DRT Ammo problems... Am I the only one?

[steveNChunter]

I was needing some hollow point ammo for my new nightstand/woods carry gun, a Ruger SR45. I bought a couple boxes of DRT (Dynamic Research Technologies) 150 gr .45 acp ammo.

I reload all my plinking ammo but any ammo that has a chance of being used in self defense I like to be factory loaded rounds. I usually get Hornady Critical Defense or Critical Duty (depending on the application) but none was in stock at my LGS so I figured I've give this DRT stuff a try.

Before I tell my story keep in mind I've already put a couple hundred rounds of my reloads through this gun and it ran flawlessly.

I get home and load my mags up, go outside to my targets, and cycle a round into the chamber. I noticed immediately that the slide didn't sound right as it racked closed and I also noticed that the gun hadn't quite went fully into battery.

It lacked about 1/8th of an inch. I was able to lightly push it closed by hand but when I tried to pull the slide back open I was unable to. The gun was locked up tight.

Unsure of what else to do to get the round out, I just pointed into the side of the bank behind my targets, turned my head and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and ejected the case just fine.

To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I loaded one more round. Same story. I was however able to force the slide open to get the round out this time. Worried I'd somehow broken my new gun already, I went back in the house and loaded a mag of my reloads.

I came back out and emptied the mag without a hiccup and was easily able to pull the slide back with a loaded round in the chamber. The gun also goes fully into battery by itself with my reloads.

So now I'm pretty sure it's an issue with the dimensions of the DRT ammo. So I take it all back in the house and start measuring. The case mouth on all the DRT ammo is .474-.475. I crimp all my reloads at .469-.470.

It seems to me that they had a lot of ammo that didn't get crimped. That's also a very healthy bell on a case at .474-.475. I'm pretty sure before crimping that my case mouths only measure about .472, but I don't expand any more than necessary to seat a bullet.

I can't decide if I should just run them all through my Lee FCD or go through the hassle of sending them back to DRT for a refund or replacement. Has anyone else seen this issue with DRT ammo? And what would you do if you were in my shoes?

[TunnelRat]

IMO? It's modern day snake oil and I wouldn't use it as any kind of benchmark for your pistol's function.

[Model12Win]

^ +1

Get some Federal HSTs, 230 grain variety. Best .45 defense load there is.

150 grain .45 ACP? Good grief.

[michael t]

Go buy some good SD ammo Horandy Corbon etc . Stick with name brands not the latest snake oil . That can stop a charging elephant with 1 shot :eek: Leave the phillip screw driver ammo at store also.

[steveNChunter]

I usually get Hornady Critical Defense or Critical Duty (depending on the application) but none was in stock at my LGS

As I stated earlier this was not my first choice, but all my LGS had in stock for .45 SD ammo was the DRT at $13.49/box of 20 and some Remington Ultimate Defense at $29.99/box of 20. I figured I'd see what the DRT was all about since it was so cheap... Now I know why it was cheap. I think I'll just run it all through my FCD and see if I can get it to function and shoot it. Then go find some more Critical Duty.

[ritepath]

Throw the DRT junk away, or use it to shoot skunks with. Pick up some HST or Gold Dots and call it a day.

I bought some for a 380 once...because it was cheap.

[Independent George]

Take a few pictures of the ammo measurements, and see if you can get a refund from the manufacturer. Anything that out of spec is dangerous.

[marine6680]

I picked some up cheap just to try it out, mostly because the light bullet lowered recoil, and I was using it in a SCCY which has very stiff recoil. This is the 9mm loading...


Reliability was good, other than the fact that the SCCY didn't like the primers. That was a problem with the gun though.

I called DRT to talk to them about it, and they sent me two new boxes free... Loaded using different brand primers. The new stuff worked well.



The gel tests I seen show that the bullet base would penetrate 12in, so not too bad. It did leave a larger diameter, but shallower wound path than other hollow points.


When you can, pick up some of your normal load, or one of the other respected loads.

[Slimjim9]

Regardless of the performance I just could not bring myself to carry ammo called DRT. "Honestly judge it stands for Dynamic Research Technologies" - uh, yeah, right. :rolleyes:

[Independent George]

I don't get it - what else would DRT stand for?

