Nickel cases have long been associated with high-end ammunition. Not only does nickel look snazzy, it also has a lower coefficient of friction than brass, so it tends to feed smoother in most firearms. Nickel tends to stand up to Mother Nature well, too. Hornady upped the ante a bit by coating the cases with a hard, black nickel coating. The ammunition looks very business-like.

This recovered 9mm bullet weighed 147.3 grains and expanded to .558 inch.

Once I had the bullet and powder charge removed, I took the time to run a case carefully through a RCBS tungsten-carbide resizing/depriming die to get down to the basics. It didn't take long to discover that Hornady didn't see fit to use a sealant on either end of the new line of ammunition. Down the road I may have to compare a sealed load to one that isn't, but I really don't think it matters much. Anyone relying on ammunition for police duty or serious social work is wise to rotate it routinely and keep it in a cool, dry place. If I'm hunting during inclement weather, I try to keep my rig tucked under my jacket in a shoulder holster, too. My ammunition won't get wet there.

Hornady currently catalogs a dozen new TAP FPD loads. The line includes a pair of loads each in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. I suspect we'll see the .45 GAP and .357 magnum down the road. In 9mm, the two loads are stuffed with either a 124-grain or 147-grain XTP JHP bullet. Hornady says they leave a 4-inch test barrel doing 1,100 and 975 fps, generating 339 and 310 ft-lbs of instrumental energy, respectively. I had a few of the 147-grain loads to mess with. In .40 S&W, Hornady offers the new load with either a 155- or 180-grain XTP JHP. The 155-grain load is the second test subject here, and we'll look at it in depth shortly. Hornady says that a 4-inch barrel will launch the 180-grain XTP JHP at 950 fps, accounting for 361 ft-lbs of energy.

Last is a pair of .45 ACP loads hinging on either a 200-grain XTP JHP or 230-grain XTP JHP. Hornady says its 5-inch test barrel launches these loads doing 1,055 and 950 fps, generating 494 and 461 ft-lbs of energy, respectively.

The 147-grain TAP load is identified by Hornady as No. 90268, and Hornady says that it'll leave the pressure barrel doing 975 fps. I got a pleasant surprise when I ran 20 of these 9mm JHPs through an old S&W 5906 TSW yesterday. They left the 3.9-inch barrel doing 986 fps, 15 feet from the muzzle. The 5906 isn't a tackdriver to start with, but 25 of these accounted for five groups that ran from just over 3 1/4 inches to just over five inches. I suspect that the Ransom Rest might pull down these groups a bit.

Top-quality ammunition any way you look at it: Hornady's TAP FPD ammo isn't just for pistols. It's also available in popular tactical calibers and 12-gauge loadings.

In gelatin this load almost made it out of my block, reaching 14 1/17 inches. In addition to controlled expansion to .558 inch, the load left a good permanent cavity in its wake. The recovered bullet weighed 147.3 grains, indicating perfect weight retention. Nice job on this load.