I know why hollowpoints don't expand. Won't stop me from watching the entire episode.

As an OR RN at a level 1 trauma center, I've seen a lot of gunshot victims, and in cases where handgun hollowpoints were used, none of them expanded like shown in tests. In one case, a .45 hydrashock was recovered from a patients leg. It entered posterior mid thigh and ended up medially to the knee with just a hint of expansion. Not all bullets are removed, some are left based on location and risk of removal. But from the ones I've seen removed, or on XRAY, none performed as advertised. Maybe when hollowpoints work as intended, patients don't make it to surgery? Not sure.

Paul, PhD biochem and mol bio here. You absolutely used the terms "aqueous" and "gelatinous" correctly. Aqueous just means containing a majority of H2O, whereas gelatinous refers to an aqueous protein matrix like the ballistic gels used on other (lower quality) channels. 🙂

Did anyone else see the deer jump out on Paul's right side about 40 yards behind him and walk through the forest @ 14:30? great explanation with a little wildlife to boot! Cheers!

Paul always goes into detail and explains things so the average Joe can understand. Thank you for your efforts and honesty Paul

I've been a gun owner since I was given a Ruger 10/22 at the age of 11. I've only ever owned guns for the purposes of hunting and plinking, never for anti-personnel/self defense purposes. I've recently moved to a fairly large city, and for the first time the thought of concealed carry seems like a good idea. This channel has been instrumental in my sidearm and ammunition choices. Thank you Paul for the practical information you put out. You've helped me tremendously.

Excellent class today Professor Harrell. I've watched a lot of Guntubers over the years, you are the one I've stuck with. I'm sure there are many others who feel this way.

I always enjoy how Paul refers to these collegiate level courses as presentations. Keep up the great work.

For a relatively young man, you give the impression you know whereof you speak. I'm impressed.

Whenever Paul says “you’re going to have to listen to me talk and talk and ramble on for the dawn of time explanation”, or something like that, who else besides me goes and pops a bag of popcorn to excitedly sit down and really listen to what he has to say?

Wow. It's so weird. I normally comment something, if I have anything of remote value to offer, but in this case, I just felt an almost odd need to just say "thank you". Thank you for the video. Thank you for your time. Thank you for giving us something that's equal parts entertaining, informative, thought provoking, and so on. There's much to be appreciative of in these presentations. However I wasn't expecting to see the amount of other people also saying thank you for various other reasons. This is easily one of the more polite and pleasant little communities to interact with, so seeing a bunch of you people being nice to each other isn't odd, but the specific amount of commenters who's purpose is to say thank you seems markedly higher in this one. Weird how that happens. I know that there is some kind of element of shared consciousness. Almost like a radio signal that we're all tuned in to. Even though I've been aware of that for many years, it still surprises me in a way when I see it reveal itself in such a manner.

I love how when he says we have to listen to him talk, even after all that gunfire, the deer come into the background to listen. I don't know, maybe they're taking notes to better survive hunting season? I really love Paul's videos, even though so many of them tend to be outside of what shooting I may do with my 9mm 4.07" barrel or my 20 gauge with #8 birdshot, I still feel that I'm always going to learn something from them, and that something may save my life one day. Thank you, Paul. Your videos are great, informative, and presented such that we, the audience can really understand what you are saying and doing, as well as understand not only the result, but the *why* of the result. You rock, sir!

CCI Speer used to have an excellent website for law enforcement listing all the ammo they make with expansion and penetration data, including penetration through windshields, car bodies, plywood and drywall. Example: Their 9mm Gold Dot didn't expand through a car trunk but did go on to penetrate a ballistic dummy in the back seat and the person in the front seat before lodging in the dashboard. The same style bullet would expand to 0.6" in jell and stop in 14" .

How is Paul Harrell so low on subscribers? He's not for everyone, because he's not Tacticool, but he should be at a couple million at least for the quality of his content! SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON PEOPLE & help Paul out!!!

Thanks for making the Why Hollow Points Fail to Expand video.

