Sig Sauer V-Crown Defense Ammunition

The Sig Sauer V-Crown

This is a guest post by Andrew Betts

Sig-Sauer recently started selling ammunition branded V-Crown. It is billed as premium defense ammunition and appears at first glance to be similar to its competitors. It has a nickel plated brass case like other premium offerings and a copper jacketed, lead core, hollow point bullet.

There is nothing particularly noteworthy in its appearance. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding though. Or in the Jello at least.

Okay, properly prepared and calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin actually bears little resemblance to Jello. It is prepared with far less water than the snack food so it is much more dense, which makes it a remarkably accurate means of predicting projectile behavior in human tissue. In this test, the Sig V-Crown expanded poorly because of the four layers of denim that is used as a heavy clothing analog in accordance with the IWBA standard. The denim clogged the hollow point, delaying and reducing expansion. The reduced diameter resulted in reduced drag, which in turn translated into excessive penetration.

While water does not correlate as perfectly with tissue as gelatin does, the relationship is fairly linear at pistol velocities and the 12” of water penetrated in the test should equate to a minimum of 8” of tissue for a total penetration of 22”. That is far in excess of the FBI recommendation of between 12” and 18” penetration for defensive pistol bullets.

This example is precisely the reason that this heavy clothing standard exists. It is surprising, though, that a brand new offering from a reputable company like Sig-Sauer would perform so poorly.

There are quite a few defense loads available that have no trouble expanding when fired through heavy clothing and they easily meet the FBI penetration guidelines in both bare gel as well as heavy clothing and many also perform well when fired through intermediate barriers.

Is it conceivable that Sig was unaware of the performance limitations of this load? That seems to strain credibility. They must have been aware and nevertheless chose to market the ammunition anyway, confident in the power of their brand. This is a somewhat disturbing thought, though. Does Sig deserve the reputation they enjoy?

Andrew Betts served with the Arizona National Guard for over 12 years, including a tour to Afghanistan. Visit his YouTube Channel for more great shooting information.

Photo Credit – Sig Sauer