In 2006 JD and I worked with the original version of the fluid moving penetrator bullet you see today. At the time it was a 451 gr .500 caliber bullet I used in 50 B&M. It did a great job in the test work, and later in 2007 I took it buffalo hunting in Zimbabwe and shot buffalo with it.
That has been a long time ago, and I went a different way with CEB, I am not sure how much input JD had with Lehigh to develop the current versions of the Extreme Penetrator and Extreme Defense bullets mentioned above, but I dare say quite a bit. Todays Lehigh Penetrators are truly EXTREME, they do what they say they are going to do, and the greatest thing of all, you have the penetration to go along with it, something you do not get with conventional soft point premium bullets, regardless of caliber. I don't own a 40 caliber anything, but I load both 9mm and 45 ACP with the Lehigh Penetrators. They work, and you can consider them a Magic Bullet, that actually does what it is advertised to do.
Today, if I were not retired from buffalo hunting, I would use the new Extreme Penetrators for that mission in both .500 caliber and .458 caliber Rifles..................
Our test medium here is far tougher on bullets than Gel. Fairly typical penetration of a Conventional expanding bullet in 45 ACP or 9mm is around 4-6 inches max.
The 120 gr Lehigh Extreme defense or penetrator, I forget which it is called, creates just as much trauma in the test medium, and penetration is much better........
I have two more Favorite Magic Bullets in 45 ACP and 9mm, from Cutting Edge Bullets.............
The 150 Raptor........ Absolutely WICKED trauma inflicted to test medium..........A Raptor has "Blades" that shear off the main bullet at 1.5-2 inches of terminal penetration. Those blades cut, slice and dice their way through tissue or test medium working close with the center bullet for 2-3 inches after shear. As tissue or medium expands from center, the blades are slicing and dicing. That tissue is destroyed and will not close back up. After this, the blades work away from center, and become secondary projectiles on their own, while the center slug/bullet acts like a full caliber solid and continues to penetrate straight. This is no gimmick, its real, it works in all calibers and in rifles its extreme, I have shot 100s of animals with these in rifles, and its the same time after time, caliber after caliber, regardless of rifle, or cartridge. Handguns work exactly the same way............They have a little help with shear because of the cuts in the nose, this allows shear down to 800 fps impacts........This is another Magic Bullet that is real........
Raptors come from Solids...... I designed this with the rifle versions. When hunting buffalo, it is very desirable for the #1 or First shot to be a trauma inflicting bullet. You want to inflict the most trauma you can to solve the problem as quickly as possible. But with buffalo you always follow up with Solids, to pay the insurance in case your First bullet does not do the job. After you open that dance, it must be finished. You do not stop shooting until you cannot shoot any longer, or the problem is solved, and even then, you shoot again. The big solids are insurance policies. Your followup scenario is a short list, you will either be facing a buffalo coming at you, or running through thick brush, and or shooting the south end of a north bound buffalo. For this, you want Penetration, deep, and dead straight no matter what it encounters, which means a properly designed solid.................
When the Raptors were designed for big bore rifles, I felt like if we just simply took the Solid and punched a big hollow cavity in it that using the same load, then they should be in the same hole at 50 Yards. Despite the loss of weight, the bullet would be the same length, and have exactly the same bearing surface as its parent bullet the solid, I theorized at the time this would be the same POI. It worked, and was true, despite the lesser weight of the Raptor. Same Load, Same exact hole or POI at 50 yards.
I like the concept, I have used it literally 100s of times in the field when hunting Dangerous Game. I carry that same concept over to my home defense handguns............ In 45 ACP here is my choice for a solid, a 67% meplat 200 gr Copper bullet. This bullet is the parent bullet for the 150 Raptor...............
Those are my Magic Handgun Bullets by Lehigh and CEB...................
Feed and Function?............. This is #1 Priority..........
Out of everything tested, I have had NO Firearm give any issues with the Lehigh bullets, never a failure to feed in many different 45 ACP and 9mm guns. I have had One 45 ACP that bobbled once with a 150 Raptor, I still have that gun, but it is loaded fully with Lehigh and the 200 FN Solids. I have one firearm that does not like the 200 Solids, so it gets a mag full of Lehighs.................
I also am not afraid to mix a magazine, 150 Raptor up top, followed by a couple of Lehighs, followed by 200 Solids.................. I will only do that if I am confident the gun works, feeds, functions with all...............
I do indeed love Magic Bullets, and for those who don't know or realize, above I was only jerking by best friends chain a bit, as I normally do anyway............. LOL.....................
