The ammo you shoot through the gun you carry is just as important as the gun itself.
Defensive ammo should deliver adequate stopping power under controlled recoil. It should produce an optimal balance between penetration and expansion without an excessive risk of overpenetration, and it should not plug on contact with interposing barriers.
These are some of the reasons that so many people choose Federal HST for personal defense, including, no doubt, select law enforcement agencies around the country.
But what does it offer, and what’s behind its performance?
Skived Jackets
The bullets with which Federal HST ammo is loaded have skived jackets. These skives appear as small striations that radiate down the jacket, away from the nose of the bullet.
Basically, skives are small notches that serve as a weak point in the jacket, allowing it to tear away from the core at predictable junctures.
Skiving improves the reliability and consistency of expansion and ensures the bullet disrupts as expected on contact with a soft target.
This improves the consistency of performance characteristics and helps ensure optimal expansion.
Non-Bonded Design
Some hollow point bullets feature a bonded design; others are non-bonded.
In a bonded configuration, the bullet core and jacket are physically bonded, preventing separation during impact.
Bonded bullets tend to offer better penetration, which sometimes comes at the expense of expansion (though not always).
Federal HST’s bullets are non-bonded, which, though it can affect penetration (rarely a concern when used for defensive applications) this feature, like the skiving of the bullet’s jacket, ensures rapid, violent expansion and rapid energy dump.
In other words, the non-bonded design helps ensure maximal energy transfer in the smallest window of time, producing devastating stopping power.
Unlikely to Plug
A common problem with hollow point bullets is that they can plug when they’re passing through barriers between them and the intended target.
When a hollow-point bullet “plugs” the void in the noise gets obstructed and the bullet either acts more like a fully jacketed bullet, or simply does not expand as intended.
Specifically fabric, like clothing, can produce this effect.
The problem here is that this can drastically minimize the ballistic efficiency and energy transfer of a hollow point bullet.
Fortunately, Federal HST has been extensively tested and has been demonstrated to resist plugging, even when passing through multiple layers of fabric.
How Is It Different from Federal Hydra-Shok?
Federal HST (which stands for Hydra-Shok Technology, by the way) is not exactly the same as its predecessor.
Notably, HST lacks the center post of the bullet which is present in Hydra-Shok ammo. It has also proven to be more effective and consistent in expansion, especially when passing through barriers and fabric.
Both are exceptional defensive ammo, though, and can be carried with confidence.
The Bottom Line
Notwithstanding these special features and the differences between HST and Hydra-Shok, the former offers consistent, reliable expansion, even when passing through multiple layers of interposing fabric.
All in all, it offers an excellent balance between optimal penetration and energy transfer without producing a serious risk of overpenetration, making it an excellent ammo for defensive applications, and potentially for hunting some target game species in appropriate calibers, and in areas where handgun hunting is legal.
Where Can You Get Federal HST Online?
Looking for a new defensive round? Looking to replenish your Federal HST ammo cans? Just need some surplus for training?
Get it online at Bucking Horse Outpost. They carry Federal HST and a wide range of other ammo in many popular calibers, and they run a bunch of specials and police trade-in deals on the regular.
For more information about Lake City Ammo and Green Tip 5.56 please visit:- Bucking Horse Outpost