As much as I feel I know the answer to this question, I have no question that I'm going to learn a lot from this video

I have been reloading close to 20 years and have a lot of knowledge in this subject by my own testing of different calibers and different types and brands projectiles. In a reloading manual it will show how much FPS you must obtain for that bullet to perform and it is specific to pistol and rifle barrel lengths written right in the book for that cartridge, but Paul hit this right on the head👌

"And it requires a Dawn of Time explanatoin." Ok, Mr. Harrell, you hold on a sec and let me get a mug of tea, I'll be right back to listen intently.

You can really show hollow-point clogging if you shoot thru paper or books. Now, I know people are not going to walk around with metro phone books taped to themselves, and I know I'm dating myself when I mention the words "phone books".

Excellent presentation, Paul. Another reason a hollow point might not expand properly, is that sometimes they can tumble around backwards when entering tissue. This can be due to unstable flight or glancing off of a bone just under the skin.

PH is absolutely the best at explaining and providing useful information in an engaging manner. I bet he could talk about almost any topic and still be a star.

Your testing protocol discussion reminded me of government employee training. The tests are designed so that you are going to pass no matter what you know.

Thanks Paul. Awesome, just the right amount of Sarcasm ... and to the point. Cheers 🙏

Woot storytime with Paul Harrell

Paul, can you please do a video on rifle slings? Different types, how to mount them, how to use them properly, etc? I love your work and I’m happy to support you on Patreon. It’s well worth the knowledge I’ve learned from watching your videos the last few years. Thank you!

Thank yoy for your time and effort to inform and entertain us.

Thanks Paul, another excellent and informative showing as usual. Great job.

Hey Paul, thanks for reaching out to us regarding this matter., great video 😊

Thanks Paul, for taking the time to actually read and respond to all of our (no doubt sometimes inane) questions that get sent to you. These always make fairly informative videos. What's assumed to be common knowledge by some may be completely new information to others.

Very valuable content as always. Also, I'm really digging the "spot the deer in the background" game in all the recent videos.

I just had this video autoplay and never heard of you Paul, but after watching video I subbed. Love the format and that you provide real information.

Solid content . PH puts a great deal of effort and science into his presentations. I enjoy how he trained that deer to walk around in the background. Excellent range location PH. More please!

Nice one, Paul - I think this is one of your best videos, of late. Ammo comparisons and tests are useful and somewhat interesting, but this one really ties all those others together nicely!

Very informative. Thank you, Paul. Your research is very helpful !!!

Keep up the research & excellent insights about the results. Thank you.

Paul your videos are the only ones I watch all the way through , you are a great teacher !

I have learned so much from this man. His testing and demonstrations are amazing. Thank you Sir for all your hard work and time. You are very appreciated!

Excellent video. Hollow point expansion or lack there of, has always been a point of concern for me. You've cleared up and explained away a lot.

Excellent and very informational presentation, Paul. Thanks !

26:55. Love seeing the deer in the background. Thanks for another excellent video.

Thank you for putting this topic into “layman’s “ terms! Have wondered for years why some HP’s expand and some don’t. Everyone needs to take their fire arm with their chosen ammo and test as Paul does and make appropriate changes if necessary for what each individual is looking to accomplish. Thanks Paul and crew!

8:40 with a full lesson, plus 20 minutes to look forward to!

Thank you Paul and team. I appreciate your efforts.

Thank you for this video. Never thought I would be so entertained and informed about this subject. It was nice to meet you yesterday at the Rickreall gun show. Very polite and gracious.

If the camera SNAFUs were battery-related, it's probably cool weather interfering with the battery performance. Keeping the spare batteries in a pocket or under your jacket can keep them warm enough to get more performance out of them.

As usual, an in depth and quality video from Paul. Thanks!

I love the deer cameo to your right at 14:23! Great video good explanation! Well presented!

This channel is always number 1 in terms of the thoroughness of its analysis and the practicality of its approach. Can't say enough good words about it.

Thank you Paul Harrell for all your valuable information you provided for us

First video I've seen of yours. Covering this topic well is a rare feat. Subscribed.

Wow.. I loved this presentation, thanks for the effort Paul!

