By Barry Green
I’m obsessed with terminal ballistics and personal protection through armed self defense. Thanks to my day job as a producer for Fiercely Independent Films I’ve got access to some fun toys. Put it all together and you get a YouTube channel (ShootingTheBull410) on ammo testing. One of the most recent tests is for Dynamic Research Technologies’ “penetrating frangible” .380 ammo. . . .
This is a totally different type of cartridge; there’s no solid lead slug at all. The “bullet” is made of compressed powder that’s intended to disintegrate into a fine dust when hitting the target. DRT makes some rather aggressive claims for their ammo, both on their website and in a 19-minute interview with gun guru James Yeager. Claims such as “This technology allows for a one shot kill – you hit something in the body cavity, it will die,” and that DRT ammo acts like “a cluster bomb full of Skil saws” that will “sandblast the insides of the target.”
Needless to say [sic], it didn’t turn out that way.