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New .308 Hornady Critical Defense Cartridge w/FTX Bullet


Matt

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This is my first 308ar.com forum post, this is a great resource and I'm happy to be participating.

I received an order of some of Hornady's new .308 Win Critical Defense ammo for my Armalite AR-10s (AR10TAC18 and DEF10) today and am looking forward to trying it out at the range. It's a 155gr cartridge that uses Hornady's FTX bullets.  It has ballistic characteristics that are pretty similar to the 150gr Federal Fusion MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle) cartridge I like for Whitetail hunting and the range.  While I have alot of testing to do it seems like it may be a candidate for the role of my go-to .308 Win cartridge instead of the Federal Fusion MSR cartridge I currently favor. The owner of the local sporting goods store I ordered it from is also an .308 guy and we chatted about this curious cartridge (at least it is to us anyway) a bit to include the topics of:

1. Hornady markets this cartridge as a close-quarters/home defense cartridge for .308 Win rifles. This is made possible by the FTX bullet it uses which is highly expansive on impact and makes over-penetration less of a concern. Though conventional wisdom and the logical part of my brain says .308 Win is way overpowered for home defense a number of Youtube videos showing ballistic gel testing with these bullets in other calibers seems to back up the claim that Hornady FTX bullets can pretty much be trusted to not over-penetrate the target (and the three neighboring houses) and be very expansive on impact.

2. My .308 ammo supplier friend pointed out that this cartridge's FTX bullets have been around for a few years and are used in other cartridges that Hornady markets to hunters. I did a bit of reasearch online after our conversation this afternoon and found this NRA American Hunter article on FTX bullets that backs up his statement:
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2015/12/2/bullet-bio-hornady-ftx/

I questioned how this cartridge is really different from other "hunting-oriented" options and he responded that the only difference is in how this cartridge is being marketed by Hornady.  He also said that in addition to it's advertising/marketed purpose as a self/home defense cartridge  it's a viable option for hunting (by "hunting" I mean Whitetail deer in this post).

3. It would be nice to have a single go-to .308 Win cartridge that (at least as far as I am concerned) can "do it all" and allow my AR-10s to not only be hunting and range rifles but also be a viable option for home defensive situations. I have plenty of other more conventional defensive options such as 9mm pistols and a 12 gauge shotgun but I like the idea of an AR-10 also being a legitimate option for home defense that is not overpowered such that is presents a high-collateral damage risk for this type of use case.

This is the URL for the cartridge at Hornady's website:
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/308-win-155-gr-critical-defense#!/

Please share your opinions and experiences with regard to the use of a .308 Win rifle for home defense type applications and whether using Hornady's .308 Critical Defense cartridge for its advertised purpose makes sense. 

Edited by Matt
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**Crickets** Wow...no responses to this post after a full day on 308AR.com but several insightful responses within minutes as an "off topic" post on Glock I.D. (Glock's forum).  Must not like new ammo, Armalite AR-10 owners or hard questions about using a .308 for home defense here.  I must have been mistaken when assuming a forum named "308AR" would be used by people with an interest in topical .308 AR-10 subjects like a major ammo companies new .308 cartridge....or maybe 308AR.com is just a lame little site with small circle of cliqueish users. 

Edited by Matt
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LOL "With your second post, you have ruined any chance of a productive conversation. "  Is it supposed to be a privilege to get a response to a relevant post in this s***hole forum?  There was no chance of this to begin with as this forum is a joke and should be renamed as it's way off topic.  The owner of mutiple Armalite AR-10s posts re a new .308 cartridge, explicitly states "I'm new here and this is my first post" but still gets no response while there is tons of activity re silly political topics and other esoteric nonsense.  This forum is an absolute disgrace to the Armalite AR-10 and .308 Win.  Total bunch of hillbilly s***holers.

Edited by Matt
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23 minutes ago, Matt said:

LOL "With your second post, you have ruined any chance of a productive conversation. "  Is it supposed to be a privilege to get a response to a relevant post in this s***hole forum?  There was no chance of this to begin with as this forum is a joke and should be renamed as it's way off topic.  The owner of mutiple Armalite AR-10s posts re a new .308 cartridge, explicitly states "I'm new here and this is my first post" but still gets no response while there is tons of activity re silly political topics and other esoteric nonsense.  This forum is an absolute disgrace to the Armalite AR-10 and .308 Win.  Total bunch of hillbilly s***holers.