Once again, excellent video with a great lesson on the subject, and looking forward to another Easter demonstration.

Mr. Paul Harrell, Been watching /listening /learning from you for years (nearly decades it seems). ALWAYS enjoyed your work! ALWAYS learned something! ALWAYS impressed by your efforts! BUT, somehow, this episode REALLY stood out, to me, as to the complexity of your preparation, execution! THANK YOU Paul Harrell!! Stay with us as long as possible! God grant you peace knowing that you contributed greatly to your fellow citizens! 😊😊😊

I do a lot of this kind of thing just for fun and have for years . But I still love watching your tests . Very informative .

Great video Paul. Very informative. Thank you.

What an excellent (and fair minded) discussion of factors that influence hollow point expansion, or lack thereof. Back in the "old days", meaning before chronographs were within reach of almost everyone, ammo maker "shenanigans" were on full display, including testing carried out using longer than standard laboratory test barrels that were not found in any actual handgun. These were designed to cater to the "faster is always better" crowd. Most of my testing over the years has been done with law enforcement and defense cartridges. I'd like to recognize the people at Federal and Speer, since the early 90's, who have used actual common law enforcement firearms for their testing, and who have always readily disclosed to me what they used as test firearms in common calibers. This may have been a function of me being a law enforcement officer at the time, and I honestly don't know if they are as forthcoming with other customers. One thing I have noted about them is that they take input from LE agencies and tweak loads based on that input, such that for example, a load might be reduced a bit based on the ability of officers to handle recoil or even muzzle flash, and armorer reports of wear on firearms. So, their LE oriented loads may not always be the hottest rounds you can buy. But since the LE rounds are all tested on the FBI protocols, their results are quite easy to replicate, and I have found their representations pf performance to be highly reliable. Another point to consider that is not made often is that most American Eagle and Speer Lawman loads are designed as practice analogs for duty rounds, just without an expanding projectile, lacquer sealing, or flash suppressed powders. So if your HST or Gold Dot loads have been "tamed" a bit for duty use, you will typically find your AE and Lawman loads in the same bullet weight have been as well. In this regard, I can only speak to their loads intended for law enforcement use. Other loads not intended for LE duty guns may behave differently. A good example was the Federal HST 150 grain 9mm load. This load was designed for use in the very popular 9mm micro pistols where reduced recoil was a priority. These behaved nothing like HST LE loads, and to my knowledge were not evaluated with the full FBI battery of FBI tests in mind. I'm also impressed that Federal and Speer sponsor field wound ballistic workshops for LE agencies in which they bring out the proper equipment to demonstrate their products or to test what the agency might be using. In the first one I attended, my agency was using a Winchester Ranger 155 grain .40 S&W load. After testing, the Federal rep told me, "While we'd love to have you switch to our products, I can't honestly tell you that what we offer is better than what you already have. You are using very good ammunition". I truly appreciated this level of honesty. I have no reason to suspect that Winchester is not as honest about their LE products, I just have not had as much experience with their cartridges. My sense is that today, the major makers of LE ammo are not in the business of lying to their customers, while some of the smaller makers might still engage in a few shenanigans. On the other hand there are some boutique makers such as Underwood who are very honest about what they offer as well. Buffalo Bore even specifies on their website the velocities they get from specific firearms. Overall it seems to be a good time to be choosing defense ammo in terms of knowing what you are getting. Here is a link to FBI test results published for common LE cartridges by Federal and Speer. When I was working, I was able to replicate a lot of these tests, and got very similar results with duty length firearms. People might find this interesting, especially the ability to compare cartridges side by side. le.vistaoutdoor.com/wound_ballistics/load_comparison/load_comparison.aspx

I am in firm belief that not only do the manufacturers know exactly what they're doing with misleading ammo claims they in fact pay a lot of money to people to specifically do it.

Mr. Harrell, Thank you for producing this video. I personnally believe it may be the best that you have done to date. Long time subscriber, perhaps my first comment. Much respect from an old timer.

Another great video. Explained so well and thoroughly. Thanks Paul.

