Hornady Critical Duty 40 Smith And Wesson Handgun Ammunition is designed specifically for law enforcement agencies. There are certain FBI protocols for ammunition and Hornadys Critical Duty line is made exactly for those protocols. Part of the FBI protocols require the ammunition to reliably penetrate barriers such as plywood, auto glass, wall board, sheet metal, and heavy clothing. These requirements are different than normal self defense ammunition. Normal self defense ammunition does not have deep penetration requirements and the preference is actually the opposite. Usually people buying self defense ammunition are concerned about shooting through a wall on accident and hitting someone innocent. Hornady Critical Duty Ammunition is the exact opposite, it is designed to accurately shoot through small barriers and hit the target behind it. The requirement by the FBI for penetration is 12 to 18 inches of penetration into gelatin after going through the small barriers listed previously.
The FlexLock bullet has two main functions that set it aside from competitor bullets, the Flex tip and the Interlock band. The flex tip helps in an extremely reliable bullet expansion, even when hitting sheet metal and other targets that clog hollow points. The interlock band keeps the jacket and core together for great weight retention. Great weight retention results in deeper penetration because of density and momentum. Hollow point ammunition usually fail the FBI penetration tests because the jacket and core separate, resulting in lighter projectiles that cannot penetrate as well.
Hornady Critical Duty 40 Smith And Wesson Handgun Ammunition Specifications:
Caliber: 40 Smith and Wesson
Bullet Type: FlexLock
Bullet Weight: 175 grains
Muzzle Velocity: 1010 feet per second
Muzzle Energy: 396 foot pounds
20 Rounds per box