130 gr PDX1 fired from S&W 2" Model 638, S&W 4" Model 13, and Rossi 16" Model 92 through four layers of denim into water and calibrated 10% gelatin.

This test bears a little explanation. A while back I tested Speer Gold Dot 125 gr and 135 gr and got no expansion (links below). It was about 40° that day so I thought to my self, "Self, this might be due to the cooler weather causing the ammunition to be cold, resulting in lower velocity." So I retested the loads at both cold temperature and warmer temperature and confirmed that the cold temperature did indeed cause lower velocity, which in turn prevented expansion. Before testing this load I noticed that Tnoutdoors9 got no expansion in his test of the same ammunition. I thought it prudent to begin by testing cold ammunition against water. Cold ammo to represent a worst case for velocity and water to represent a best case for the bullet's ability to expand at the given velocity. So I left the revolver and ammo in the freezer over night and transported them in the cooler with the gelatin. Sorry for the long winded explanation but would you rather I type this out or yammer on for 40 minutes about philosophy of use?

http://youtu.be/M4ukjPssIYQ
http://youtu.be/G6dgkbBxW94


BB: 579.0 fps, 3.6"

Cold ammo in water
S&W638
Impact velocity: 789.8 fps
Penetration: ~27" (water)
Retained weight: 129.5 gr
No expansion



S&W 638
Impact velocity: 867.1 fps
Penetration: 20.0"
Retained weight: 129.2 gr
No expansion








S&W 4" Model 13
Impact velocity: 940.5 fps
Penetration: 13.3"
Retained weight: 128.9 gr
Max expansion: 0.545"
Min expansion: 0.423"








Rossi 16" M92
Impact velocity: 1,197 fps
Penetration: 17.4"
Retained weight: 128.5 gr
Max expansion: 0.576"
Min expansion: 0.489"

Was the unexpanded bullet a fluke?  I ask that without yet watching the video.  I’m curious if the velocity difference was enough to prevent any expansion.

I can't say for sure without a larger sample size but I don't believe so. Other people have had failures with this load when testing with a short barrel.

Great info, thanks for putting this together!