Federal Hydra-Shok Bullets Now Available for Handloaders

   05.06.19

Federal Hydra-Shok Bullets Now Available for Handloaders

Here’s some good news for devotees of Federal’s Hydra-Shok handgun defense bullet: You can now buy Hydra-Shok bullets as components for loading your own ammo. This means you can load your own defensive ammo with the same bullets that Federal has been providing in loaded ammo for three decades.

They are available for loading in 9mm, 38/357, 40 S&W/10mm, and 45 ACP.

From the press release:

Federal Premium Hydra-Shok, the bullet design that’s defined self-defense for a generation, is now available as a component for handloaders. Shipments have been delivered to dealers.

Introduced in 1989, Hydra-Shok remains one of the most popular choices for protecting home and family, thanks to a proven hollow point and iconic center post that provide extremely consistent and effective expansion. Now available in a complete range of bullet weights and diameters.

Features & Benefits

  • Proven self-defense bullet design now available as a component for reloading
  • Superb accuracy and overall ballistic performance
  • Notched copper jacket
  • Center-post hollow-point design provides reliable expansion

Part No. / Description / MSRP

PB38HS129 / 357 cal. 129-grain, 100-count / $30.95
PB9HS124 / 355 cal. 124-grain, 100-count / $30.95
PB9HS147 / 355 cal. 147-grain, 100-count / $30.95
PB357HS158 / 357 cal. 158-grain, 100-count / $31.95
PB40HS165 / 400 cal. 165-grain, 50-count / $16.95
PB40HS180 / 400 cal. 180-grain, 50-count / $16.95
PB45HS185 / 451 cal. 185-grain, 50-count / $18.95
PB45HS230 / 451 cal. 230-grain, 50-count / $18.95

I think this is a good move for Federal. It opens up a whole new market for the Hydra-Shok and is unlikely to have much (if any) negative effect on sales of factory Hydra-Shok ammunition.

Do you load your own defensive ammo? I have done so before and have no qualms about it. You hear the old “urban legends” about someone who loaded his own ammo and used it for self-defense and was then raked over the coals in court for loading the ammo himself, but I have never known of any actual evidence of such a thing. Have you?

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Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.

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