USA Carry
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Maps
  • State Guides
    • A-E
      • Alabama
      • Alaska
      • American Samoa
      • Arizona
      • Arkansas
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Connecticut
      • Delaware
    • F-J
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Guam
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
    • K-M
      • Kansas
      • Kentucky
      • Louisiana
      • Maine
      • Maryland
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Mississippi
      • Missouri
      • Montana
    • N-O
      • Nebraska
      • Nevada
      • New Hampshire
      • New Jersey
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • North Dakota
      • Northern Marianas
      • Ohio
      • Oklahoma
      • Oregon
    • P-U
      • Pennsylvania
      • Puerto Rico
      • Rhode Island
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Utah
    • V-Z
      • Vermont
      • Virgin Islands
      • Virginia
      • Washington
      • Washington D.C.
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
      • Wyoming
  • Articles
    • Defensive Gun Uses
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Training
    • Firearm Laws & Litigation
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Deals
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Maps
  • State Guides
    • A-E
      • Alabama
      • Alaska
      • American Samoa
      • Arizona
      • Arkansas
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Connecticut
      • Delaware
    • F-J
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Guam
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
    • K-M
      • Kansas
      • Kentucky
      • Louisiana
      • Maine
      • Maryland
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Mississippi
      • Missouri
      • Montana
    • N-O
      • Nebraska
      • Nevada
      • New Hampshire
      • New Jersey
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • North Dakota
      • Northern Marianas
      • Ohio
      • Oklahoma
      • Oregon
    • P-U
      • Pennsylvania
      • Puerto Rico
      • Rhode Island
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Utah
    • V-Z
      • Vermont
      • Virgin Islands
      • Virginia
      • Washington
      • Washington D.C.
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
      • Wyoming
  • Articles
    • Defensive Gun Uses
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Training
    • Firearm Laws & Litigation
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Deals
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
USA Carry
No Result
View All Result
  • DAILY GUNS & AMMO DEALS – CLICK HERE!
Home Articles

Is Frangible Ammunition Good For Self-Defense?

Sam Hoober by Sam Hoober
May 22, 2019
in Articles, Concealed Carry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Is Frangible Ammunition Good For Self-Defense?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Some people are concerned about possible over-penetration in the home environment and start using frangible ammunition or fragmenting ammunition. Several frangible hollow points are available at the moment, intended for use as self-defense ammunition.

You can find boxes/brands billed for this purpose like Liberty Civil Defense, Federal SynTech Defense, and G2 Research’s RIP and Telos rounds and so on.

Are they a better solution for self-defense than traditional jacketed hollow points? You might be onto something. Is this type of ammunition desirable as a carry load?

Balancing Out The Equation

Expanded hollow point
Expanded hollow point

Non-target ammunition is made to balance a number of attributes toward a specific goal.

For instance, a hunting round like Remington Core-Lokt, Nosler Partition, Swift A-Frame or Scirocco, has to be accurate. When the bullet arrives, it has to penetrate deeply and expand, but in a controlled fashion. Big game hunting means the bullet has to have adequate crushing power to get through bone to other vital structures, so it has to retain the lion’s share of its weight and only partially mushroom.

A hollow point for use in pistols usually is designed to favor expansion or penetration while hopefully doing both. Some strive for both, but most tend to lean to one side or another. Brands/boxes like Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, and Winchester PDX tend to favor expansion.

The problem, of course, is what the potential downsides are.

A bullet that doesn’t expand reliably will just go through the target, which is not what self-defense ammunition is supposed to do. A bullet that expands too much and loses petals and the jacket and so on doesn’t get to sufficient depth to damage vital structures. That’s why typical JHP rounds usually are designed for something like a 60/40 split. Most modern JHP rounds favor dramatic expansion over penetration.

What Fragmenting Hollow Points Do

Federal SynTech Fragmenting hollow point ammunition.
Federal SynTech Fragmenting hollow point ammunition.

Most frangible and fragmenting hollow points follow a similar design ethos. You have a fragmenting nose and a solid core, usually lead. Sometimes they’re copper jacketed, such as in the case of Honor Defense ammunition, sometimes they’re actually solid copper such as G2 Research’s RIP/Talos rounds, and sometimes they’re jacketed in polymer such as Federal’s new SynTech Defense line.

The way it works is that the nose fragments upon going into the target, sending several fragments into the body. The core of the bullet continues going.

