Hornady Critical Defense vs Critical Duty

[Smarshe]

Does any one have an opinion on Hornady Critical Defense vs Critical Duty? I'm carrying the Duty in 9mm Kimber Solo and am wondering about the .45 in a 3" 1911. (Also a kimber)

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[john.shewchuk]

Last I heard, Hornady was not offering .45 in the Critical Duty line.

[john.shewchuk]

Personally, I would recommend Gold Dots for .45. They do make a "short barrel" version.

[Smarshe]

What do you think about it in 9mm?

[Smarshe]

Is the Gold Dot 165 gr?

[lyodbraun]

I've tested the new critical duty in .45 acp worked ok, i can post pics of it when i get home tonight.. Expansion was not bad as was the penetration...

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[lyodbraun]

Personally, I would recommend Gold Dots for .45. They do make a "short barrel" version.

Here is gold dots compared to federal HST.. Which is what i only carry
Gold dot is bottom right along with ranger t's
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[lamerem]

Yes, Hornady does offer Critical Duty in .45 acp +P 220g, item #90926. They also offer their Critical Defense round in .45 acp (non +P) in 185g, item #90900. The Dritical Defense is a little light for caliber. This information is directly from their website. The ballistics testing I have seen online (YouTube) shows both rounds performing well. Search for ballistics testing done by "TNOUTDOORS", he is very in depth and takes testing very seriously. Good Luck!

[john.shewchuk]

I stand corrected, thank you for the clarification.

When the Critical Duty line first came out, Hornady had said that the .45 could not easily achieve stats to fully satisfy the FBI testing protocols, I guess they have since figured out a way to make that happen.

[glockman10mm]

For anything " critical ", I use Hornady XTP in autos, and lswc in revolvers.

[lyodbraun]

here is the pics with the critical duty, and some others for comparison...

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[lamerem]

@John.Shewchuk

I didn't mean to offend you by correcting the post, my apologies if I did. What I understand is Hornady(like you said) was having a hard time getting it to test properly. Thus the round was made into a +P and gave birth to the .45 acp critical duty. It has been my experience with ammunition that any bullet that doesn't perform to specs out of the gate becomes a +P. Basically they put more gas behind the slug and made it perform. I am not typically fond of this approach as there are far more options for great performing .45acp non +P ammunition. Speer Gold Dot and Federal HST to name a few.

That being said I am not really a +P kind of guy. My bullets don't need a super charger strapped to them to perform well. Besides any bullet placed properly will incapacitate your intended target!

[Smarshe]

Thanks to everyone. As usual this is the best forum for great advise from people who take this seriously.

Thanks again.

[Weeg]

What testing medium/parameters are you using?

[Zero_]

I read an article somewhere, and apologies for not having the source, but I can't find it. The point is, take this as my opinion since I have no backup. Critical duty is more for barrier penetration, through glass, or car doors, walls, things like that. Duty is more likely to penetrate barriers and hit someone, while defense is more likely to expand upon impact of whatever it hits.