Is The Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator The Ammo The Future Of Self-Defense Ammunition?

Is the Lehigh 'Xtreme Penetrator' the Future of Self Defense Ammo?

Check out this review of the new Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator ammunition and see what you think of that mind blowing penetration.

With most bullets, there is a trade-off between deep penetration and large permanent wound cavities. However, the designers of the Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator tried to build a bullet that would accomplish tasks equally well. 

So, were they successful in that goal? Watch the video review and see for yourself:

As you can see, the name "Xtreme Penetrator" isn't just hyperbole, and it was everything he could do to catch one of those bullets. That really says something when a pistol bullet cuts through two 16" blocks of ballistic gelatin, a couple of milk jugs filled with water, and he still needed an AR500 plate to stop it!

It also appeared as though the bullet lived up to the hype and caused a massive amount of damage to those gelatin blocks. Now, I realize that doesn't necessarily translate 100% to a large permanent wound cavity, but it certainly did more damage than you would expect from a non-expanding bullet like that.

I agree with the guy who made the video though: excessive penetration on that level can be a liability in a self-defense situation. It's important that bullets reliably penetrate deep enough to reach the vitals of an assailant in a self-defense situation, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

It's not hard for me to envision a situation where someone shoots a criminal with a Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator, the bullet exits the bad guy, goes completely though a wall in a neighboring building, and then kills or injures an innocent bystander. After all, a regular full metal jacketed pistol bullet will penetrate through the body of a car with ease, so it's not hard to imagine the Xtreme Penetrator going through much tougher things.

While I wouldn't go so far as to label the Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator a gimmick like the G2R RIP, I would caution gun owners to be really careful about using as self-defense ammunition.

Like what you see here? You can read more great articles by John McAdams on his hunting blog. Follow him on Facebook The Big Game Hunting Blog or Twitter @TheBigGameHunt.

NEXT: THESE ARE THE BEST HANDGUNS FOR WOMEN LOOKING FOR A GOOD SELF-DEFENSE OPTION