[Shaun]

The ranger which I still have some from my old department are copper clad and pretty brutal on targets I have sunk them to a depth of 2 phone books at 25 yards while doing penetration testing.

I'd rather have Triton Quik Shoks or Federal Nyclads..

[FEG]

My $0.02:

1) JHPs cannot normally be used in rifle cartridges. They tend to fragment on impact at velocities greater than 1,400 fps. (This is one of the reasons why high performance .44 Magnum loads use JSPs.)

2) The best combination of penetration and expansion in 9mm Luger is usually a 124gr +P load. My testing (and that of others) shows that the 124gr +P Speer Gold Dot and 124gr +P Remington Golden Saber loads are among the best. IMHO, +P+ loads in the 124gr weight to not gain enough velocity to offset the additional wear and tear on the pistol.

3) Law enforcement agencies tend to favor the 147gr +P+ loads for their greater penetration, but these are problematic in many older pistols. Many agencies have shifted over to the 124gr +P and +P+ loads. The 115gr +P+ loads are definitely out of favor, as they tend to underpenetrate. This info comes from the IWBA, and I cannot find independent confirmation, so take it for what it's worth.

4) Cor-Bon seems to have some major quality control issues, based on what I see on the web. A lot of the 9mm is out of spec (too large or too long).

5) Since the Hydra-Shoks are being phased out, I would recommend looking for substitutes now. The versions readily available to civilians ("Premium Personal Defense") were loaded too light for my tastes.

Consider these 3 things, in this order, when choosing ammunition:

1. Does it feed properly?

2. Are you accurate with it?

3. What are the expansion stats & one shot stop stats?

If the first 2 are on, you can't lose. The last one is by far the least important.