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Tactical Briefs (Volume 2, Number 6)
June 1999

.223 Remington Ammunition for Personal Defense/Law Enforcement

IWBA member Gary Roberts performed terminal performance testing of twenty-three different .223 Remington loads and published his results as follows:

• Roberts, GK: "The Wounding Effects of 5.56mm/.223 Law Enforcement General Purpose Shoulder Fired Carbines Compared With 12 Ga. Shotguns and Pistol Caliber Weapons using 10% Ordnance Gelatin as a Tissue Simulant." Wound Ballistics Review, 3(4); Autumn 1998, and

• Roberts, GK: "Law Enforcement General Purpose Shoulder Fired Weapons -- The Wounding Effects of 5.56mm/.223 Carbines Compared With 12 Ga. Shotguns and Pistol Caliber Weapons using 10% Ordnance Gelatin as a Tissue Simulant." Police Marksman, July/August 1998.

As a result of his testing, Roberts recommended nine cartridges. Three of these cartridge recommendations are available only to law enforcement, whereas the remaining six are (or were) commercially available.

We investigated the availability of these loads and offer the following commentary:

Winchester Supreme Match 69gr JHPBT (S223M) was discontinued in 1998 and is no longer available.

Federal 69gr JHP (223M) was tested and recommended by Roberts but we're unable to find any load under this product number in Federal's catalog. (We're unwilling to assume that the Federal .223 Remington 69gr JHP 223M cartridge, tested by Roberts, is the same as the currently available Gold Medal Match GM223M load.)  Attempts to contact Roberts for clarification were unsuccessful.

Federal 55gr Tactical JSP (LE223T1) is available to law enforcement agencies only. This bullet produces the least amount of tissue disruption of all the .223 cartridges recommended by Roberts. The bullet does not fragment very much. Its performance is not much of an improvement over a .22 Long Rifle 40gr lead HP.

Winchester 64gr JSP (Q3246 "Knurled") is a California Highway Patrol contract load which uses the 64gr Power-Point bullet with a cannelure. According to a Winchester spokesman, this load is also available to other law enforcement agencies upon request. The CHP specifies a cannelure to prevent bullet setback, and subsequent feeding failures, in its AR-15 rifles.

Olin M855/Winchester 62gr FMJ (RA556M855) is from Winchester's Ranger line of law enforcement ammunition. Whether or not other manufacturer's M855/SS109-type ammunition delivers similar performance is unknown.

Black Hills 60gr JSP, 68 grain JHP and 75gr JHP are recommended by Roberts. We contacted Black Hills ammunition company and confirmed that the cartridges tested by Roberts used the same bullets as current production ammunition.

Olin M193/Winchester 55gr FMJ (X223R1) is recommended. This load is available as Winchester USA Q3131. Whether or not other manufacturer's M193-type ammunition delivers similar performance is unknown.

Although Roberts tested Winchester's 64gr Power-Point JSP cartridge (X223R2), and found it acceptable, he did not specifically recommend its use in autoloading carbines and SMGs. There is no cannelure on the bullet, and Roberts alludes to feeding failures caused by bullet setback in the case mouth. In 1999 Winchester began offering a moly-coated 64gr Supreme Power-Point Plus load (SHV223R2), which develops slightly greater velocity than the 64gr Super-X Power-Point JSP load. Both the Supreme and Super-X loads use the same bullet.

The critical minimum velocity for obtaining maximum terminal performance from .223 Remington/5.56mm ammunition is approximately 2700 fps. Bullets that are propelled below this velocity do not provide optimal terminal performance, and thus are less capable of creating wound trauma that will produce rapid incapacitation of a criminal attacker.

Click here to view wound profile illustrations of the M193 and M855 bullets.

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Haunting Questions: The Stephanie Crowe Murder Case

This is a six part series of special reports from the San Diego Union-Tribune about the murder investigation of 12 year-old Stephanie Ann Crowe, who was mysteriously stabbed to death in her bedroom on the night of January 20, 1998, shortly after she retired to her bed.

There are lessons from this tragic story from which everyone can learn. But what we feel is of of utmost importance is how honest citizens can unwittingly get themselves into legal trouble during police questioning. This story serves as an example of why it's so vitally important to have legal counsel present with you (and any family members) during police questioning to safeguard your rights, and to protect you from being coaxed, coerced and confused into making incriminating statements.

