Defensive Carry banner

Horandy Critical defense feed issues.

18K views 50 replies 27 participants last post by  KevinRohrer 
#1 ·
My Kimbers (45acp) sometimes will not feed Hornady's Critical Defense Ammo. When I try to chamber the first round the soft tip sometimes hangs up. I have had NO trouble with it feeding after the first round was manually chambered. ( shooting) Still this is my defensive load and I wanted perfect function. I have used other ammo with out issue but nothing impresses me like the features of the Critical defense line. I found a tube of dry graphite lube in the garage and dipped just the flexible part in some graphite and rubbed it around a little. ONLY on the flex tip. Now every bullet I try feeds like a charm. Solved my problem, I'm a happy camper. :danceban:
 
#2 ·
I might suggest you adopt a different group of standards to judge self defense ammunition. If you are most impressed by ammunition that does not function flawlessly in your specific handgun without a band-aid of powdered graphite your decision making process seems a bit off.

There are several other self defense loads by other manufacturers that will function flawlessly and provide equivalent stopping power without having to count on a home remedy to do so.
 
#4 ·
You know that critical defense isn't that great as far as defensive ammo goes, right? I'd much rather have ranger-t, HST, or gold dot. Add in the malfunctions and having to rub each bullet nose in a powder that could easily come off and I'd get rid of that ammo ASAP.

ETA:
185gr CD in gel:

185gr CD cross sections:


Compare to HST and it just doesn't stack up. Throw in the reliability issues and there is absolutely no reason to continue using critical defense.
 
#9 ·
100% Expansion is useless when the round jams and never enters the chamber to be fired. Trying to "make due" by adding lubricants to increase feed reliability is not a good idea.
 
  • Like
Reactions: druryj
#6 · (Edited)
I guess my idea of self defense ammo is different that most others. I don't buy self defense ammo that will shoot through a car door like ranger or plug with fabric like a gold dot. Don't get me wrong both ranger and gold dot are great ammo but I want someting that I KNOW will expand and hence reduce the chance of overpenetration and likley increase knock down, has powder developed for short barrel guns, reduced recoil and reduces muzzle flash. If you don't like my idea... ok.
 
#15 ·
Somewhere a Hornady marketing employee is reading your post and congratulating himself on a a job well done. HST, Gold Dot, and Ranger-T have all been shown in independent testing to do exactly what you state you want the round to do: expand. The only difference is they expand through heavy clothing, plywood, drywall, auto glass and even steel. Outside the lab they've all been proven in real world shootings (particularly Gold Dot). I've shot Gold Dot and Ranger-T at night and guess what? The flash suppressing powders both of these are loaded with produce no muzzle flash. Speer makes loads specifically for short barrels. Just because they don't purchase full page ads in American Rifleman doesn't mean they don't have these features.

When you think you have it figured out better than people that test these kind of things for a living, you probably need to take a step back a re-evaluate.

P.S. Find me ONE documented case of a JHP pistol bullet overpenetrating a person and causing damage downrange. People seem to get all worked up about overpenetration, but it doesn't seem to ever crop up in testing or real world use.
 
#7 ·
My first question is, are you chambering the first round by using the slide release or giving it a quick rack back. My Kimber does not get a good drop with just using the slide release. Plus we train to never use the slide release to chamber a round. The other question is whether you are using the factory mags or high performance after market mags like Wilson Combat. Some 1911's can be very picky until you get some good mags. My last Kimber was a CDP Pro and the factory mags were horribly unreliable.
 
#14 ·
Well, thanks for all your feedback. For any given cartridge you must have faith in your bullet. Either by experience, which hopefully few if any of us have in self defense shootings, by exhaustive testing ( which no one could afford and would most likley favor our favorite), by belief in advertising (best video wins) or by plain old logic and common sense (not too common) but most likely a combination of all of these factors. If you believe in it and trust it, go for it. I have.
 
#16 ·
I carry HST's. You can get HST, Rangers, Gold dots and other proven loads and you get 50 rounds per box instead of 25 hornady CD for the same price. I would carry the Hornady Tap. But, they are still more $$
 
#17 ·
Just did a you tube search on Federal HST. I don't recall seeing that round in the gun stores. I wish the guy on youtube would have wrapped his test jugs in some clothing before shooting them. but the round performed flawlessly in the milk jugs.
 
#19 ·
Or you could go look for tests of HST done by professionals in which they are shot through a variety of barriers, including heavy clothing.

Spoiler alert: They expand! Even when shot through heavy clothing. So do Gold Dots. So do Ranger-Ts.
 
#21 ·
Bit off topic but how do Ranger-T's differ from PDX-1's? I can find PDX1's all over locally but not the Rangers. Would it be worth ordering the Rangers over buying the PDX locally?
 
#25 ·
Get a .45 and worry less about expansion.
 
#28 ·
I personally like Hornady CD Self defense ammo!

I have it currently loaded in .45 & .44 Spl. I too, like CD's expansion properties and respect the thought of "shot placement" also, but something about this ammo has me sold.

