For those of you that are looking to reduce the high cost of personal self-defense ammo, especially due to the high cost of commerical ammo during this shortage period, the following may be of interest to you.

Before we begin, DO NOT CONFUSE the Berry's HHP (Hybrid Hollow Point) with the Berry's 9mm Hollow Base Bullet, they are two entirely different bullet types.

To begin, my personal preference for back up self defense ammo is the Berry's Hybrid HP. I charge the cartridge with either Hodgdon's Titegroup, or with Alliant's Power Pistol.

I recommended two different accurate loads for this cartridge shot out of a 4" barrel.

The first accurate load shot out of a 4" barrel is accomplished with 3.8 grains of Hodgdon's Titegroup which will produce an estimated velocity of 1004 Fps. Performance will vary slightly based on the pistol you’re using. The recommended C.O.L. is 1.090 (Berry's Specification).

The second accurate load shot out of a 4" barrel is accomplished with 5.6 grains of Alliant's Power Pistol with an estimated velocity of 1034 Fps. Performance will very slightly based on the pistol you're using. The recommended C.O.L. is 1.090 (Berry's Specification).

The Berry’s 124gr Hybrid bullet produces outstanding expansion between .720” - .770” and penetration to 12" - 13”. At approximately 1-1/2” penetration it’s typically fully expanded creating a substantail wound cavity and will not over penetrate. It will produce approximately 278 foot pounds of energy, not bad for a midsized sized bullet.

Note the expanded petals in the image below, this is what is really impressive about this low cost plated bullet, obviously, it’s not intended to penetrate armor, but as a primary, or backup self-defense cartridge it will accomplish what it was designed to do.

YES, it’s a plated bullet, in my opinion a high quality plated double struck hollow point. The best part is that if you reload, you can produce a round for approximately .30 cents, compared to commercial ammo that costs approximately $1.50 - $1.75 per round in today’s marketplace.

Berry's Hybrid Hollow Points are the result of two merged developmental ideas. Following the same process as their Superior Plated Bullets®, they start with a swaged lead core that is then electroplated with copper to final weight. Lastly, they are re-struck to ensure precise specifications and create the Hybrid Hollow Point nose design. This design allows for maximum expansion and weight retention, becoming one of the most reliable self defense bullets available today. The 9mm's penetration is 11"-13".

.18 cents for the bullet, .035 cents for a primer, 3.8grs of Titegroup @ .013 cents for powder, if you use once fired 9mm brass about .065 cents per case, that adds up to approximately .30 cents per round, if you collect and recycle range brass the cost is further reduced to approximately .23 cents per round. That’s a whole lot cheaper than $1.50 - $1.75 a round for commercial self-defense ammo.

Of course, this is all based on whether you had the foresight to prepare for the ammo and reloading component shortages that started in early 2020.

If you're in a fight for your life this bullet will be more than adequate for personal defense, of course, all this is based on your skill level, which means, "PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE."

YES, this hybrid bullet is available in other calibers i.e. .40 S&W & .45 ACP.

One of the major benefits of Berry’s quality copper plated bullets is that your barrel will experience very little, if any barrel fouling, however, it's always best to clean any firearm after any shooting session regardless of the ammo used.

Please keep in mind it was my personal choice to use the Berry's HHP for self defense, and as a cost savings measure due to the high cost and avilability of commerical self defense ammo, it was not my intention to critique one self defense cartridge over another. One might consider the Berry's HHP bullet as backup self defense round when one's preferred ammo is not available.

All that said, you be the judge, $1.50 - $1.75 per cartridge, or .30 cents per cartridge using the Berry's HHP.

Lastly, I'm 76, if I made some typos in the design of this webpage I don't care, I'm an old man, give me some space.

Bob Krueger, AB7CQ