall or something like that.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I'm on both! NC

[@mikeogden5256]

Good winter round

[@flashider556]

the +p version appears to be much better. great test, thx.

[@davidmcelroy7031]

I hv trouble with this this comment thing on my ipad. But i appreciate yr reports . I hv some of these but i am going to stay with HST for now. Thanks again. Dave

[@Mrgunsngear]

David McElroy Ditto.

[@RogerM1965]

Good review. I'll stick with Speer Gold Dot 124+P Short Barrel for my G26, Kahr CM9 and M&P Shield. Regular SGD 124+P for my G19.

[@Mrgunsngear]

No doubt. Rifle ammo usually as well.

[@aceburgers8801]

yeah id say that round works, 9mm is my carry of choice and I use hornady and speer. Good video thanks

[@DitchDr101]

Good stuff...in a Gold Dot man but, always enjoy another possible carry load, lol! - Jon from Ga

[@__Ryan_]

I thumbs up the videos before I even watch em’ on this channel

[@groovekingmuzz2699]

Mrgunsngear how is this ammo with the M&P Shield 9mm Performance Center?Any videos using that weapon with this ammo?Love the videos...Keep em coming..Thank You!

[@Mrgunsngear]

not sure; sorry

[@tommcfarland5368]

This round in my cz evo pistol with a can....its badass

[@mmabagain]

One thing you can count on Hornady ammo for is that it will be 25 -75 FPS slower than advertised.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Wouldn't be my first choice but I'm sure it would perform well in that role.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I'm in discussions with them and won't post it until I get a final response but that should give you an indication.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I guess I could make one. I hate doing it so I guess I should get something out of it!

[@Mrgunsngear]

Indeed.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Indeed

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks for watching.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I have because, like him, I get that question at least 20x/day.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I'm not familiar with that load but the spring has nothing to do with the gun handling the load---it has to do with consistent performance of hot loads. The spring increases velocity and keeps them more consistent. I should do a video on this because I get questions like this all the time.... :D

[@DirtyDan1]

I carry these in my ruger p89. Looks like i made the right decision.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I know. I'm backlogged by about 40 (maybe more) so I've been focused on getting some of this backlog caught up.

[@Mrgunsngear]

I know! 49ers are coming for D1 soon and hopefully we'll be the next USF....

[@bprice1892]

Thanks. How exactly can you tell if your carry ammo has this problem after you load/unload it many times?

[@Mrgunsngear]

Sure. The easiest way to do it is to go to the Glock site and find their LE dealers. Any Glock LE dealer will be a Hornady/Speer/Winchester/Federal/ect.... dealer as well.

[@nolanwells6421]

Would have really liked to see a clothing barrier. Am I mistaken, or don't even mediocre bullets expand in bare gelatin & water?

[@Mrgunsngear]

Stand it up next to a new (never fired) round. If it's shorter than it has setback.

[@TommyboyGTP]

You don't have to be LE to buy this ammo in FL. They sell it at pretty much every gun shop. The trick is finding it in stock. it sells out quickly, unless the shop is asking a high price for it.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Perhaps. As I said it's about what you're comfortable with.

[@MultiVideoMadness]

Would you recommend or advise against using different rounds in the same mag. Say having 3 Critical Defense for more expansion followed up by Critical Duty rounds for more penetration?

[@Mrgunsngear]

against

[@hambone7777777]

Good vid, Mike. The .40 'Defense' pentrs. just fine. The 'Duty' tends to not expand much, as u said. I don't think it's applicable for CCW. The whole FBI pentr. thing seems to be misunderstood here on YT, IMHO. People were being pentr. just fine before Miami. The 'Dove shot' traversed the back side of Platt's arm, exited and entered the torso already expanded. It takes additional energy to overcome that expansion. It also went from skin to clothing. The shot could be 1 in 100,000...just sayin'.

[@papaschuette]

Don't have to worry about over penetration when the round hits a rib or a skull for that matter. Ballistic gel is only a representation of the human body if the bullet doesn't hit any bones.

[@ArmedCivilian556]

in your opinion how does this new round from Hornady stack up to the Gold Dot of equal load?

[@glock19carrier]

I trust my 147 hst but man these go deep!

[@muriloninja]

That's what she said!

[@Islapbeechs]

Where is that HERA ARMS mag stress test video? Those mags are so beautiful and I wanna see if they're as crappy as people say they are.

[@kwinzman]

That would be a good choice for a subsonic self defense round, right?

[@bprice1892]

Ive heard a lot of people talk about bullet setback. How does that affect the performance of the bullet? Can it cause it not to expand?

[@davidmcelroy7031]

Do you have plans to test any Wolf HP 7.62x39? I have both Russian and Ukraine stocks. I have seen a test on some older Russian HP, and the only one that "expanded" was some Wolf--i think UM8 or similar. The only 7.62x39 SP tests I have seen that expanded were Silver Bear. Dave

[@Mrgunsngear]

David McElroy I have tested the Wolf HPs here already.

