This is my carry round
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Value:
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Performance:
by Danny on 4/7/2020
I bought my G23.4 from a police officer. His department had issued him remington golden sabers and he included 2 boxes of 50 of them with the gun. I fired all 100 of them without any issue at all. My gun seems to like them. I don't know if it's me trying harder or the cartridges costing roughly $1 each, but they always seem to hit exactly where my point of aim is, extra accurate. 180gr with 1050 muzzle velocity makes the recoil impulse much more predictable than lighter loads, makes it feel more like a straight push back rather than an unpredictable, sharp, snap. I personally have done lots of research, and it is in my opinion that other than the Federal Premium HST, this is the best 40 caliber self defense ammo. They both penetrate just about 18 inches consistently through the same Gel tests, and they both expand to about .75 caliber from .40.
However, I would trust the Black Belted Golden Saber round more to be barrier blind. Both of the two bullet types are non-bonded but are engineered to behave as if they are bonded. As far as I know, the Black Belt GS currently has the most advanced technology. The brass mechanilokt belt that goes around the middle of the bullet, sits just below the halfway point, around the core. This belt does a few things, it prevents jacket separation, it controls expansion, while at the same time, it facilitates it. The way it's supposed to work, is that if it hits something hard like sheet metal or windshield glass, it will go straight through like a Full Metal Jacket, and upon impacting a soft, fleshy target, it will expand reliably.
I would only carry these or Federal HST in 180gr from a 4" or shorter barrel. If I had a Glock 22, with a 4.6 inch barrel or a Glock 35 with it's 5.4" barrel, I would opt for the 165gr versions. Longer barrels perform better using lighter for caliber ammo, the longer, the lighter, the better. The idea here is that the longer barrel takes advantage of the smaller bullet moving faster, by being able to better utilize the gasses behind it, for longer, means more energy downrange. There's no downside to using heavy for caliber ammunition unless it's too slow to expand reliably, but if you use light and fast loads in a shorter barrel, you'll gain no extra power, you'll only have more muzzle blast.
TLDR: These and Federal HSTs. One or the other, whichever your pistol likes more, can't go wrong with either. Very Similar performance,