[jmhyer]

"Dead right there"

I doubt that the company would give you any sort of refund anyway. Most likely, they would simply send you replacement ammo. Why would you want mor why would you want more I want to mow that doesn't function well anyway? I think I would chalk it up to lessons learned and toss the stuff or give it away with a disclaimer.

[marine6680]

I didn't think about the DRT name in any negative light, until others on the Internet pointed it out.

So it doesn't immediately bring up negative connotations for everyone.

[MarkCO]

0.473 is spec for the .45 ACP. In order to not fracture the powder/sintered core, they have to bell and then not crimp. It is all like that and does create some poor function issues. A pistol can be tuned for that, but I do not know why anyone would bother.

Take your lumps and then get some decent ammo.

[kraigwy]

There is no such thing and guaranteed DRT ammo, regardless whether its a pistol or rifle.

DRT has more to do with the ability to shoot what you have. I have more confidence in my ability to stop a threat with my 38 using LSWCs then I do with my 44 Mag, simply because I can shoot it better.

[Independent George]

Ah. Ok.

In that case, my worry is less about a potential lawsuit or overzealous prosecutor than skepticism about a company that thinks this is a good way to market their product.

Case in point: Hornady Zombie Max has soured me on the otherwise excellent Critical Defense. I just refuse to encourage such stupidity.

[Slimjim9]

Yeah, I mostly agree with you I.G. For some reason, I don't mind the "zombie max" so much as it is clearly a joke. Maybe it would be fun for blowing up pumpkins or zombie targets at the range or something. But I still wouldn't carry the green tipped bullets for similar reasons as the "DRT".

[mkiker2089]

I could care less about the name. They can call the bullets "I'm gonna kill some scum" and if they are good I'd buy them. I would think people are reaching by assuming DRT stands for "dead right there" but even if it does assuming you are using a gun for self defense does it matter?

The zombie bullets are strange though but I have to admit to almost buying a box. I had it and a box of the lite loads in my hand and decided to go with the light load instead.

I've been using reloaded Hornady for a while from Military Ballistics and it does fairly good at one of the lowest prices points. I haven't had any malfunctions but the powder seems to smoke more and leave more residue. It could be placebo effect but I swear last time I cleaned my gun it was dirtier than normal.

[steveNChunter]

0.473 is spec for the .45 ACP.

While that is indeed SAAMI spec, I have found that most factory SD ammo I've come across is .470-.471 and I've had zero issues crimping all my ammo at .469-470. I think .473 would be on the edge of having hang ups, since .474-.475 is giving me so much trouble.

I realize some people don't even crimp their .45 but they usually don't expand the case very much when they do that and usually end up with a few crushed cases.

In order to not fracture the powder/sintered core, they have to bell and then not crimp. It is all like that and does create some poor function issues. A pistol can be tuned for that, but I do not know why anyone would bother.

That makes sense, but it's some really stupid logic by the company:

Let's make a bullet that we have to put in a case that's expanded but not crimped, therefore making our ammo unreliable and useless for a self defense application.

[Oysterboy]

DRT probably stand for Done Ruined This. :rolleyes:

[runningbear]

DRT also sells all lead Ammo. called 10 Ring,and i have shot it's 230gr .45 and have not found any problems with it. Myself i would return the DRT to where you bought it,see what they have to say in regards to your problem.

[skizzums]

I like DRT, never had any issue's with it. not a very good SD round though, it'll probably get the job done though. outside of giving them a call, not sure what you can do. i'll bet they will refund you or send you new ammo.

[runningbear]

If you go to the DRT web site and read about their DRT Ammo. it's not a SD Ammo. it's designed to be used where the fired bullets break up when hitting other non human type items.
Like an marshal shooting at someone, inside an aircraft. The DRT is a fragmenting type non lead Ammo.

[steveNChunter]

Gun stores don't take returns on ammo, I know better than to even ask that. I'm going to send DRT an email and see what they say.

If you go to the DRT web site and read about their DRT Ammo. it's not a SD Ammo.

I don't care what it's for if it won't feed and locks my gun up it's useless for any application

[tahunua001]

I've never used DRT ammo, truth told it's my first time learning of them, however I will say that 150 grain is extremely light. the lightest I've ever found in 45ACP is 185gr, and even in hollow points, those start to take a fairly flat profile. I would say it's the weight as much as anything else, do you have another 45 to compare the performance with?