Watch: 44 Magnum V-Crown JHP Gel Test
Kevin Felts 07.25.17
Our buddies over at The Firearm Blog shoot some 44 magnum Sig Sauer 240 grain V-Crown jacketed hollow point ammo into ballistic gel. The rounds were fired from a 4.25″ Smith & Wesson Model 69 Combat Magnum revolver.
A chronograph was set up in from of the target.
During the test, the chronograph reported errors on several rounds. Of the six rounds that were measured, the average velocity was 1,299 feet per second.
Using a foot-pounds of energy calculator at Bear Tooth bullets, that comes up to 899 foot pounds.
In comparison, a 115 grain 9mm traveling at 1,250 fps is 399 foot pounds.
Now for the video:
I was surprised to see the bullets that went through the denim travel farther than without the denim.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, some ballistics test concluded bone and clothing could clog the cavity of the hollow point and prevent it from expanding. Is that what happened here?
It would have been nice to see the bullet measured and weighed after being fired through just the gel and the gel that had the denim. Did the bullet fired through the denim expand less than without the denim?
With penetration of 23 inches, this makes the 44 magnum a poor choice for personal defense in an urban setting in my opinion, because your bullets may easily pass through the target and strike an innocent bystander.
Would you carry a 44 mag for urban self-defense?