Part 1: The night she was killed: Steve Crowe says he bolts awake every night, tormented by the same dream. He hears his daughter's voice. "Daddy, help me. Please, Daddy."

Part 2: The arrest: Michael Crowe, like a lot of teenagers, has an eye for the irreverent. He is a fan of "The Simpsons" TV show. As a freshman at Orange Glen High School, he thought it was funny to eat lunch on the lawn reserved for seniors.

Part 3: The knife: On the day Stephanie Crowe was buried, Suzie Houser became concerned about a collection of knives that her son, Aaron, kept in a drawer in his bedroom.

Part 4: More arrests: Back in the familiar 14-by-14-foot interrogation room at Escondido police headquarters, Joshua Treadway remembered what Detective Ralph Claytor had told him during the overnight interrogation 13 days earlier.

Part 5: In court: Mary Ellen Attridge watches the TV news before work. On Jan. 21, 1998, she saw a report about Stephanie Crowe's slaying and mused, "I'm going to wind up involved in this somehow."

Part 6: The bombshell: Bombshell evidence triggers dismissal of charges against the teens. Police and prosecutors go back to square one, while families file suit and sort out their lives.

The full report index is available at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/reports/crowe/index.html

FBI Testing of HydraShok Ammunition

In 1990, the Federal Bureau of Investigation performed a series of tests involving Federal Cartridge Company's HydraShok jacketed hollowpoint bullet pistol ammunition. The tests were intended to detemine whether or not the HydraShok post contributed to terminal performance. While we don't fully agree with the FBI's conclusions, we thought there was enough interest in these tests to publish the report.

The HydraShok ammunition of today is different from the version tested by the FBI. The primary difference is the thickness of the post. Federal apparently redesigned the post so it would collapse when the bullet expands. In previous generations of HydraShok the post remained erect after bullet expansion. This was not desirable for two reasons:

1. The erect post propelled tissue out of the path of the expanded bullet, reducing the amount of tissue that was contacted and crushed as the bullet penetrated.  As a result, the bullet produced a narrower, but deeper, permanent cavity compared to conventional JHP bullets of the same caliber, weight, velocity and expanded diameter.

2. The erect post allowed the bullet to more easily exit the body, because the small diameter of the post would perforate the skin on the exit side of the body and permit the bullet to pass through this tough, flexible barrier. An expanded HydraShok bullet with an erect post was more likely to overpenetrate than conventional JHP bullets of the same caliber, weight, velocity and expanded diameter.

Although the FBI also tested conventional JHP bullets in 9mm and 10mm for comparison purposes, we published only the test data for the modified and unmodified HydraShok ammunition.

We're considering performing a similar test of current HydraShok ammunition using the IWBA Handgun Ammunition Specification.

"FBI Testing of HydraShok Ammunition," Firearms Training Unit, FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia 22135; 7/91

The FBI contracted with Federal Cartridge Corporation to procure both 9mm and .45 ACP HydraShok loadings for use as FBI service ammunition. The service round in 9mm caliber is the 147 grain HydraShok and in the .45 caliber the service round is the 230 grain ACP HydraShok. This ammunition is used in all Bureau issued weapons, as well as authorized personally owned weapons. The contract with Federal was based on the results from ammunition tests conducted by the Firearms Training Unit at the FBI Academy.

As a result of these two contracts, we received numerous inquiries concerning what effect, if any, the post in the middle of the hollowpoint made in the performance of this ammunition. Although the purpose of our ammunition testing was to determine the best round available, these inquiries prompted us to conduct some comparative testing.

The test involved firing 100 rounds of each caliber, with and without the post through the complete FBI Test Protocol. The ammunition used for each test sample was chose at random from within the same lot number. The most difficult part of this testing was to find the best method by which the post could be removed without damaging or scarring the interior walls of the hollowpoint cavity, which causes the bullet to separate at those damage points when the bullet nose/hollowpoint expands.