This is a great presentation. It should be a mandatory watch for all bullet and cartridge manufacturers of self-defense intended ammo. There are some manufactures that now list velocities and barrel length tested, not many and not enough. Some handgun bullets need +P velocities (whatever that is these days) to reach expansion threshold, XTP's being one, others will do so from a 3"-ish barrel without the hyped +P velocities, I've discovered a few. I used to handload my defense cartridges, an attorney advised using what LE uses or some king of commercially produced ammo to avoid the question, " So you were thinking about shooting someone when you were making the ammunition?" Objection sustained but seed planted in the jurors mind. The answer to that would, by design and purpose, be "uhh, yeah" and there you are.

Miwall is a staple of the Crossroads of the West gun shows here in Phoenix/Arizona (I don't know about other areas). They sell a huge variety of ammo from various manufacturers. I also believe they do (or did) "remanufacture" their own line of ammo. So, if that's the case, then essentially you had reloads using XTP projectiles, not 'factory' ammunition. By reloading with less powder but using "premium" projectiles, they can increase their margin on the sale. Caveat Emptor, to be sure.

As always, a great presentation on an important firearms topic that is rarely discussed. Thanks Paul.

The best gun content on youtube, period. You had the best table at the rickreal gun show as well, Paul.

Weirdly I’ve bought Winchester White Box hollow points as blaster ammo for practice and feeding. Turns out it’s also really decent and expands quite reliably.

Great.👍 That really lays it out. Bullet design (and testing) has come a long way, but it’s still not an exact science. When I started handgunning and loading in the mid 1970’s, we didn’t have many choices. I shot into whatever I had, wood, duct seal (oil based clay), water, wet pack (newspaper & magazines THOROUGHLY soaked for at least a day before being hauled to the range), and I learned as much about test mediums as about bullets. I’m very interested in the new handgun bullet designs that claim to transmit hydrostatic shock without expanding (Lehigh Defense, Underwood Ammo), and wonder how far this concept can be developed. Hats off to you for tackling this subject.

Hey Paul, it was good to see you at the gun show yesterday, thanks for signing my improvised holster.

Thank You Paul and Crew.

The obsolete Federal Nyclad hollow point expanded very well. Speer used to make a semi jacketed kieth style hollow point with exposed lead that expanded well. My experience with these projectiles showed that soft nose bullets in 357 and 44 have a problem penetrating hard targets like car bodies. The ideal for me is the hard cast kieth style semi wadcutter with a gas check that can be driven to magnum velocities. If cast correctly correctly it has a sharp shoulder that cuts a good wound canal and gives excellent penetration. These bullets would succeed in penetrating car bodies if hardened properly. See LEAD BULLET TECHNOLOGY, in moyea springs Idaho.

Overexpansion is definitely a thing. I remember watching Military Arms Channel doing a gel test with .45 Super and got insufficient penetration with a really widely expanded projectile, likely because the bullet manufacturer loaded it with a .45 ACP hollow point designed to expand normally at much lower velocity.

Another amazing video, Paul. Thank you so much.

Wow. GREAT video! Absolutely interesting findings - and, totally thorough. Thank you greatly for sharing the results and explaining! 🇺🇸

The deer at 14:18 - 14:38 ... Oregon is quite beautiful!

Hey Paul I've been a long time watcher and I always enjoy your content. I also really appreciate your point of view and the fact that you keep it professional and your videos aren't filled with vulgarity! You show people that you can have great content and every other word you say doesn't have to be the F word or GD. Thank you and keep it up!

This was an outstanding presentation. Paul Harrell demonstrated that hollow point expansion happens due to a combination of multiple conditions with bullet design (hollow point construction) being only one factor. I've read other experts claim that expanding bullets were three times as effective as non-expanding bullets--and that the difference between an expanding bullet that works as advertised and a non-expanding bullet is only about 10%. That's just expansion. Then there's penetration--the bullet has to penetrate deeply enough to inflict damage to something that the organism can't live without. As with real estate the three most important items are location, location, location! If the bullet doesn't hit, the bullet has no effect--the NOISE may have effect but not the bullet. That bullet has to hit something important, penetrating deeply enough and damaging the vitals.

