Grizzly Bear Defense Ammunition From Hornady and Federal

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Grizzly bear numbers have steadily increased in the northern Rockies over the last two decades, and with that abundance comes more attacks on humans. Grizzlies aren’t the only dangerous predators on the prowl, though, as black bear and mountain lion attacks are on the rise as well. And while they’re hardly predators, if you get sideways with a cow moose protecting her calf, you might wish you’d encountered a bear instead.

It makes sense, then, to protect yourself from attack in the backcountry. For years hunters and hikers have argued which cartridge is best for predator defense. However, the argument about which cartridge is best overlooks an important aspect of defense against large predators: bullet performance.

Ammo manufacturers already knew this, and with an increasing number of outdoors types seeking firearm protection, two of the majors—Hornady and Federal—produce loads to satisfy the demand.

Federal released its Solid Core ammunition a few years ago, and this year Hornady unveiled its Backcountry Defense ammo line. The purpose of both loads is simply to stop large, dangerous animals in their tracks. How these bullets accomplish their stated mission differs slightly.

New Design, Old Penetration

For years, hard-cast lead bullets have been the go-to option for predator defense simply because they penetrated deep and straight. But their all-lead construction creates problems—namely barrel leading and the target-obscuring clouds of smoke they can produce. Federal’s solution came in the form of its Syntech polymer bullet coating that reduces friction and barrel fouling and eliminates the smoky haze.

Solid Core bullets feature a high antimony hard lead core wrapped in a blue Syntech shell. The bullet has a flatnose profile that’s designed for deep penetration, and the heavy bullet produces impressive energy levels.

Listed energy for the 200-grain 10mm Auto Solid Core load is 1,200 fps from a five-inch barrel. That translates to 639 ft.-lbs. of punch at the muzzle and 580 ft.-lbs. at a distance of 25 yards.

Clearly, Federal is aiming Solid Core at semiauto handgun owners. In addition to the 10mm Auto, Solid Core is available in 9mm +P (147-grain, 1,120 fps), .40 S&W (200-grain, 1,000 fps) and .45 ACP +P (230-grain, 1,000 fps). The 10mm and .45 ACP figures were obtained from a five-inch barrel while both the 9mm and .40 S&W were tested with a four-inch barrel. Federal uses nickel cases, and premium primers and propellants are very reliable. Solid Core is priced $40 to $47, so it’ll cost you just over $2 per round.

Backcountry Defense

Hornady’s Backcountry Defense also sets out to accomplish deep, straight, devastating penetration, but it employs an entirely different bullet design than the Federal. At first glance I thought the bullet was a jacketed hollowpoint, but Hornady’s Seth Swerczek quickly set me straight.

He told me Backcountry Defense uses the company’s new Dangerous Game Handgun bullet. During manufacturing, the copper jacket is drawn far enough forward that it can be tucked back into the hard lead core. Hornady calls this the Protected Point, and in cross section the copper nose visibly curls up inside the lead core. This prevents the bullet from deflecting when it hits heavy bone.

It’s also available in 9mm +P (138 grain) and 10mm Auto (200 grain), but not .40 S&W or .45 ACP. If you want to carry either of those calibers then Solid Core is your only option. However, Hornady’s Backcountry Defense is available in popular revolver cartridges including .357 Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum, .454 Casull, .460 S&W Magnum and .500 S&W Magnum. So if you’re a wheelgun fan, Backcountry Defense is your load.

Hornady’s ammunition is the cheaper of the two. I found their 9mm Backcountry Defense load for $35 per 20, and the 10mm load is similarly priced—for a per-round cost around $1.57. Even the big revolver rounds are under $50 per box, except for the .500 S&W. That one’s going to cost you around $90 per box of 20, or $4.50 per round.

Testing

For evaluation purposes we (or rather Handguns editor Scott Rupp) tested Solid Core and Backcountry Defense ammunition from a SIG P320-XTen Comp pistol with a 3.8-inch barrel and a Ruger GP100 Match Champion revolver, which sports a 4.2-inch barrel.

Hornady lists its 10mm Auto Backcountry Defense load at 1,160 fps from a four-inch barrel while Federal lists its 10mm Solid Core at 1,200 fps from a five-inch barrel. Both the Hornady and Federal bullets weigh 200 grains. With the variation in barrel length the two cartridges should produce almost identical results. But did they?

Not quite, but close. Backcountry Defense managed 1,082 fps from the SIG’s relatively short barrel, 78 fps slower than advertised for a 10mm with a four-inch pipe. The Solid Core produced a 1,082 fps average from the same gun, about 118 fps slower than advertised from a five-inch barrel.

Out of the Ruger, Backcountry did 1,113 fps while the Solid Core clocked 1,089. This is interesting from the perspective that the Hornady round picked up about 20 fps from the half-inch-longer barrel while the Federal gained only nine.

Deep Impact

What about penetration? Rupp fired both loads into synthetic gel blocks from 10 feet with the SIG 10mm. Hornady’s Backcountry Defense had an average penetration of 32 inches, and penetration was pencil straight. By contrast, Federal’s load averaged 37 inches of penetration. Rupp did report that a couple of the Solid Core test bullets veered off and exited the side of the block.

Realistically, these bullets offer very similar performance despite their different designs. Syntech’s polymer jacket is designed to reduce barrel fouling compared to copper jacketed bullets.

In terms of accuracy, I’ve shot both on paper, and they were on par with other defense bullets. The real test of accuracy with either of these loads will be whether you can hit a fast-moving, toothy predator that’s headed directly for your soft body at warp speed.

Which of these two loads is better is a moot point, really. In truth, both of them are excellent, and both are, in my opinion, good alternatives to hard-cast lead. Neither will fill the air with lead smoke, and neither is going to lead up your barrel. I’m glad we have two different options when selecting ammo that can stop an attack from big threats in the wilderness—where help is definitely not coming.

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