[Tommycourt]

I was looking at one of my gun magazines and they showed a new round by Ruger called the ARX. I am totally unaware of this round and it comes in various calibers. For me, who shoots .45 cal. the bullet was only 115 grain. That's a very small round for the .45. I am wondering if anyone has seen or tried any of these rounds yet, and if so, how satisfactory are they? For self defense I use the Hornady Critical Defense with the plastic insert. Has anyone seen any Gel tests or heard or any ballistics on it yet?

Tommy

 

[MagBlackhawk]

Ruger 45 Auto ARX ammo. (Produced by PolyCase Ammunition).
Did a quick search on YouTube. Didn't find any denim/gel tests but I did find this.....

Thru two 1/2" layers of drywall and gel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRiSJnroQ0o

Thru bare get:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv5l33yPC60

And into water jugs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs1ecdqQW1U

You could probably find more on YouTube, just type in "45 Auto PolyCase ARX ammo test".
Ruger probably has something about it on their site also.

 

[SHOOTER13]

I actually bought and tested 6 boxes of the Ruger ARX .45 Auto SD Ammo from Sportsman's Guide...

Tested 3 of the 20 round boxes of the unique designed 118 Grain round in all my .45 ACP firearms...Colt Gold Cup National Match, Glock 30SF, Para Ordnance P12-45 and Auto Ordnance 1911a1..and my Thompson 1927a1...the round fed and function perfectly !!

Rated @: 1307 FPS...448 FT LBS





The price was cheaper back then ( Buyers Club Member...plus free shipping code...) but, here is the link:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/polycase-45-auto-118-grain-arx-20-rounds?a=1919622

 

[Tommycourt]

Shooter,

One question I have is the projectile is much smaller and I looked on YouTube and they showed an almost 90% bullet retention but with very little mushrooming. There is quite a difference considering the Hornady Critical Defense is a 220gn. bullet and 75% mushrooming and the plastic insert was intact or within a short distance of the projectile. If I were going to use this as a self defense round, I might as well carry a 9mm instead of my .45 cal. From the YouTube video, it looks as if a RN .45 would do much more damage than this round. I understand the faster speed being a factor however, would it be a round you would trust you life to?

Tommy

 

[VThillman]

The ARX bullet is not designed to mushroom. Those flutes are intended to radiate energy around the wound channel. Near as I can tell from the literature, it is similar to hydraulic shock without the velocity requirement.

There appears to be a significant reduction in the collateral damage hazard too.

 

[SHOOTER13]

Tommy...

I carry the same round as you in my Self Defense weapon(s)...the Hornady Critical Defense .45 ACP 185 Grain FTX bullet rated at 1000 FPS...

Since I was making a big order...and collect unusual .45 ACP rounds...I bought the ARX for a tryout and to add to my collection.

Some people are of the mind that "Big & Slow is the way to go" (ME)...while others subscribe to the "Fast & Light" theory...that the bullet will do it's worst ( mushroom ) when going close to the speed of sound ( sub-sonic for the .45ACP, of course ).

"The ARX bullets are made by the high-pressure injection molding of a heated blend of powdered copper and epoxy/polymer resin.

The result is a lightweight projectile with several desirable qualities. The bullets are lead-free, allowing them to be used in jurisdictions and facilities that restrict or ban the use of lead-based ammunition. The polymer/copper material maintains its integrity as it travels down the barrel and strikes soft targets, but it fractures when it hits hard targets such as steel plates or building materials—greatly reducing the chance of ricochets."

As I mentioned...all the rounds I tested in all the aforementioned firearms fed and functioned perfectly...and seemed to do terminal damage to the items I shot at...a half frozen ham, left over pressure treated wood blocks...1/2 gallon jugs of water... sheet metal...cuts of drywall...all very un-scientific...believe me.

The slugs fired into the ham did the most damage...as did the water jugs...the other stuff was basically holes with some spall.

Didn't do any videos or take any pictures...in retrospect, probably could of... should of...but didn't.

As far as carry...I stuck with the Hornady Critical Defense load mentioned above. (Tested that too...liked what I saw.)

Like I said...I carry a .45 for a reason...big slug going fast enough to hit the target with enough authority to mushroom.

 

[SHOOTER13]

...also...what VT said.

Not made to mushroom...wound channel performance through hydro-static shock is the ticket.

"Aero and Fluid Dynamics using Finite Element Modeling (FEM), which led to the design of uniquely shaped flutes, or channels, the company calls Power Blades."

 

[gumpy]

I just happened to buy 3 boxes of these last Saturday. Went behind the house and tried them out this morning. It does do a good job on gallon water jugs. Shot 30 rounds through my SR45 without a problem. It's the first thing I've shot except ball ammo. I liked it, but I also bought some Normandy Critical Defense. It got to hot to quickly this morning to try them out.

 

[SHOOTER13]

Yea Gumpy...the water jugs do blow up spectacularly...don't they !?

 

[spikedriver]

Ok...maybe there is something to it - but it seems kind of gimmick-ish to me. I'll stick with Critical Defense or a good hollowpoint.7

 

[Tommycourt]

Ok...maybe there is something to it - but it seems kind of gimmick-ish to me. I'll stick with Critical Defense or a good hollowpoint.7

I am going along with Shooter's and Spike's ideas of what to use as far as self defense rounds. Hornady's Critical Defense and Critical Duty are proven rounds as far as I have seen on gel testing and penetration. To my notion, a 114grn. bullet made out of polymer and copper just won't have the kick and penetration factor that a 185/220 grain bullet will have even though faster. 114 is smaller than my 9mm target loads are which are 115 grain and granted it may slow someone down but I don't think it has the devastating effect that a much larger and slower bullet will have. It's hard for my simple mind to absorb the fact that hydraulic shock will not come into play with a bigger bullet. A big round anywhere in the torso should slow the BG down if not put him completely down. Hitting the sternum should cause anyone to drop due to the bone fractures and penetration factor behind the sternum hitting more organs. I think Ruger might be better off concentrating on building guns and let the bullet manufacturers come up with a round. Just MHO is all!

Tommy

 

[Blkhawk73]

The design has been out for a while, Ruger simply has licensed their name for them. I see them as gimmicky myself and in watching a few of the better videos of tests and reviews am just not overly impressed. They have their place I guess, but just not for me. I did buy box of each available at the time just to have on the shelves in the Ruger room. Still need to get the .40 S&W and .38 Special choices.