I quiver at the thought of being on the bad end of a CD .44 Spl (the velocity is pretty hot) slug at "coffee breath" distances!
 
#35 ·
I personally like Hornady CD Self defense ammo!

I have it currently loaded in .45 & .44 Spl. I too, like CD's expansion properties and respect the thought of "shot placement" also, but something about this ammo has me sold.

I quiver at the thought of being on the bad end of a CD .44 Spl (the velocity is pretty hot) slug at "coffee breath" distances!
The advertising?

It doesn't do anything better than HST, Gold Dot, Ranger-T, or DPX. In fact it does not penetrate as well, looks to have a relatively small expanded diameter, and has reliability issues due to the rubber plug in the nose catching the feedramp in some guns. It's a free country and all, but everyone that touts critical defense has talking points straight out of Hornady's ads, and no recourse when actual testing data is brought up.
 
#29 ·
This is why I carry Cor-Bon DPX in 9MM, 40S&W and 45ACP. It functions in all of my guns and suprasses the FBI and others penetration requirements. I can also get lots of it here in the Atlanta Ga area. I have never been able to buy the Winchester bullets as no one I buy from has it.
 
#32 ·
My understanding of 1911s that Ive seen is the feed ramp is a bit steeper than other pistols. I'm having problems feeding hollow points through my springfield 1911 as a whole regardless of which hollow points I've used. I've got a buddy who swears by the CD rounds and has not had a single failure with them. However he is using them in Glocks and his SIGs which allow for a much straighter shot into the chamber than the 1911s Ive seen. I do not like the idea though of relying on VOODOO magic to make a round feed in my defensive weapon, I would suggest like others have to try different defensive ammo and possibly switch.
 
#33 ·
The mags that came with my Springfield Mil-Spec as well as the after market 8 rounder CMC Shooting Star mags were unreliable in feeding the first hollowpoint in the magazine, additionally one of the CMC mags has a bad spring that to this day causes a Failure to Return to Battery malfunction where in every one in few rounds misses the extractor groove; it has been retired from range duty permanently.

Frustrated with the issue I bought a Wilson 47D and a Tripp Research Cobra mag to assess each for their merits; both feed any hollowpoint flawlessly in my SA 1911. The number one reliability issue with a 1911 is the magazine followed closely by a less than satisfactorily polished feed ramp and/or an improperly tuned extractor.

To give you an idea of what a 1911 is capable of a 1911 with a reliability job done by a competent 1911 gunsmith will feed and extract an empty casing 100% of the time.
 
#34 ·
Being new to CC I've been scouring the forums and web to learn about the various personal defense loads and came across the below caution regarding Critical Defense. You can decide if it has merit.....

http://firearmstactical.com/tacticalbriefs/2006/04/main.htm

Thanks for this discussion, it helps as I continue researching and buying various loads to do my own testing.
 
#36 ·
I carry the CD ammo in my Model 12 Airweight. It cannot handle +P ammo and there is not another standard .38spl round that looks as good on paper. Out of a 4" barrel Hornady claims 1010fps/249lbft. I will chrono it soon and display the result. I also have the .38 +P loaded in my SP101 and will chrono it there as well to see what the performance is like out of a 2.25" barrel.

My 1911 feeds 230g Winchester JHPs just fine. I've fired 92 of them through it without a FTF or FTE. My local Wally World had them on sale so I grabbed two boxes. The other 8 rounds are currently loaded in the weapon. Not necessarily my .45 round of choice for personal defense, but they are in there, will more then likely get the job done, and I'm fairly confident it will all work correctly if called upon if needed.
 
#41 ·
Stephen Camp thinks its a decent ammo in standard .38spl and .380

Stephen Camp said:
I believe that Hornady has come up with some pretty darned nice standard pressure ammunition for "serious use" in 380-caliber pistols as well as .38 revolvers. I have not seen any ammunition from any maker that is more consistent and any more likely to expand under varied conditions as this.
G&A thought it was okay too

Guns and Ammo said:
...Lower recoil, for ease of shooting accurately—here is where the cost comes. You can't get something for nothing, and the lower recoil is due to slightly lower velocities. Which means decreased depth of penetration. In gel tests, the Critical Defense .380 load (which has the least penetration of the Critical Defense loadings) "only" gets you nine to 10 inches of penetration. By the FBI tests, it is a failure. However, I have to ask if anyone really thinks a 10-inch puncture wound in a felon, with full bullet expansion, can be considered a failure. The 9mm load delivers 12 inches with a 115-grain bullet....
....Is the Critical Defense a loading that law enforcement might consider? Perhaps, in a backup gun. In a hand-to-hand struggle that gets decided by a snubbie from an ankle holster, I really don't think sheetmetal penetration will be high on the list of important attributes. However, reliable function from a pocket .380 would be. So don't expect to hear that the big police agencies in your area have switched over to Critical Defense. I would not want my duty gun to be loaded with it. But a backup gun or for off-duty carry or for the rest of us just normal daily-carry folks? You bet.


Granted, both are informal....but you get the idea.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top