200 Rounds of 155gr JHP .40 S&W Ammo by Hornady

Not all 40 S&W self-defense cartridges are created equal. Some rounds only have generic jacketed hollow point bullets. They’re not necessarily ineffective, but their jackets are simple copper shells with a few notches around their rims. But Hornady’s Custom line of .40 cal ammo is exceptional, because it is loaded with the eXtreme Terminal Performance JHP.

The XTP has a drawn gilding metal jacket instead of a conventional plated one. That is why the bullet’s jacket is thick at its base and gradually becomes thinner toward its nose, which helps to promote significantly more uniform terminal expansion. The XTP’s jacket is strategically weakened by an array of precise serrations, each of which helps the jacket to split apart evenly as the bullet encounters resistance from soft tissue. The jacket additionally covers the rim of the nose cavity to leave zero exposed lead. That facilitates feeding in a semi-automatic, and it also prevents damage to the bullet which could have impaired its ability to produce wide and deleterious terminal expansion.

The XTP is also an accurate bullet – so much so that it is often used for match shooting. It owes its superior rotational stability not just to its concentric jacket, but also its swaged lead core’s uniform weight distribution. Hornady’s premium brass cases and matched Boxer primers and propellant charges only make this carefully inspected ammunition even more reliable.