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Ammo: Black Hills Ammunition Expands HoneyBadger Line
Black Hills Ammunition has expanded its popular HoneyBadger line, giving shooters three new rounds loaded with monometal bullets to choose from.
What are the new HoneyBadger loads from Black Hills?
From monometal (lead) to jacketed projectiles to monometal (copper), it seems, in some respects, bullets have come full circle. But there’s plenty to be excited about, aside from nostalgia, in engineers dusting off a concept as old as the gun itself.
Through advanced designs, bullet makers have cooked up projectiles that not only match or exceed the performance of old standbys, but offer up a few advantages tried-and-true hollow points, soft-points and, of course, good ol’ lead could never imagine delivering.
This is especially true concerning the ammo with which we load our personal-protection guns. Monometal bullets don’t have hollow points that clog with thick layers of performance-impeding clothing. Monometal bullets don’t rely on expansion to produce devastating and fight-stopping wound cavities. In turn, the buggers serve up the prospect of performing every time, no matter the situation or thickness of an assailant’s garb.
Black Hills Ammunition struck gold a little while back, embracing this emerging niche in self-defense ammunition with its cutting-edge HoneyBadger line. Designed in conjunction with Lehigh Defense, the innovative ammo serves up non-deforming, non-fragmenting projectiles that are accurate in flight and do a number once they reach their target.
Black Hills has forged ahead with this early success, expanding its HoneyBadger line with three new rounds. And the wicked monomental rounds are no longer strictly a self-defense affair. With the first rifle round in the mix — a classic one at that — Black Hills has set its sights on taking the HoneyBadger afield.
9mm 100 Grain +P HoneyBadger
A lighter companion to Black Hill’s initial subsonic 125-grain 9mm offering, the 100-grain round should prove potent and lighter recoiling. The company lists the round’s muzzle velocity at a solid 1,300 fps, fast enough to defeat nearly any barrier and penetrate deeper than conventional 9mm ammunition. In the company’s tests, the bullet's specially designed notched flutes produced a 3-inch diameter wound cavity in bare ballistic gelatin. And the bullet’s velocity produced 15 inches of penetration in the same tests. This is the first caliber Black Hills has expanded load options on in the HoneyBadger line, but others are sure to follow.
.44 Special 125 Grain HoneyBadger
The .44 Special has regained the interest of shooters in recent years, and Black Hills has loaded up a HoneyBadger round ideal for the big-bore revolver. Leaving the muzzle at an impressive 1,275 fps, the 125-grain round is manageable to shoot and produces impressive results upon reaching its target. In ballistic gelatin tests, the .44 Special round generated a nearly 3-inch diameter wound track and 17 inches of controlled penetration. This is the third traditional revolver round Black Hills has introduced in the HoneyBadger line, launching the ammunition with a 100-grain .38 Special +P option and the latter introducing a 160-grain .44 Magnum round.
.45-70 325 Grain HoneyBadger
The first rifle round of the HoneyBadger line, the .45-70 is capable of tackling nearly anything a hunter sets his sights on — from elk to hogs. Pushing the 325-grain monometal bullet 1,300 fps at the muzzle, the round has ample velocity to excel within typical hunting ranges. Upon reaching its target, the bullet performs admirably, digging out a 7-inch diameter wound cavity in ballistic gelatin, and penetrating nearly a yard deep.
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