Hornady has recently announced a new line of ammunition: Critical Defense. The Critical Defense line of ammo is specially designed for small, compact firearms frequently carried concealed for self-defense.
The Critical Defense ammunition features a hollow point bullet the same “Flex Tip” polymer tip that Hornady uses in the LEVERevolution line of ammunition. The tip prevents the hollowpoint from being plugged with clothing and helps ensure expansion. Because of the Flex Tip technology, Hornady claims to achieve “100% reliable expansion every single time.”
The new Hornady ammo is not designed to meet the FBI test protocols used by some law enforcement agencies when choosing ammunition. Rather, Critical Defense ammunition is designed to operate in small, concealed carry guns against clothed attackers–not through steel and glass as required by the FBI testing.
According to Hornady:
- Unaffected by thick and heavy clothing, including denim and leather.
- FTX™ bullet delivers superior controlled expansion and large, deep wound cavities over a wide range of velocities.
- Clean burning and stable propellants reduce recoil in lightweight handguns, and perform consistently in all temperatures.
- Minimal muzzle flash protects night vision.
- Feeds reliably in pistols.
- Shiny silver nickel plating prevents corrosion, and is easily visible in low light situations.
- Bullets are custom designed for individual loads.
- The most effective, consistent, and reliable self-defense ammunition available today!
Critical Defense ammunition is being introduced in 9mm, .380 ACP, standard pressure .38 Special, and .38 Special +P. Ammunition is starting to ship and should be on the shelves by the end of the month.
The Hornady ads and literature feature the Ruger LCP, so I don’t know if this was the purpose-built ammunition for the LCP that Michael Bane refered to in his podcast.
Other articles that will amaze you:
- Hornady LeverEvolution Line Expands to Include the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum
- New .380 ACP Ammunition Tailored For the Ruger LCP
- Buy a Box of Hornady Ammo and Hornady Will Buy You a Guns and Ammo Subscription
- Smith and Wesson Begins Shipping the New Night Guard Revolvers Designed for Concealed Carry and Self Defense
- In The Gravest Extreme by Massad Ayoob: Great Self Defense Book for Anyone Who Owns Owns a Gun for Home Protection or Concealed Carry
The first listing for distribution in the retail channel that I’ve found is MidwayUSA. You can’t order it, but you can sign up for email
notification.
Price: $18.49 for 25
Date Expected In-Stock: 11/27/2008
They could have invented this 100 years ago. What took so long?
when will 9mm ftx be available ??
thanks, Jim
Jim,
The 9mm should be arriving at dealers this week.
Richard
Are there any plans to include .40 S&W?
Hornady has not announced any plans to include a .40 S&W load. If the initial offerings catch on, I would think they would develop and introduce a .40 load.
–Richard
put this in my kel tek p3at this ammo fed great.
What about .357 magnum loads?
Nothing yet for .357 mag.
This looks good, but what are the negatives??
Dave,
As with all bullet designs, this is a compromise. I like the concept of the flex tip to help prevent the hollowpoint from being clogged, as the .380 ACP and .38 Special are pretty slow and have a greater tendency to not expand.
To my knowledge, no one has been shot with this stuff, so it is all theoretical at this point. If this line of ammunition sticks around for a while, we may see some results from actual self defense situations. At that point we can make some better judgments as to its actual performance.
I hope this stuff catches on and they make so I can handload it for my 10mm
i would love this round for a 40 s&w to carry on duty!!!!! how do these stack up against the TAP for law enforcement?
DUH!!! Corbon powerball all ready did this , proven itself and available in ALL CALIBERS.Wicked reliable expansion through ALL MEDIUMS, clothing , metal, etc, the polymer ball produces same results every time. Super hot too (like all corbon ammo)
When can we expect .40 S&W and .45 ACP? My concealed carry is a great CZ RAMI in 40 S&W and I’d sure like this round for it.
I just cant wait for the 44 maq. to come out!
I was able to get this in .357 mag at the Cabelas store in Hoffman Estates, ILL
I went to Cabelas website and this is what they had:
.380 Auto 90 Gr. CD 25 $19.99
.38 Special 110 Gr. CD 25 $20.99
.38 Special+P 110 Gr. CD 25 $20.99
9mm Luger 115 Gr. CD 25 $19.99
.357 Mag. 125 Gr. CD 25 $23.99
.40 S&W 165 Gr. CD 20 $21.99
Enjoy Ray J
.45 ACP 185 Gr. CD 20 $22.99
I bought some in 380 at the Indy 1500 gunshow today. At $19.95 it was the ONLY 380 defense ammo available for under $29 a box. Ouch.
I have the 165′s that i use in my S&W M&P40. with the 4 1/2 barrel, the consistency is crazy. ALL rounds are within about 30 FPS. I shoot ALOT…and my M&P is my “all the time” sidearm. recoil is pretty light….shot it the other night in the dark (yes it was into the woods, into a 2000 pound bale of hay) and the muzzle flash is next to ZERO. i handload, so the 180 gr. Speer GD HP have been in there since i got the M&P. however, with how reliable the FTX is, thats what fills my 3 15 round mags. love it. forget about the XTP Hornady, the FTX is by far the best bullet i have ever shot. thanks.
Brandon
Love, love, love this ammo ! It’s hot, hard hitting, consistent, penetrative, expands well, and it looks cool. I use it in 40 S&W, 357 Mag, and 45 ACP {when I could get it in 45} Hornady makes quality stuff. The copper used in their bullets is a purer copper than most other brands, that’s why they have a darker color.
The cases are hard and smooth feeding. i never get dents in Hornady cases at all. They hardly even scratch, other brands especially Federal’s nickel dent pretty easy. Especially their HST line for some reason. Hornady is the best quality out there.
I have used the 125 gr XTP standard pressure .38′s with from Hornady with good results. I will try the FTX. Sounds like a round worth testing in my 2″ j-frame.