R.I.P. Ammo – Fad or Functional?

There is another new ammo, it splits into 3 and is tethered together with ballistic cord and goes to a diameter of 15″.

By their own numbers, it preforms very similarly to other fragmenting, high velocity rounds on the market (they have been around since at least ’75).  There is a reason this type of round has not been adopted by professionals on any significant scale.  The marketing style and hype will probably sell some ammo initially, but then as more tests and numbers come in, people will realize they are no better then the other high velocity fragmenting rounds they don’t buy.

I’d be willing to bet it is a very lethal round… unfortunately the “nicks” in major organs will cause a slow death so the attacker will have plenty of time to kill your or your family before retiring for the evening and dying at home.

I suggested at the RatedRR video to see what it would look like going through a rack of ribs and then hitting the gel.

The way I do it currently, is practice with FMJ ball ammo, but carry JHP that I’ve run enough through the firearm to know it generally won’t jam/malf.

Yes

Another in a long line of novelty rounds. The only reason I would buy some would be for the future so I can say “remember when?”

EddieMickle I would like to try it out myself… but I do like the slo mo angle Richard Ryan’s vids offer.

peter3101 Oooh, I haven’t seen that. What’s it called?

Jim P. That would make for an interesting watch, for sure–for me, at least. :]

RonLarimer Defending my life with lethal force is something that I hope I never have to do.

The reason I would like to see it is from the duplication of shooting center of mass and then you hit a rib or sternum and then going into the heart/lung/liver.
The drywall doesn’t seem to have the same density as bone, but a cinder block (a different video) doesn’t seem right either.
I definitely am not going to pay $2.25 per round unless it has a track record that it is a “man stopper”without over penetration. JHP has the same risks.

Doesn’t matter to me, I always shoot for the Head #headshotsonly

I might get a box because I love engineering, but that would be the only reason, ill stick with my standard JHP ammo

At least this video is a better representation.  I was very critical of the manufacture’s website video using full automatics and they turned the blocks sideways for some shots and used way to many hits so that you could not really see what happens with one projectile.  I really do not see this selling to  serious shooters as what we already shoot is deadly.  I would however like to see what this round would do on soft body armor.

As I said on FB a few minutes ago, If they tested it against an Animal Carcass, particularly the sternum or breast plate, it would perform horribly, even more so if it had 6 layers of denim over it. A Gel Block simulates flesh, but it is nowhere near animal flesh, and considering humans react differently than a gel block, I would wager it would leave a 1 in diameter cavity under the surface of the entrance wound if it opened (from the fragments, and they would probably stay near the surface due to the extremely low grain weight of each trocar) , and the base would penetrate 4 or 5 inches. An easy GSW to repair. It’d be like a .22/25, with a couple of little fragments stuck near the entrance.  The only way I could see it being effective would be to pull the projectile, load it into a .380 casing, and then use it as a pocket rocket “Gut shot” pistol. That would probably leave several minor intestinal lacerations and cause Sepsis (Fecal I.V) It just doesn’t compare to what a Copper Coated Lead HP out of any pistol can do.  If you want a hard hitting self-defense round for a 9mm, a 124 Gr +P+ Federal 9BPLE load is a BAMF. I personally like 147 Gr +P JHP, and Hornady’s 135 Gr +P Critical Duty. Also remember, at 44 dollars a box, it would be very expensive to train with (Which you should train/test function your carry load in your carry pistol) If you can’t train with it, at least enough to see how it functions in your pistol. I recommend 100 rounds minimum, which equates to about 225 bucks for that load. I am not an expert, but not many of us can afford that. You can buy a box of Hornady Critical Duty 135 Gr +P at 35 for 50 rounds, so 70 for 100.

Fiero11 FateofDestineepeter3101Is that the shotgun round that Tom was trying to sell…err, I mean review about a month ago on Weapons Education?

JoeFabeetz Fiero11FateofDestineepeter3101 You might be right that it was primarily a shotgun round, but things always have a way of progressing into other caliber development if successful.

In the end, we going to comeback to our old fashion bullet designs and this bullet will end as a fairy tale.

I think it is a crappy round. The trocars hardly penetrate 4-6 of ballistic gel… I’ll give it to their marketing department!!! Anyone would be better served by a real round like Federal HST, Gold Dot, PDX1, etc…

IMHO – I think buying a good quality JHP ammo and training with it is the best solution. I concede that some of these specialty/boutique brands do indeed have better terminal performance. But their high price and limited availability make it expensive and difficult to become proficient in their use. A case in point is the 9MM RIP (Rest in Piece) round. The average retail price is $45.00 per 20. As someone pointed out, that is $225.00 per 100 rounds. Checking on the Internet, I found a 500 round box of Remington 9mm 115 grain JHP for $211.00 inclusive of shipping. That is roughly a 5 to 1 price difference. An additional bonus of purchasing the Remington Ammo is that I will also have enough pocket change to order an overpriced cappuccino at Starbucks. In closing,