After trying several methods to remove the post without altering the design of the bullet, it was finally accomplished by using a milling machine with a two-flute, 1/8 inch mill cutter. The milling machine enabled us to remove the post in a slow, precise, and exact manner leaving a cavity base uniformly flat and no deeper than before the post was removed. Using this method to remove the post, ten bullets of each sample were weighed. The bullet weight reflected in the test reports are averages of these ten rounds. The post represented approximately 2 grain weight difference in the 9mm and 10mm bullets, and 3 grains weight difference in the .45 ACP bullet.

All testing included firing these rounds through the entire FBI Test Protocol once with the post and once without the post. In the 9mm caliber, we also conducted a third test using the Federal 147gr Jacketed Hollowpoint round. This round was initially manufactured for a Defense Department contract which specified a 147gr loading without a post. It is the same bullet used in the HydraShok except that the post has been melted into the cavity. In the 10mm round we used the 180gr HydraShok, and in the .45 ACP round we used the 230gr HydraShok.

After conducting the tests and comparing the results, it was concluded that the post does make a positive and significant difference in the terminal effectiveness and accuracy of the rounds. However, the differences noted varied in each caliber and test.

It is possible that the difference found depends on the design and construction of the bullet. As an example, the test results of the 10mm loading are included. This loading uses a 180gr Jacketed Hollow Cavity bullet manufactured by Sierra Bullet Company, a very well designed, high quality and high cost bullet. When comparing the results of these tests, we found that the Sierra loading was marginally better in terminal effectiveness, and the HydraShok loading was marginally better in accuracy. Therefore it is evident that good design and quality construction are the critical factors in the overall performance of this ammunition. It should be stressed that the HydraShok bullet as manufactured by Federal is far removed from its original design. This bullet has been through several generational changes, and like the Sierra bullet, it is a well designed, high quality projectile.

The post did not, however, make a difference in the 40 round average expansion of the 9mm or 10mm tests. The reasons are seen in the individual shot results. Those rounds (without the posts) which held together tended to expand more than those with the post. Many of the rounds without the post expanded so much so fast that they lost the skirting (rolled back lead and jacket) resulting in fragmentation throughout the wound track and a smaller, almost caliber sized recovered projectile. The rounds with the post individually may not have expanded quite so much, but collectively held together better and created better wounds. The result is very similar AVERAGE results.

However, the percentage of rounds which failed to penetrate to the minimum depth was significantly greater in those rounds tested without the post. It is postulated that the presence of the post engenders more uniform and controlled expansion throughout the entire test series, and this in turn promotes more uniform acceptable penetration. Those bullets where the post was removed or which were designed without a post appeared to expand too much and too fast. Where these bullets did not come apart, the extreme expansion reduced penetration frequently below the minimum acceptable depth. Where these rounds came apart (usually losing some or all of the skirting) the penetration was acceptable but the wound created was noticeably smaller. These observations also held true with the .45 ACP tests, except that with this round the post also appeared to have made a noticeable difference in the average expansion.

FBI Ammunition Test Protocols
The FBI Ammunition Test Protocol is a series of practically oriented tests to measure a bullet's ability to meet these performance standards. The result is an assessment of various intervening obstacles commonly present in law enforcement shootings. The results of a test are thus indicative of that specific cartridge's suitability for the wide range of conditions in which law enforcement officers engage in shootings.

The test media used by the FBI to simulate living tissue is 10% Ballistic Gelatin (Kind & Knox 250-A), mixed by weight (i.e., one pound of gelatin to 9 pounds of water). The gelatin is stored at 4° Centigrade (39.2° Fahrenheit) and shot within 20 minutes of being removed from the refrigerator. The temperature of the gelatin is critical, because penetration changes significantly with temperature. This specific gelatin mix has been calibrated by the U.S. Army Wound Ballistics Research Laboratory, Presidio of San Francisco, to produce the same penetration results as that obtained in actual living tissue. The 10% gelatin has been correlated against actual results of over 200 shooting incidents.

The gelatin blocks are approximately six inches square and 16 inches long. As necessary, additional blocks are lined up in contact with each other to insure containment of the bullet's total penetration. Each shot's penetration is measured to the nearest 0.25 inch. The projectile is recovered, weighed, and measured for expansion by averaging its greatest diameter with its least diameter.

