I have bagged on the pricing of Punch vs HST because Punch was supposed to be cheaper and less "better" than HST. Punch pricing has never been as low as 50rnd boxes of HST now set at $40 MAP. The technical paper specifically mentions price point at the end too.
But if anyone is interested, here is the paper on difference from Vista. I am probably the last to find the actual details of differences. It was hard to know because as Vista says, they both use the same jacket.
HST meets plywood, windshield, steel, and gel tests.
Punch is designed to meet gel tests and does not meet the other tests. We saw this in tests that it was closer to 12" for Punch and 16"-19" in HST.
Punch uses a softer led and preforms to a mushroom. *here I was kinda right without knowing the how, which I blamed on better bonding with better lead. The preform shape makes it not as "stuck" to the HST jacket and Punch is the smushed around the bonding star shape. The mushroom shape does not aid in penetration (ie, more drag/friction).
https://media.vistaoutdoor.com/press...tition_FNL.pdf