[@Mrgunsngear]

They are and they did.

[@Mrgunsngear]

It doesn't impact terminal performance; it impacts your gun. It can cause it to blow up (a google search of "glock kaboom" will illustrate this). If that happens terminal performance is out the window.

[@Juggalo10p]

Last I heard Charlotte was kicking ass did they win the other day

[@Mrgunsngear]

Ragweed is crazy here right now.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Sure do.

[@sharpshootah8852]

Now, do you think there would be a bit more expansion out of a 16in barrel? Im thinkin velocity would be a lil closer to 1000fps, which also might be good for supressor use.

[@Mrgunsngear]

sharpshootah88 Yes

[@podsmpsg1]

would you reccomend a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 special for defense?

[@tugboat_actual]

yea, I know, it is cheaper to buy the LE packed ones than non LE packed, specially when buying bulk amounts, I buy LE ammo from a department up north for dirt cheap, sadly they don't use 9mm

[@tugboat_actual]

yea I work in a shop that sells LE glocks, and sadly we cannot get our hands on the 50 count boxes of the JHP, no matter federal, win, etc, know of any online places that sell in the LE boxes,

[@RealG1zm0]

this is what i keep loaded in my full size M&P to defend myself from aliens that try to break into my house at night in an attempt to touch my weiner. We will see how funny they think it is when they take a full mag of these to the chest after being blinded by my Streamlight TLR-HL.

[@Mrgunsngear]

awesome

[@brojitsu]

Glad i'm not the only one.

[@RealG1zm0]

as long as we stay vigilant our wieners will be safe...

[@scottfennell6568]

I carry this but +p in case zombies come and try to eat my butthole when I'm sleeping.

[@RealG1zm0]

Good choice. I think aliens and zombies are so scared of this defensive ammo that they don't even attempt to touch the wieners or invade the butt holes of those that keep this ammo loaded up in their defensive pistols.

[@samuel4zero]

Get some Zyrtec or Claritin man. Trust me I feel your pain. Ragweed is bad in KY. What state are you in?

[@122Music1]

When reviewing/considering ammo it doesn't matter what ammo it is, I sure don't wanna get hit with it. As long as it goes bang bad guy no likey

[@nhalee5133]

love this ammo..smooth low recoil as well. ran flawlessly in my mod.2 and made it that much more enjoyable to shoot///i have 13rds for my primary mag and win pdx1 in my back up 16ner and nato's in my 18ner if i have a pack of zombies after me...ppl ask why so many rds..i tell em.."you never know when pablo and his cholo's are up to no good"

[@cloudyskies7754]

i thought it has significant recoil

[@popsiclestick8048]

cloudy skies Really? Recoil wasn't really all that bad..

[@Kenny-bj2zq]

As a civilian a little worried about over penetration - Reminded by Instructor who said if you don’t use a gold hallow points and your bullets over penetrates and hits a good guy your going to catch a charge and if that person dies your probably going to jail.

[@johngrunwell2412]

Damn, the reason for "Law Enforcement" is the Hornady specified this bullet design for a 4" or longer barrel. This was a good video as the proper barrel length was used. All short barrel tests I found on here demonstrate some unreliable issues as falling to expand and ending up with a FMJ performance. Bottom line, Hornady does not stand behind this load in short barrels, I don't want to be justifying this choice in court.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thank you

[@GuitarLoveTV]

simply curious mrgunsandgear, you said you tested it out of multiple guns, how many times have you tested it? just a guess even. have seen some testing where it wasnt as reliable. seeing as how this is what i carry reliability is key, however i will note that in the testing where it wasnt reliable, the gel was shot multiple times probably damaging the structural integrity of the gel and it was out of short barreled firearms which may or many not have been an issue.

[@justinb7389]

GuitarLoveTV Honestly in my opinion; I have seen many people test rounds out of short barrel guns,and say how "horrible" the round was,and see the same exact round tested out of a 4 inch to 5 inch barrel that performed excellent. Really just depends on your platform,and I am sure Mrgunsngear would agree with me most likely. If you have a gun which has shorter than 4 inches of barrel than don't use the ammo in those tests that failed for that platform; otherwise if you have a 4 inches of barrel or more don't let some short barrel test influence your decision on defense ammo.

[@cloudyskies7754]

+Justin B im pretty sure this ammo is designed for short barrels

[@bulbK]

Critical Defense is designed for short barrels, Critical Duty is designed for full size.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Not off the top of my head, no. Check Federal's site; I'm guessing it's on there somewhere.

[@BuffRANGE]

I shot the +P variant vs Pork. I had similar expansion, even after striking bone. More penetration over the Defense load. I don't think I can link video URLS, but here is the ID _GxzACGdJIY

[@mrnickbig1]

NEW? Critical Duty came out way before Critical Defense!