Federal’s New PUNCH Defensive Handgun Bullets
Russ Chastain 05.27.20
Federal has just released a new defensive handgun bullet, and it certainly looks mean. They’re calling it Punch, and there’s a nifty-looking image of a fist on the box — composed of cartridge case heads. Cool idea.
I certainly hope to never find out what it feels like to get Punched with one of these.
Here’s what Federal has to say about their new hole-Puncher:
New Punch draws from Federal Ammunition’s decades of experience designing the world’s finest defensive handgun loads. The bullet’s skived jacket and soft lead core produce the best expansion and penetration in its class, while its nickel-plated brass and sealed primer deliver the reliable feeding and ignition needed for powerful personal protection. Now available in the top five, most popular, self-defense chamberings on the market. Shipments of this product have begun to arrive at dealers.
“Simply put, we know more about making duty and defensive bullets than anyone,” said Federal Handgun Ammunition Product Manager Chris Laack. “We used that knowledge and experience to create a product to specifically meet the needs of self-defense with a handgun. The result of that hard work is Punch.”
Rather than developing a single bullet design for all five loads, the team at Federal evaluated each caliber individually and determined which bullet design and weight would work most effectively for each load. Since the bullets weren’t specifically designed to perform in FBI protocol testing, Laack and his team spent time tuning each Punch load to meet the needs of the self-defense shooter—namely reliable expansion and enough penetration.
“We looked at specifications from our Hydra-Shok Deep, HST and other bullet designs, and took what made sense for Punch,” said Laack. “We selected whatever elements worked best for each individual caliber. We then played with thickness of the jacket, skive depth, hollow point geometry and even differences in lead cores to build the recipe for Punch.”
The result is a blend of good overall performance from a Federal Premium bullet that was designed specifically for the most common self-defense applications such as an extra-heavy clothing test using ballistic gel.
“The fact that that we’re launching Punch in the top five, most popular, self-defense chamberings on the market—all at once—makes a statement,” said Laack. “Typically, a new self-defense ammunition is launched in only one or two calibers then others are added later. But not Punch, we believe in it and know shooters looking for effective defensive ammunition with its specific features will love it.”
Features & Benefits
- Jacketed hollow-point bullet design provides a balanced mix of effective penetration and expansion
- Out-performs comparably priced competitor rounds
- Nickel-plated brass case with primer seal
- Available in the most popular defensive handgun cartridges
Federal ammunition can be found at dealers nationwide or purchased online direct from Federal. For more information on all products from Federal or to shop online, visit www.federalpremium.com.
