Let's have a thread about loads that push their respective calibers to the limit. Whether in regards to sheer energy, terminal effect, or something else.
Hand loaders, feel free to post the hottest stuff you've ever cooked up.
I'll start this thread with one of buffalo bores new .357 magnum loads
They've managed create a .357 load with more energy then the original 44 magnum specification (240 grains at 1200 fps), they are chucking a 180 grain jacketed hollowpoint at 1500 fps from a 6 inch barrel. That's 900 ft lbs of energy.
Here's a load that pushes the envelope from an entirely different direction.
Atomic ammo is currently producing a subsonic 556 load with a projectile weight of 112 grains, that's over twice the normal bullet weight for this calliber.
The round only has the kinetic energy of a 9mm round, but it still blows standard 62-77 grain subsonic ammo out of the water.
With the bullet measuring in at well over an inch in length, this load should deliver some appreciable terminal performance from yawing, compared to normal 556 subsonic loads which can be matched by some 22lr loads.
Atomic also offers some super heavy 7.62×39 (220 grain) and .308 (260 grain) ammo, but neither of those loads are quite as dramatic as their 556 rounds.
Here's an aguila load that does much of the same but in .22 lr. This would match most subsonic 223 on the market, and looking at gel test data, this load is just about as effective as .22 ammo gets for defensive use.
Underwood and buffalo bore both produce nuclear +p+ 44 magnum loads for bear defense.
Both companies chuck a 340 grain piece of hardcast lead at over 1400 fps. That's .454 casual performance, 1500 ft lbs of muzzle energy from a .44 magnum. Underwoods load seems to consistantly chrono faster, but buffalo bore uses a better bullet with a brinell hardness of 25 instead of 21.
Underwoods ammo comes with nickel cases and a Hi-tek coating on the projectile so it wont lead the barrel. And Underwood sells a 20 round box for 27 dollars instead of 44 dollars.
okay cool. Come back when they aren't 15% overpressure and can do so at normal pressure Levels. Every handloader can stuff more powder into a case and call it "X gun only" The quesiton is, why get their .44 Mag +p++p+p++ loads when normal pressure 44 mag is a proven bear cartridge and apparently so is their 9mm ammo. I don't see the Appeal of exceeding a calibers specifications, thereby shortening the Service life of your firearm, instead of getting a gun buildt form the ground up to handle a more powerful round.
Ayden Gray
Most Alaskans I know that carry .44 magnum carry Rugers anyways. There is a sizable target demographic of people that would enjoy the max performance offered by these rounds.
.44 magnum might need a bit of extra kick against large brown bears or polar bears if your carrying a shorter barrel revolver, or if its just a really big fucking bear.
Some people just feel comfortable with a certain caliber or a certain gun, and dont wanna get a new firearm.
And I don't think these would fuck up any of the guns that are rated for it that fast anyways, at a $1.50 a round its not like your gonna be plinking all afternoon with them.
I wonder if we will ever see a super heavy .40 projectile for 10mm subsonics. Anyway, this and Liberty Civil Defense are considered "nuclear" 10mm loads, 775 ft lbs each advertised, I got around 1550 fps from a chrono, so actually 825.
I think that's a solution asking for a Problem. Personally I can't imagine a bear would know the difference between Standard pressure and +p+ .44 Magnum. And for someone who is convinced they Need that much power in a handgun, why not step it up to .454 casull? Guns chamberd for it are not larger than Ruger Revolvers
Speaking of high performance bear rounds, a few boutique ammo manufacturers have released some damn impressive .460 sw loads over the years.
This one by Underwood chucks 360 grains of lead at 1900 fps. I've heard reports of people getting nearly 2100 fps from some of the super long barrel .460's (12"-14" bbl). That matches any .500 sw load in terms of raw kinetic energy
Some of the super fast loads are pretty interesting too, a 200 grain solid copper hollowpoint traveling at 2300 fps (Corbon dpx) should make for one hell of a medium game hunting round.
Just let the polar bear eat you if you can't outrun a malnourished extinction candidate
Carter Young
Theres some weird caliber arguements between Alaskan fuds.
.454 used to be laughed at by many .44 magnum users for being overpowered and unwieldy, now theres quite a few .454 users and they laugh together with .44 fuds at the .500 sw owners, who usually come to Alaska from the lower 48 with a gun they cant hope to handle.
A .44 fud might wanna cope post that his gun is just as powerful as a .454 casul, meanwhile it slowly chops the frame via flame cutting.
From the point of view of the bear, faster rounds seem to hurt them more. I've heard from people that have shot them with light and fast rifle bullets that bears seem to stop in their tracks and bite at the wound more often with a faster bullet. I don't think this would really matter with two hardcast lead projectiles going within a couple hundred fps of eachother though.
T. Internet expert with no personal experience in the field of shooting bears, but who has many Alaskan friends and visits the state every year
I saw somebody chrono these at just under 2600 fps from a 6 inch barreled glock, they are nuclear for sure.