Fuk off.  You feel someone OWES you something?  Just because you showed up, and posted a longass post, everyone here should drop what they're doing and come look at how important you think you are.  Fuk yourself.

Oh, here's an answer for you, you impatient shithead - .308 Winchester for home defense is fucking STUPID, no matter what projectile is loaded... 

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.  GO Fuk Yourself now...  Enjoy, you impatient fuk.

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LOL @ 98Z5V...why didn't you or anyone else respond with a ".308 Win is not appropriate for home defense as it's overpowered regardless of cartridge or bullet"-type response hours ago?  I noticed that even Armalite, which is listed as a sponsor of this forum has not been active here for several years.  This comes as no surprise and proves that the quality of this forum's content is so low that even Armalite regards it as safe to ignore/neglect.

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29 minutes ago, survivalshop said:

From Someone who has evidently not read a single thread here & then gets up with upset with members here , we get all kinds .

Oh & an Armalite owner , who would have guessed ! ?  Sorry Bro's I couldn't resist ?

Hey now, don't think for a minute that Armalite has a thing to do with this, the guy is a douche no matter what he owns

8 minutes ago, Matt said:

LOL @ 98Z5V...why didn't you or anyone else respond with a ".308 Win is not appropriate for home defense as it's overpowered regardless of cartridge or bullet"-type response hours ago?

A little more patience and you may have gotten some civil and reasoned responses. I use a 308 for home defense with MK319. Not for inside targets but my range cards cover all the approaches to my house, if circumstances require I see no reason not to start defending my home at range.

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16 minutes ago, Matt said:

LOL @ 98Z5V...why didn't you or anyone else respond with a ".308 Win is not appropriate for home defense as it's overpowered regardless of cartridge or bullet"-

Because I was at work, motherfucker.  But no, it's all about YOU...  :hail:

There's not a single person here that owes you a damn thing, so get that through your head right now, you entitled fuk.

By the way - you don't get to tell me how to phrase, construct, or reply to you.  I'm the one that decides that, not you.

Edited by 98Z5V
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1. 308 only makes sense as a home defense round if you live alone on a ranch in the middle of east cuddy butt fuck

 

2. Sorry I had stuff to do on Saturday and didn’t answer you in an appropriate amount of time determined by you. 

 

3. Armalite has been in the process of moving and doesn’t even answer emails for about a year. 

 

4. You are an ass who obviously are an internet tough guy who hides behind his keyboard and likes to troll. Stick with Glock  forums, you won’t be missed as I drop the hammer down.

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I'm pretty sure with some common sense, this post was bullpoopy from the start. All bullets penetrate. If it can kill a person it can go through the walls of a house, doesn't matter if it is .22 LR or something a lot bigger. Does Hornady's bullet help? maybe. but I'm not willing to trust my children's lives to some fancy bullet with good marketing. how about just use the 3rd basic rule of firearms, "Be sure of your target and WHAT IS BEHIND IT." That is the only way you can be sure that over penetration wont be an issue. I don't care what reviews and tests show, if my kid's room is behind an armed burglar, I am not going to be blasting away like Rambo. Also, in a high stress situation such as a gun fight, most of the rounds will miss their intended target based on most engagements. Well poop, what good is a bullet that is made to not over penetrate its target if it misses the target. 

If you truly want to ignore rule #3, I suggest you find some frangible bullets for home defense, as I think this would be the safest bet. But if you want to actually follow the basic rules of firearms, that every amateur to expert should; then use whatever ballistic tip, full metal jacket, hunting, or fancy bullet you want. Besides you are gonna need to go to the hardware store for some heavy duty cleaners to remove the blood stains, might as well pick up some putty to patch the wholes in the drywall. 

Hope that is a good enough answer for Matt and all future Matts. :thefinger:

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1 hour ago, suzukiray said:

You NEED a .308 AR, for the burglar,

 

hiding behind the refrigerator,

 

 

at your neighbor's house!!!

Too bad this cockbag only wanted an Armalite AR-10, in .308 Win, and didn't want to talk about anything more than that - and he thought that's all THIS BOARD should talk about.  I like how he told US what should be discussed on this board.  And ONLY discussed.

Fuk that sanctimonious POS.

Go hit AR-10T.com, "Matt"...  if you're still reading this.  Oh, by the way, if you're still reading this...  Fuk Yourself. I'll send you a tube of Vagisil, on my dime, that you can rub all over yourself.  If you think it can break through, and make you feel better.  Fuckhead.

Edited by 98Z5V
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