Thanks very much for your videos! You do a great job of explaining and showing exactly what you are talking about! Great job!

It's mostly about the velocity. When someone asks me if a certain bullet is good for deer hunting I always say it depends. A 140 grain nosler accubond may not be best choice for a 6.5 creedmore at long distance. Just like a 150 grain nosler ballistic tip might no be the best choice for a 300 win mag at close range.

As always great knowledge Paul. Also as we all know Paul has 8 pockets, and 15 guns on hand at all times!

Nicely presented, Paul. Well done!

Looking good Paul! Great video as always

There's some interesting choices of test guns when you read fine print on ballistics charts, like just about everyone is using a 4" barrel Walther PP for their .25 acp, .32 acp and.380 acp even though the vast majority of those are in sub 3" in typical guns and maybe even sub2" on .25s Paul mentioned the 24" .30-30 .45 colt is typically a 7.5" SAA even though most people's SAA or knockoff thereof are going to be 4.75" or 5.5" and probably the most common.45 colt platforms these days are 3" Taurus Judge. I've seen a 8" artillery Luger used as the test gun for exceptionally optimistic velocity 9x19

Paul such a badass that even the deer want to hang out with him!👍

Great video. Thanks Paul!

Damn... I am usually impressed by Paul's videos and his expertise. But this may very well be his BEST EVER. Unbelievably well done and so very educational. Amazing Paul... Thank you.

The human body is not ballistic gel. In a real fight, nothing is going to work as planned. With a pistol, you are going to need multiple hits in vital areas to stop someone unless you just get lucky. It does not work the way you see it in the movies. Stay safe everyone.

Speed doesn't kill. Stopping quickly does that.

You are absolutely the best at making these videos imparting technical information. You always include pertinent information as to compare “apples to apples” Thank you for All the education and being able to describe the meat target like the old Big Mac commercial! You’re still looking great! I hope you continue in great health.

Very good presentation Mr. Harrell, it was exactly along the lines I have found to be true. Really enjoyed watching the deer being you listening so They would know what to expect when shot.

Excellent presentation Paul!

Well my father experienced this low or no expansion on his .45 dum-dums rounds during Korea. These were FMJ with cuts. Big and slow ,he would be happy with the abundance of silencers.

Really great video and very informative as always. I have carried a 5" 1911 in .45acp for years. The most reliable round for me has always been the 230 grain FMJ ball ammo in my 1911's. I may sound like a "fud", but 230 grain ball has been proven effective since WWI to stop bad guys from doing things you don't want them to do. Your mileage may vary..

Excellent video. Very helpful. Keep up the good work.

Fabulous presentation. Thanks Paul.

Everyone: " Why don't hollow points expand?" Paul Harrell: " This one does quite well. Just like yo mama did back in the day. Welcome home son" Underwood: " We have ammunition for that. Ask yo mama about our penetration. We call them defenders"

It would be interesting to do a head to head test of common test media types as a follow on to this video. How would they compare to each other? Is there any useful correlation between them? Say Meat Target, gel, water jugs and soaked newsprint with all other factors being the same.

This is a really outstanding presentation. Your talk about how certain manufacturers might stack their testing protocols to induce a favorable result also applies to pretty much any other product out there. Never believe the marketing numbers, when you can look at the actual data, and caveat emptor.

It's Nice that i can watch Paul's new Video while enjoying my Morning Coffee

I say bad math is "Really Lying." Consumers should expect nothing less though, and be informed. Thanks for the info. I have to do some more experiments to make sure my 6" Colt Python is on the right diet.

Paul I’m pretty sure manufacturer’s use something similar to a clearing barrel filled with water to test fire their ammo and that’s why they put out ammo that they might think will expand properly because the distance from muzzle to water is only a few inches, it’s just the way they have always done it and they don’t really care because the vast majority of people who purchase the ammo never actually test it or use it for it’s intended purpose

Love your videos Paul, excellent explanations and tests. Greetings from Sweden

Once again excellent video. Also loved the critter in the background at 14:32. Might be others but those were the first I saw. I wonder if they were listening and trying to get an education as well.