The Ammunition Test Protocol using this gelatin is composed of eight test events. In each test event, five shots are fired. A new gelatin block and new test material are used for each individual shot. The complete test consists of firing 40 shots. Each test event is discussed below in order. All firing in these eight test events is done with a typical service weapon representative of those used by law enforcement. The weapon used is fully described in each test report.

Test Event 1 - Bare Gelatin. The gelatin block is bare, and shot at a range of ten feet measured from the muzzle to the front of the block. This test event correlates FBI results with those being obtained by other researchers, few of whom shoot into anything other than bare gelatin. It is common to obtain the greatest expansion in this test. Rounds which do not meet the standards against bare gelatin tend to be unreliable in the more practical test events that follow.

Test Event 2 - Heavy Clothing. The gelatin block is covered with four layers of clothing: one layer of cotton T-shirt material (48 threads per inch); one layer of cotton shirt material (80 threads per inch); a 10 ounce down comforter in a cambric shell cover (232 threads per inch); and one layer of 13 ounce cotton denim (50 threads per inch). This simulates typical cold weather wear. The block is shot at ten feet, measured from the muzzle to the front of the block.

Test Event 3 - Steel. Two pieces of 20 gauge, hot rolled steel with galvanized finish are set three inches apart. The steel is in six inch squares. The gelatin block is covered in Light Clothing and placed 18 inches behind the rear most piece of steel. Light Clothing is one layer of the above described cotton T-shirt material and one layer of the above described cotton shirt material, and is used as indicated in all subsequent test events.

The steel used is the heaviest gauge steel commonly found in automobile doors. This test simulates the weakest part of a car door. In all car doors, there is an area, or areas, where the heaviest obstacle is nothing more than two pieces of 20 gauge steel.

Test Event 4 - Wallboard. Two pieces of half-inch standard gypsum board are set 3.5 inches apart. The pieces are six inches square. The gelatin block is covered with Light Clothing and set 18 inches behind the rear most piece of gypsum. The shot is made at ten feet, measured from the muzzle to the front surface of the first piece of gypsum. This test event simulates a typical interior building wall.

Test Event 5 - Plywood. One piece of three-quarter inch AA fir plywood is used. The piece is six inches square. The gelatin block is covered with Light Clothing and set 18 inches behind the rear surface of the plywood. The shot is made at ten feet, measured from the muzzle to the front surface of the plywood. This test event simulates the resistance of typical wooden doors or construction timbers.

Test Event 6 - Automobile Glass.   One piece of A.S.I. one-quarter inch laminated automobile safety glass measuring 15x18 inches is set at an angle of 45° to the horizontal. The line of bore of the weapon is offset 15° to the side, resulting in a compound angle of impact for the bullet upon the glass. The gelatin block is covered with Light Clothing and set 18 inches behind the glass. The shot is made at ten feet, measured from the muzzle to the center of the glass pane. This test event with its two angles simulates a shot taken at the driver of a car from the left front quarter of the vehicle, and not directly in front of it.

Test Event 7 - Heavy Clothing at 20 Yards. This event repeats Test Event 2 but at a range of 20 yards, measured from the muzzle to the front of the gelatin. This test event assess the effects of increased range and consequently decreased velocity.

Test Event 8 - Automobile Glass at 20 Yards. This event repeats Test Event 6 but at a range of 20 yards, measured from the muzzle to the front of the glass, and without the 15° offset. The shot is made from straight in front of the glass, simulating a shot at the driver of a car bearing down on the shooter.

In addition to the above described series of test events, each cartridge is tested for velocity and accuracy. Twenty rounds are fired through a test barrel and twenty rounds are fired through the service weapon used in the penetration tests. All velocities are measured and reported.

Two ten-shot groups are fired from the test barrel, and two from the service weapon used, at 25 yards. They are measured from center to center of the two most widely spaced holes, averaged and reported.

Test barrel results demonstrate a round's potential independent of any weapon factors which can affect performance. Test barrel results are the purest measure of inherent capability for accuracy and velocity. Repeating these tests with a service weapon shows how well the cartridge/weapon combination may realize that potential.

Delivering you informative multimedia essays about the "battlefield problem-solving" tactical aspects of armed self-defense.

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