Hollow Point vs FMJ

What happens when you shoot hollow point rounds into Ballistic Rubber? And how does it compare to FMJ? If you look closely at the side-by-side photos, the Hollow Point round takes more away from the ballistic rubber sheet than the FMJ. The ballistic rubber product is made to self-heal, meaning it will revert back to its original form. The only hindrance is when the bullet takes rubber with it.

The above photo is close to 500 rounds of the 9 mm FMJ on the left. On the right is 100 rounds of 357 magnum JHP ammo. This experiment is focused on a 12″x12″ square of 1/2″ thick material. (600 total rounds inside of one square foot.) As you can see, there are visible differences between the two types of ammo. The main difference is that the FMJ made smaller and more uniform holes, while the JHP made larger and ragged holes.

Hollow points are designed to expand on impact, which means they create a larger wound channel. FMJs are primarily used for penetration; they’re less likely to fragment, and they typically have a higher velocity than hollow points. This means that, while not as effective at stopping an assailant as hollow points, they’re more likely to penetrate barriers like drywall or car doors.

So which type of ammo is better training? You will get the same experience using either round. However you will chew up your range faster using hollow point. We recommend FMJ for live fire training with ballistic rubber.

Below is a live fire video of another comparison between FMJ and hollow point:

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