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Hornady Critical Defense

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9 comments

  • givette
    Get with the Hornady website. Ask when they will be 'running a new batch'. When they do..

    Have your local mom 'n pop dealer get you some. Don't forget to stock up enough for the next 'dry spell'.

    Joe
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  • gunnut505
    Google Knott's Sportsman supplies in Clayton, nM.
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  • Sooeyman2035
    Thanks Gunnut, I sent them an email.
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  • beantownshootah
    Google is your friend:

    http://tinyurl.com/3pgun8q
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  • Sooeyman2035
    Every site listed by Google the item is out of stock.
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  • ruger41
    If you're looking for defense style ammo and cannot find Hornady anywhere Midway has some Speer Short Barrel .22 Mag loads that should be every bit as good as the Hornady in a handgun.
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  • Sooeyman2035
    Ruger41, great info thanks! Since I live about 20 miles west of Midway I picked up the Speed ammo & it is perfect.
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  • rufe-snow
    quote:Originally posted by Sooeyman2035
    Ruger41, great info thanks! Since I live about 20 miles west of Midway I picked up the Speed ammo & it is perfect.


    This is the first I heard of that Spear .22 Mag, Personal Defense Handgun Ammo?, or whatever they call it. I went over to the Midway USA site and checked it out. For the cost of 50 rounds @ $14.00 it don't seem to be that impressive to me. The muzzle velocity with the 40 grain hollow point bullet is listed at 1050 fps. The muzzle velocity for the CCI Velocitator, .22 Long Rifle, 40 grain hollow point ammo, from a handgun is at least 200 fps faster. The CC ammo usually sells for around $8.00 a box.
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  • beantownshootah
    Sorry about the bad Google advice.

    quote:Originally posted by rufe-snow
    quote:Originally posted by Sooeyman2035
    Ruger41, great info thanks! Since I live about 20 miles west of Midway I picked up the Speed ammo & it is perfect.


    This is the first I heard of that Spear [sic].22 Mag, Personal Defense Handgun Ammo?, or whatever they call it. I went over to the Midway USA site and checked it out. For the cost of 50 rounds @ $14.00 it don't seem to be that impressive to me. The muzzle velocity with the 40 grain hollow point bullet is listed at 1050 fps. The muzzle velocity for the CCI Velocitator, .22 Long Rifle, 40 grain hollow point ammo, from a handgun is at least 200 fps faster. The CC ammo usually sells for around $8.00 a box.

    Like its lightweight "cousin" the CCI Stinger, the CCI Velocitor uses slow burning powders optimized to get maximum velocity from a RIFLE barrel.

    Published chronograph data I have seen on CCI velocitor 40 grain rounds yields 1150 fps from a 6" pistol barrel, and 1192 fps from a 6.5" pistol barrel. See here: http://www.milesfortis.us/mcump/mc09.htm

    Not knowing the barrel length of the .22 magnum quoted above, its hard to do a head to head comparison, but I'd estimate maybe 1000 - 1050 fps from a typical 4" pistol barrel, which is right about the same as your quote for the Speer ammo, or maybe a hair less.

    So while the .22LR "Velocitor" isn't any better than the expensive premium .22 magnum, its probably not that much worse, either. But the velocitor is both easier to find, and probably less expensive.

    As more food for comparison, Hornady claims 1000 fps for its 45 grain "critical defense" ammo from a 1-7/8" barrel on its website:

    http://www.hornady.com/store/22-WMR-45gr-Critical-Defense/

    If true, that's reasonably good performance from a short barreled gun. . .FOR A .22.

    Which is to say, its pretty anemic performance in an absolute sense, and even though better than some other .22s, probably not better enough to get excited. IE a 9mm luger puts out 350 ft-lbs. So are you going to get worked up about a super-premium .22 magnum that puts out 110 ft-lbs of energy, vs a "normal" .22 magnum that "only" puts out 100 foot pounds?

    As another comparison, a standard (ie NON premium) .380ACP or 9mm makarov load will toss a 90 grain bullet at over 1000 fps from a typical short service gun (eg a Makarov, CZ-82/83, etc). In other words, the .380 pushes a bullet twice as heavy at the same velocity, to make a hole 2.5x the area. . .and again, many authorities consider even a .380 to be marginal for self defense.

    As a last point, with relatively low muzzle energy and bullet diameter, the limiting factor in the efficacy of small projectiles like 40 grain .22 caliber bullets is penetration.

    Expanding bullets, like the 45 grain 22 magnum "critical defense" tend to REDUCE penetration (by design), and in my opinion are probably NOT the optimum bullet type for defensive use from a handgun.
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