Liberty makes some pretty crazy stuff, their 50 grain 9mm hits 2150 fps from a m9 (according to Paul harrels chronograph)
A cool thing about liberty ammo that deserves mentioning is that it blows through most any soft body armor due to the near rifle velocities. I shot a round of the 10mm stuff straight through a kevlar panel that later managed to stop a .357 magnum ball round, and even a brenneke slug! (666 grains of lead at 1600 fps)
it's a shame light and fast bullets flame cut revolvers to pieces, I did some super basic math on a 500 sw liberty round and youd be launching a 90-100 grain copper hollowpoint at nearly 4000 fps.
Define mouse gun. Super vel has a crazy new pocket rocket .38 special snubnose load
They are approaching 400 ft lbs of energy from a 1-7/8" barrel barrel j frame. Their load pushes a light little 90 grain jhp at over 1300 fps from a snubby. The round expands to about .70 cal and penetrates about 13 inches
My current handload for my Beretta M9 is 6.2 grains of Longshot with a magnum pistol primer, and a Hornady 124gr XTP at a COAL of 1.100". I am getting 1250 fps to 1300 fps depending on temperature during chrono testing. It is fucking hot! But it functions 100% and there are no pressure signs, so I am cool with it.
Jacob Baker
9x18 and smaller. But that pretty stout for a snub. I have a couple "get off me" guns, and I was curious if anyone beyond Hornady/Underwood /BB is fucking with the smaller calibers. Shooting .25ACP is more expensive than 10mm it seems.
Carter Foster
Most impressive part >$3.90 per box of 20 >for expensive boutique ammo
Jeremiah Turner
>90 grain jhp at over 1300 fps from a snubby. The round expands to about .70 cal and penetrates about 13 inches If a round that light expands that much, at that speed, there is no way it is reaching 13" reliably. More like 9" I would imagine. It simply defies physics.
Just did some research, faggot. Looks like in snubbies it is only getting 1200 fps. To get 1300 fps, you have to use a 3" barrel.
Eli Ramirez
I'd love to see some of these loads with a 20grain thunderzap ptfe hollowpoint over them
Nathan Jackson
hand-loading responsibly can unlock the potential of a lot of calibers. Even with the slower temp stable powders I can go up ~20% weight and safely shoot at the same velocity Id send something lighter from factory. The loads are rifle specific though and would be dangerous from gun to gun. 300wm since I remember my #s >180gr eldm @ 2850 fps factory >212gr eldx @2900 fps maximum load before pressure signs Theres people who ignore the early pressure signs and take heavier bullets like this to 3000 fps on other forums
Cameron Rodriguez
neat, would make a good multipurpose load. since relevant, I load speer 147gr flat nose to about 1020 fps in my g19 unironically for bear/cougar/wild dog defense. The same load hits 1100 fps in my g34. I bought some 147gr xtp to try as well
Xavier Baker
Where do you visit? Spent about 7 months in anchorage / traveling the Kenai peninsula. I'll also drove the Dalton to galbreath (spelling) lake about 20 miles north of the pass through the Brooks range. Di dnt make it to the arctic Ocean sadly but that is by far the best /most scenic / road in America as far as I'm concerned. Alcan from the Yukon to Wasilla is a close second for mountain scenery
Lincoln Ramirez
I have a CCW load I worked up myself, attempting to emulate a Vihtavuori load with a powder that doesn't cost $40/lb and with more case fill to mitigate the problems with extremely slow burning powders.
>Starline .454 Casull brass (new brass for shit I absolutely need to work) >185gr Hornady XTP >CCI 450 primer >35gr AA#9 >bullet crimped at the ogive due to the lack of a cannelure and the lightweight of the bullet interfering with the pressure build-up
I get 2050 fps out of a 6" barrel. Hitting some half-assed ballistics gel with it caused the jacket to shatter into 4 smaller fragments with 6"(+/-1") of penetration and the core mushrooms normally with 20" of penetration. I forgot to save pics of the ballistics gel, but I can show what the ammo looks like when I take lunch in a couple hours.
>muh pressure signs Did you happen to get your ammo properly pressure tested? No? Then you are literally taking stabs in the dark. Ammo can be overpressure before the primers flatten out.
Owen Perez
>Ammo can be overpressure before the primers flatten out. Indeed it can. But that doesn't change the fact that ignoring obvious signs of overpressure (of which flattened primers is just one example) is fucking stupid.
Ayden Miller
Lightfield makes some crazy shotgun ammo. Here's my favorite load.
"Here it is, the ONLY 3 1/2 shotgun slug on the market! The Lighfield Commander IDS Plus was designed as the largest high velocity, extremely stable, extended range Sabot Slug for use in modern rifled or smooth bore barrel shotguns for very large game. The IDS 3 1/2 Commander incorporates a 1 3/8 oz (600 grain) 73 caliber slug producing a whopping 4759 ft/lbs at the barrel and an insane 1327 ft/lbs @ 175 yards. TKO= 115! (Send in the elephants!) The patented IDS design incorporates an impact-discarding Sabot that aids stability in the wind and produces a controlled expansion slug for deeper penetration."
This thing sounds like a goddamn cannon going off when I've shot it out of my 6.5 lb, 18 inch barrel supernova. Its given people some pretty crazy shoulder bruises.
It's really fun loading up one of these at the end of a tube of birdshot, and then handing the gun to a buddy.