Typically, the core will penetrate to what would be considered sufficient depth in gel testing (at least 12 inches, per the FBI’s 12- to 18-inch standard) but come to a stop. Since half the bullet is fragmented, much of the projectile’s kinetic energy has been dumped into the target, and the core will reliably stop.

Another benefit is that many of these rounds are lead-free, reducing exposure during shooting sessions but also – if you happen to shoot outdoors – reducing environmental impact in the bargain (ask waterfowlers; duck and geese hunters are often forbidden from using lead shot) in case you happen to care about that sort of thing.

On paper, this type of ammunition has a lot of advantages. But does that mean it’s a better type of carry ammunition than a jacketed hollow point?

It can be. But there are a few things you should be aware of.

The nose cone peeling away into several pieces (such as G2’s “trocars” of the RIP rounds) won’t necessarily amount to much. Yes, they can punch holes in arteries and organs, but that doesn’t actually buy you much from a handgun. For that to matter, you need a sudden and catastrophic drop in blood pressure. This requires a large permanent wound cavity, which requires a rifle or shotgun.

A 12-gauge slug will do that trick nicely. A little ole’ 9mm? Not so much. The core will still penetrate to sufficient depth, but it does need to be placed correctly.

Another thing to be aware of is that not all ammunition manufacturers test their ammunition to the same standards. Some, such as Honor Defense and Federal, subject all defensive ammunition to the FBI protocols. While the FBI’s ammo test isn’t perfect, it has been proven to be a reasonably reliable predictor (not guarantor, just a predictor) of real-world performance.

To sum up, frangible or fragmenting ammunition is a worthy choice of carry ammunition…if you buy the right kind.

Lead Photo Credit: G2 Research

Tags: ammoammunitionfrangiblehollow point
Sam Hoober

Sam Hoober

Sam Hoober writes about DGU incidents gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. In his free time, Sam enjoys camping, hunting and spending time at the gun range as often as possible.

Next Post
How Fitness Is Essential To Self-Defense

How Fitness Is Essential To Self-Defense

1.8 4 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Connect with
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect with
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Please login to comment
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Previous Post

Pittsburgh City Councilman Calls USCCA “Sellers of Death”

Next Post

How Fitness Is Essential To Self-Defense

Related Posts

24 Attorneys General Unite and Demand Congress Pass National Concealed Carry Law
Firearm Laws & Litigation

24 Attorneys General Unite and Demand Congress Pass National Concealed Carry Law

June 13, 2025
Freedom to Carry Bill Clears Key Vote in NC House, Veto Threat Still Looms
Firearm Laws & Litigation

Freedom to Carry Bill Clears Key Vote in NC House, Veto Threat Still Looms

June 13, 2025
Carjacker, 18, Shot Dead by Armed Citizen After Robbing Three People During Chicago Crime Spree
Defensive Gun Uses

Carjacker, 18, Shot Dead by Armed Citizen After Robbing Three People During Chicago Crime Spree

June 12, 2025 - Updated On June 13, 2025
Armed Good Samaritan Stops Violent Carjacking Spree | Tackles & Detains Suspect at Gunpoint
Articles

Armed Good Samaritan Stops Violent Carjacking Spree | Tackles & Detains Suspect at Gunpoint

June 11, 2025

© 2025 USA Carry LLC

Navigate Site

  • State Guides
  • Maps
  • Articles
  • Forums
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Deals
  • Giveaway
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
  • Concealed Carry Permit Guides By State
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • American Samoa
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Guam
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Northern Marianas
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Puerto Rico
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Utah
    • Vermont
    • Virgin Islands
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • Washington D.C.
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming
  • Articles
    • Defensive Gun Uses
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Training
    • Firearm Laws & Litigation
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Podcast
  • Giveaway
  • Store
  • Daily Deals
  • Contact

© 2025 USA Carry LLC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
  • Concealed Carry Permit Guides By State
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • American Samoa
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Guam
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Northern Marianas
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Puerto Rico
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Utah
    • Vermont
    • Virgin Islands
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • Washington D.C.
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming
  • Articles
    • Defensive Gun Uses
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Training
    • Firearm Laws & Litigation
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Podcast
  • Giveaway
  • Store
  • Daily Deals
  • Contact

© 2025 USA Carry LLC

wpDiscuz
0
0
Join the conversation, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Gun Deals
Gun.Deals