Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Newer type of defense bullet

BTW the Ruger/Polycase ARX is another option of similar concept as the Lehigh E-D series, but it definitely does not live up to the hype.

I tested the 9mm and 45 flavors back to back with the Lehigh, and was pretty dissapointed in the ARX. Velocity from my Glocks (19 and 21) matched the box advertised numbers, but penetration and damage were underwhelming. Neither round penetrated 1/4" aluminum plate, and they didn't penetrate or damage soft test media as much as the Lehigh or my favorite +P 124gr Gold Dot load.

I give them credit for trying something new, and the copper/polymer composite bullet material holds together well, but these need further R&D, IMO.

All this bullet talk got me to playin' around yesterday with milk jugs filled with water... I know water isnt the best predictor of terminal performance.

I used a glock 19 with a 124 grain HST +P and a Glock 42 with 90 grain Gold dot

both penetrated 2 full gallon jugs and both were caught in the third... I have no doubt the Lehigh ammo wouldve gone further

here are the jugs after the 9mm, the the first jug almost split in two (hydrostatic shock?)... THE HST impact was dramatic as it sent water everywhere. the 380 was not as profound...



I have no pics of the 380 carnage, the jugs were not damaged near as severe.

the HST:





comparison of the two:




THE Gold dot expanded almost as wide. Obviously, this is in water so its not worth much. The HST had some sharp petals, the gold dot is bonded and was more of a smooth mushroom. It starts out weighing 34 grains less, so I felt like it performed great.

That HST reminds me of the Black Talon.

Those will definitely work Mr. Lee, the little phillips screwdriver tipped Lehigh bullet in the only one I'd be interested in if I carried a 380, that little popper needs to penetrate.

my thoughts as well, but I don't want to takeout a loan to see how reliably they feed

LOL, I'd have to try a few boxes just for fun, or if the FMJ ball ammo T Lee speaks of at least comes in a flat point fmj design, I have found fmj flat point bullets penetrate straight in all caliber I've tested them in.

Have seen some fmj round nose ball ammo wander on their path through test mediums.

Leigh Extreme Penetrator VS Extreme Defender

The defenDer looks interesting, maybe one day they won't cost 1.50 each

I'm betting you'd have a hard time catching one of these in something that bleeds.



https://www.underwoodammo.com/380-acp-p-100-grain-flat-nose/

At least in tests, the HST's are the most consistent performing bullets I've ever seen.

MM

no doubt they are, in bare gel, or through any type of clothing, they just always open and don't get plugged up

The disappointment of thr HST lineup is the 380 though...
https://youtu.be/lhByLwyvGpA

Lehigh 380 extreme penetration
https://youtu.be/LczfeWK9lHw

no doubt they would dig deep
the lehigh video above actually compared the lehigh to the flat nose FMJ, FMJ penetrated much deeper as expected. The wound channel wasnt as good though

I'm glad to hear they make at least a flat nosed fmj for the little 380, I've never looked to see.

You are right about water jugs not being the best predictor of terminal performance, but they are handy for comparing bullets, as you know.

For comparison, in the same test (water filled milk jugs), a 124gr Gold Dot +P+ 9mm (1300 fps) penetrated pretty much the same as your HST; caught in the 3rd jug.

The 90gr Lehigh at 1525 fps penetrated 5 jugs, caught in the board behind the 5th. It didn't mess up the first jug as bad as the Gold Dot, but burst the 2nd and 3rd considerably more than the Gold Dot.

I've also been playing with a 100gr flat point cast bullet in the 9mm; the Lee 95-RF, basically a 100gr WFN design. At 1500 fps (hard cast) it also penetrated 5 jugs, but only destroyed the first one. The rest just had caliber size holes punched through. Good penetration but much less effect than the 90gr Lehigh.

It's not a FMJ, though it will act as one.

Someone on this board posted a video of them shooting through two panes of "bulletproof" glass with a Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator. I don't remember the caliber. He shot a couple of other bullets that one would expect to have excessive penetration; the glass stopped those rounds. Then he loaded up a Lehigh round and punched a hole through the glass. I've got way too many Lehigh Penetrators loaded up in mags. For a self-defense gun Lehigh makes a bullet that is very light-for-caliber. The penetration of the Xtreme Defenders is 12" to 18". I'm afraid the Penetrators would go through three people if I fired it in a crowd at a mass-murderer taking shots at the crowd with some version of an AR.

10mm extreme penetrator vs bulletproof glass. Impressive!


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDvzul3rvTk

Wonder why the Underwoods have a higher velocity over the Lehigh Defense?

More powder??