Wound Ballistic Workshop

No, it isn't what you think. Cindy Sheehan wasn't cloned then used for target practice, but Federal was out and about to show off their new HST cartridge.


Factory Representatives from ATK (Federal Cartridge, CCI, Speer) were present
Wednesday, November 19, 2003 to demonstrate the features and benefits of ATK
centerfire pistol products when shot
using the FBI Wound Ballistic Testing
Protocol.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department,
Olympia Police Department, Auburn
Police Department, Thurston County
Sheriff’s Office, and Puyallup Police
Department were in attendance at the
shoot hosted by the Pierce County
Sheriff’s Department at the Pierce
County Training Facility.

Federal HST was the featured ATK product. However, Pierce County elected to shoot
three of their current duty rounds – Winchester SXT, Remington Golden Sabre (sic),
Remington JHP.

*NOTE* - All Winchester and Remington rounds were supplied by the
department. No Competitor rounds were supplied by ATK or Distributor personnel.

Test Events

Bare Gelatin
All rounds typically perform well in bare gelatin, which is the easiest of all test events.
Previous and current generations of hollow point rounds were and are designed to expand
to 1.5 times the original bullet diameter. Federal’s HST rounds were engineered to
expand well beyond twice the original diameter in bare gelatin.

Federal HST 45 ACP – 1.043”/.452” = 2.31 times larger than its original diameter
Federal HST 40 S&W – 0.945”/.40” = 2.36 times larger than its original diameter
Federal HST 9mm – 0.891”/.356” = 2.5 times larger than its original diameter

Bullet Caliber/Weight Penetration Expansion Retained Weight

Federal HST 45 ACP... 230 gr... 12.75”... 1.043”... 100.96%
Winchester SXT 45 ACP... 230 gr... 12.5”... 0.795”... 100.61%
Remington GS 45 ACP... 185 gr... 14.0”... 0.730”... 100.38%

Federal HST 40 S&W...180 gr... 11.5”... 0.945”... 101.78%
Winchester SXT 40 S&W...180 gr... 13.5”...0.658”... 92.67%

Federal HST 9mm...147 gr...11.5”... 0.891”...101.5%
Federal HST 9mm...124 gr...11.75”...0.839”... 101.05%
Winchester SXT 9mm...127 gr...16.0”...0.718”...94.49%

Heavy Clothing
All bullets performed well in Heavy Clothing. Federal HST again demonstrated the
designed expansion characteristics and outperformed all tested rounds for expansion.

Bullet Caliber/Weight Penetration Expansion Retained Weight

Federal HST 45 ACP 230 gr. 14.0” 0.850” 99.65%
Winchester SXT 45 ACP 230 gr. 12.5” 0.773” 101.26%
Remington GS 45 ACP 185 gr. 14.25” 0.704” 102.22%

Federal HST 40 S&W 180 gr. 13.0” 0.788” 101.56%
Winchester SXT 40 S&W 180 gr. 14.0” 0.757” 91.89%

Federal HST 9mm 147 gr. 13.75” 0.689” 102.38%
Federal HST 9mm 124 gr. 12.0” 0.709” 102.26%
Winchester SXT 9mm 127 gr. 13.5” 0.684” 97.48%

_____________________________________

Wallboard

Wallboard is a harder barrier to overcome. While Federal HST performed flawlessly,
Winchester SXT experienced over penetration, plugged bullets, and core jacket
separations.

Bullet Caliber/Weight Penetration Expansion Retained Weight

Federal HST 45 ACP 230 gr. 11.75” 0.843” 100.35%
Winchester SXT 45 ACP 230 gr. 13.0” 0.75” 100.74%
Remington GS 45 ACP 185 gr. 15.25” 0.698” 98.92%
Federal HST 40 S&W 180 gr. 13.0” 0.786” 101.78%
Winchester SXT* 40 S&W 180 gr. 20.0” 0.475” 100.11%
Federal HST 9mm 147 gr. 13.0” 0.649” 100.54%
Federal HST 9mm 124 gr. 12.5” 0.713” 99.84%
Winchester SXT** 9mm 127 gr. 15.25” 0.430” 69.13%
*Bullet Plugged
**Core Jacket Separation

Plywood

Plywood is second only to glass in difficulty when measured in terms of bullet failures
versus expansion and penetration. Federal HST rounds performed as designed and
expanded at least 1.6 times their original diameter. Winchester and Remington both
experienced over penetrations with plugged, poorly expanded bullets.

Bullet Caliber/Weight Penetration Expansion Retained Weight

Federal HST 45 ACP 230 gr. 13.25” 0.858” 101.61%
Winchester SXT* 45 ACP 230 gr. 29.75” 0.452” 99.65%
Remington GS 45 ACP 185 gr. 12.5” 0.679” 99.84%

Federal HST 40 S&W 180 gr. 12.5” 0.772” 100.33%
Winchester SXT* 40 S&W 180 gr. 21.5” 0.402” 99.72%

Federal HST 9mm 147 gr. 12.5” 0.594” 97.76%
Federal HST 9mm 124 gr. 12.5” 0.656” 102.34%
Winchester SXT 9mm 127 gr. 14.25” 0.671” 96.77%
Remington JHP* 9mm 115 gr. 26.25” 0.356” 99.65%

*Bullet Plugged

Steel

All bullets perform similarly when shot through steel. The hollow points are forced
closed and upon close inspection of the gelatin block you will discover steel discs that
have been cut out of the steel plate. Results of the steel testing are in the attached results
document.


Auto Glass

Auto Glass is the toughest and most difficult of all barrier tests. Federal’s new HST
performed amazingly for non-bonded technology. HST retained its core jacket integrity
3 out of 4 shots – 75%. Winchester SXT and Remington Golden Sabre bullets
experienced core jacket separations 100% of the time. It is important to note that in the
event of a core jacket separation, FBI Test Protocol measures only the single deepest
penetrating fragment of the bullet for expansion, retained weight, and penetration. Both
the core and the jacket were mounted separately on the board.

Bullet Caliber/Weight Penetration Expansion Retained Weight

Federal HST 45 ACP 230 gr. 14.25” 0.649” 89.39%
Winchester SXT* 45 ACP 230 gr. 13.75” 0.546” 75.65%
Remington GS* 45 ACP 185 gr. 9.0” 0.511” 63.35%

Federal HST* 40 S&W 180 gr. 11.25” 0.495” 56.94%
Winchester SXT* 40 S&W 180 gr. 7.5” 0.582 67.83%

Federal HST 9mm 147 gr. 11.5” 0.474 81.7%
Federal HST 9mm 124 gr. 11.75” 0.513 82.58%
Winchester SXT* 9mm 127 gr. 11.5” 0.499” 59.29%

*Core Jacket Separation
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Now I'm frickin exhausted. Draw your own conclusions from this information, as each and every one of us has different needs with regards to what we feed our handguns. As a footnote, Heavy Clothing refers to 4 layers of 13 pound denim, so choose well if you're planning a to-do with a biker gang.