Like many people, I keep hollow-point ammunition in my carry guns. In general, hollow-point rounds expand in the body cavity causing a larger wound channel and don’t over penetrate. The problem with some hollow-point ammo is that it may not feed properly in semi-automatic handguns, causing jams. This is not something you want to have happen to you when your life depends on your ability to use your weapon.
I was curious how my gun would feed hollow-point rounds so I set up a little test. First, I carried my gun everyday in the holster in my back pocket for 3 months. I did not take it out to clean it or oil it. I wanted it to get as clogged with pocket lint as possible to simulate real world conditions. Guns when cleaned and properly oiled should feed ammo just fine. But a dirty gun or dry gun has much more difficulty. I wanted to make sure pocket lint wouldn’t cause my gun to fail in a critical moment.
On the day I went to the range, I pulled my gun from the holster and fired the chambered round and the full magazine that had been in the gun for 3 months. I had Federal’s Hydrashok 65 grain jacketed hollow-points loaded in the gun at that time.
With no problems encountered from the first magazine, I decided to get the gun dirty. I fired 50 rounds of range ammunition without a single malfunction.
Now dirty from firing as well as being in my pocket for 3 months, I finished the box of Federal Hydrashoks. I experienced no feed issues and was satisfied that my gun will feed Hydrashoks reliably.
I also took a box of Hornady Ammunition’s 60 grain XTP. I ran through the entire box of Hornady’s self-defense offering without a single misfeed or failure.
I couldn’t be happier with how the gun and ammunition performed. I know testing self-defense ammo is expensive, but it is critical to know for sure that the gun will cycle reliably. This is the kind of test everyone should do with their defense guns and ammo of choice. I wouldn’t hesitate to keep either of these brands in my carry gun.
Note – I am not advocating leaving your carry gun uncleaned for 3 months. It is important to keep your weapon clean and in good working order for it to be reliable. This was only a test, one the Kel-Tec passed with flying colors.