September 24th, 2021
7:20 runtime
Iwill admit it.
However, there are some situations where its not any old ammo will do.
Im thinking specifically of situations where safety is an issue.
Shooting steel for example or spending time in a ballistic shoothouse both come to mind.
I was cruising the web recently looking for ammo (I know, you were doing that too!)
and I came across Normas Range & Training Frangible in 9mm.
My curiosity was piqued.
I reached out and got a few boxes to try out.
Why Shoot Frangible?
I spend a lot of time shooting steel.
You hear it in the background of my videos regularly.
I also spend a lot of time in a ballistic shoothouse.
Both of these situations are the perfect scenario for the use of frangible ammunition.
Its really a physics issue.
A ballistic barrier stops bullets by absorbing the energy of the bullet.
Part of that energy absorption is actually breaking the slug up into smaller pieces.
Some of the energy is consumed in the breaking up of the bullet.
Note that I said, some of the energy.
Not all of it.
There is a lot of energy left over.
That energy propels the fragments, and those fragments do damage to whatever they hit.
So, lets keep heading down that physics rabbit hole.
The bigger those fragments are, the more momentum they have.
On several occasions, Ive been the recipient of a large chunk of jacket from a projectile.
Years ago, a piece drove into my shin.
It was deep and, as my luck would have it, it was shaped like a fishhook.
It took some tugging to get it out.
Frangible ammo is different.
When it strikes a hard surface, like a steel target, it turns into small uniform particles.
That right there is really the answer to the question of why you should shoot frangible ammunition.
The Norma Option
The Norma Range & Training Frangible is a very interesting round.
Its overall length is a bit less than the typical 115-gr.
When I first got the frangible 9mm from Norma, I headed right out to the range.
I wanted to set up some realistic expectations for my tests, specifically regarding after the round had fragmented.
But first, I wanted to find out if the rounds would function reliably in a semi-auto.
This is a 65-grain round.
I wondered if it had the oomph to run myXD-M Elite OSP.
In total, I fired 150 rounds, and they performed with 100% reliability.
That reliability results, I suspect, from both the shape of the nose of the 65-gr.
slug and the velocity it is moving at.
The box lists it at 1,650 feet per second.
I dont doubt it.
Even so, recoil was very manageable.
Performance
So, lets talk about what the Range & Training Frangible from Norma can do.
First off, it was as accurate as I was.
Whether I was shooting on paper or on steel I could easily call my shots.
I didnt spend time taking the rounds out to 25 yards.
That isnt what this round is for.
Plain and simple, it hit where I put my dot.
I also shot the round into a Clear Ballistics 20 block of ballistic gel.
The slugs acted just like I would expect a 9mm FMJ to behave.
They were through the block, lickity split.
I didnt recover a single slug.
On steel I was thrilled.
I was cautiously optimistic, but I took my time.
I started at seven yards and put three rounds on the target to evaluate.
This is a very effective frangible round.
Next, I set up the gel block directly under the edge of the steel.
I put four rounds into the target just above the block.
With FMJ rounds you would need a tourniquet.
