American eagle 90 grain tnt

[BjornF16]

I believe AA used to sell factory 90 TNT back in the day...they performed gel testing. Maybe someone has that photo stashed away and can post it?

[Chrazy-Chris]

What's the advantage of 130gr versus 123? The advertised BC is .554 (130gr) vs .506 (123gr) so I can't imagine that's enough to make up for the slower velocity out of the heavier bullet.

[LRRPF52]

What's the advantage of 130gr versus 123? The advertised BC is .554 (130gr) vs .506 (123gr) so I can't imagine that's enough to make up for the slower velocity out of the heavier bullet.

Less wind drift, more supersonic reach. When the BCs are that close, you don't see huge differences in flight, but the 130gr will stay supersonic longer.

Berger's average G1 BC is .564 for the 130gr AR Hybrid, but I use the more useful G7 BC of .290 for shooting past 600yds.

Not sure why I'm talking about this in the 90gr TNT thread, but there it is.

[BjornF16]

Shot 90 TNT through mock wall (2 layers of drywall separated by 2x4, no insulation) using my 12" Lilja. Had cardboard "back board" in front of barrier to catch any fragments.

Single drywall exit hole (no tumbling) and single hole in cardboard (no tumbling).

Disappointing. Need to get some 95 V-Max and try it. Maybe I'll try some 123 A-Max...

[BjornF16]

Re-attempted with Hornady 123 A-Max. Better results.

Larger exit hole in drywall compared to TNT.

Also, broke up into at least two pieces. Main bullet tumbling as it went through cardboard. I'd really like to see what 95 V-Max would do in same situation.

Here's pic of cardboard "backstop"

drywall_test1.jpg

Here's exit from drywall

drywall_test2.jpg

[hikfromstik]

They are supposed to open very quickly . They have the small micro cuts near the tip that aid in quick expansion . I hope someone does a gel test on these soon on YouTube.

[BluntForceTrauma]

Alexander Arms did a gel test on these when they loaded them as factory ammo. I can probably dig up a photo next week on my work computer. One-inch neck, small basketball size of a temp cavity. Yeah, I'd say very nice for varmints and close-range self-defense.

Very happy Federal loading this. Sure, they could easily make the nose sleeker and squeeze a lot more BC out of this pill, but not a bad bullet for what it is.

[BjornF16]

The 123 A-Max opened larger and broke up when shooting through drywall...I would be hesitant to use TNT as self-defense round inside house

[Joseph5]

The cavity probably got plugged going through the first sheet of drywall so no expansion. That is why the AMAX performed better, no cavity. I bet a 95gr VMAX would fragment really good.

[hikfromstik]

Alright guys I shot about 20 of these yesterday and I'm very surprised how well they shot . All groups were sub moa @100yds with my Lilja AR24 . It was gusty winds around 10 - 15mph too . The Howa mini didn't do as good but still held about 1.5 moa @100yds. Another interesting thing is they shot almost same point of impact as Hornady sst . When more places start to get these the price should go down.

[VASCAR2]

I've done water jug test on both the 95 grain V-Max and 90 grain TNT and the performance is very similar at 50 yards. Compared to a Pistol Caliber Carbine or Shotgun I'd prefer the 6.5 Grendel with either 90 gr TNT or 95 gr VMax. The 85 grain Sierra Varmint is another good bullet with similar performance. I've tested the 100 grain Nosler hunting bullet and I like the way it performs at 6.5 Grendel velocities.

I live in a remote area and in my situation there is no down side to a AR-15 compared to a PCC or Shotgun except noise and muzzle blast. I have my electronic ear muffs close at hand and would not look forward to discharging any of them indoors without hearing protection.

[LRRPF52]

Home defense guns should be suppressed as a rule.

[VASCAR2]

Not an option where I live but I would if I could. Maybe is the HPA passes.

[BjornF16]

Have done a lot of backyard ballistics and find the overwhelming majority of hollow point bullets get plugged up going through drywall and then act like FMJ. I was hoping that would not be the case with TNT.

I really like V-Max as home defense bullet...I have them in 223 and 300 BLK. If someone doesn't offer 95 V-Max as factory load soon, I guess I'll have to load up my own.

[BluntForceTrauma]

Dug up a gel test photo of the 90 TNT back when Alexander Arms used to load it. Shot at 100 yards from a 16" barrel.

The green dye they used kind of blurs out the fragments, but you get the general idea. Thing is explosive. And quickly.