FOG HORN
July 2020 Twobirds Flying Publications
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point Copyright 2020, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point By: Sal Palma
2020
smaller frames and grips of a subcompact pistol fit those smaller hands nicely. What most gun buyers don’t know is that the firearm is a component of a system that’s made up of the firearm, ammunition and the shooter. If anyone of those components fails, the system fails and that applies to both gun safety and defensive applications. A poorly made firearm does not exist in 2020; SIG SAUER, GLOCK, WALTHER, SMITH&WESSON, TAURUS and H&K all make excellent subcompact pistols. What’s important in making the appropriate selection is how well the pistol fits your hand; that fit will determine how well you can shoot. The pistol should sit comfortably in your hand and you should be able to use all of its controls.
Today’s environment led to the deepest and most prolonged run on firearms and ammunition - rightly so. Many of our communities, through their failed policies, are diminishing local police and their ability to serve and protect leading to this immense demand. Many of today’s gun buyers are completely new to firearms and the plethora of subcompact pistols available from manufacturers does not make things easier for the buyer. Why are so many buying subcompact firearms? The number one reason is concealability, followed by anatomical requirements; let’s face it, our ladies don’t have large hands and the
A subcompact pistol will generally be no more than one inch in frame thickness and a barrel length of 3 to 3.3 inches, so its sight radius is short. They are not made for precision shooting; they are made for reliability and concealment, so ammunition selection is important. Here’s why. There are several considerations when selecting any ammunition; external ballistics and terminal effects. External ballistics tells us things like bullet weight and muzzle velocity. These two variables tell us what the bullets kinetic energy is. We calculate kinetic energy using the following formula K.E. = 1/2 m v2 so a 124 grain bullet traveling at 1280 feet per second has a kinetic energy of 611.518 J. Simple evaluation of the formula tells us that increasing bullet mass, velocity or both will yield greater kinetic energy. Terminal ballistics evaluates the bullet’s impact on its target; for example, it’s penetration, expansion and how well it holds together so
Copyright 2020, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point that it retains mass as much as possible, but pistol characteristics can also affect ammunition performance?
2020
muzzle velocity does not detract from its impressive terminal ballistics.
Barrel length impacts muzzle velocity and a lower velocity translates to less kinetic energy. The lower energy reduces terminal effects, so the ammunition you use in a subcompact pistol should have a heavier bullet, generally 124 grain or 147 grain and have a bullet geometry and design that will expand and retain as much of its mass as possible. A shorter barrel is not the only characteristic of a subcompact pistol. Because of their lighter weight and smaller size, a subcompact pistol will deliver greater felt recoil. Most subcompact pistol owners do not target shoot with their pistol, they carry concealed or use it as a home defense device. So let’s talk about what a defensive situation is. There are legal definitions and I’m not a lawyer, but a defensive situation in one where your life or someone else’s life is in danger. Defensive situations can occur in the home or outside the home and they have a common element, there’s someone else around. Without the proper ammunition selection you could over penetrate your target and hit an innocent bystander, and that folks makes for a tragic day.
Andy sent us a sample which we took to the range this week - It would have been sooner Andy but the COVID19 thing got in the way. For this review, I used two very popular subcompact offerings, SIG’s P365 and the ubiquitous Glock 43. The P365 in this review is the SAS model.
Andy Steinel founder of Steinel Ammunition in Twinsburg, Ohio recognized the need for a defensive load tailored to the subcompact pistol platform and in March of 2020 announced a premium 9mm defensive round, a first for Steinel. The Company’s new offering is a 124gr solid Copper Hollow Point (SCHP) that exits a 3 inch barrel at 960 fps (feet per second) but its lower Copyright 2020, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point
2020
All of my shooting was done at 7 yards which is what most jurisdictions consider an appropriate defensive zone.
The Glock 43 was configured with the +2 Vickers Tactical floor plate bringing its magazine capacity to 8 rounds, while the SIG P365 SAS was stock at a 10 round capacity. Every round fired from these platforms fed and ejected flawlessly, not a single glitch. Steinel’s reduced muzzle velocity made shooting the G43 less punchy. Felt recoil was noticeably less so in rapid fire, I was able to keep a tighter group. Used with the P365 SAS the Steinel defensive 9mm made it shoot like a pussy cat. The SAS uses a vented and ported barrel to reduce muzzle climb so the 960 fps Steinel is made for this pistol.
Figure I P365 SAS Steinel 9mm Defensive Load
Figure II Glock 43 Steinel 9mm Defensive Load
Andy Steinel has done some interesting high tech work to achieve impressive terminal performance. The Maker Solid Copper Hollow Point bullet used in this ammo expands to a diameter of .706″ when fired from 3″ barrels and .857″ from 4.7″ barrels! Devastating terminal effects when your life likely depends on stopping the assailant .
When you have this level of terminal performance you can spare some muzzle velocity along with the subsequent recoil impulse and over penetration risk. Copyright 2020, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
Steinel 9mm Subcompact Carry Hollow Point If you carry or keep for home defense a subcompact pistol in a 9 mm caliber, I couldn’t more highly recommend Steinel’s 9mm 124gr SCHP – Subcompact Carry. You get superb quality throughout and a level of performance that’s hard to match; the icing on the cake is that it’s available directly from Steinel Ammunition for $20.49 -SP
2020
Manufacturer Specifications
20 Rounds Bullet: Maker Solid Copper Hollow Point Bullet Weight: 124 grain Case: Starline Nickel-Plated (new) Powder: Hodgdon Primer: CCI Velocity- 3″: 960 FPS Velocity- 4.7″: 1,050 FPS
Copyright 2020, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved