Unveiling the Hornady 140 gr FTX Handgun Bullet: The Apex of Performance and Reliability

Are you a responsible citizen seeking the most dependable personal protection ammunition? Perhaps a dedicated handgun hunter looking for a bullet that delivers ethical, decisive terminal performance? Or maybe a meticulous reloader striving for unparalleled consistency and accuracy in your hand loads? If any of these describe you, then the Hornady FTX Handgun bullet in .38 Caliber, specifically the 140 grain Flex Tip eXpanding projectile, is engineered precisely for your needs. This isn't just another bullet; it's a meticulously crafted component designed to excel in critical situations, offering a blend of innovative technology, proven reliability, and superior ballistic performance that sets a new standard for handgun ammunition.

When faced with questions like, "What's the best bullet for self-defense in a .38 Special or .357 Magnum?" or "How do I choose an effective handgun bullet for hunting small to medium game?", the answer often leads to the Hornady FTX. Its unique design addresses the common pitfalls of traditional handgun bullets, ensuring consistent expansion, deep penetration, and maximum energy transfer, even from shorter barrel firearms or at lower velocities where other designs might fail. Hornady has long been synonymous with innovation and quality in the ammunition industry, and the 140 grain FTX (catalog number 35745) continues this legacy, offering peace of mind and superior results for discerning shooters.

Who Needs Superior Handgun Bullet Performance?

The demand for high-performance handgun bullets stems from critical applications where failure is not an option.

• For Personal and Home Defense: When your safety or the safety of your loved ones is on the line, you need a bullet that can reliably neutralize a threat. Traditional hollow points can sometimes clog with fabric, hindering expansion. The Hornady FTX’s patented Flex Tip design proactively addresses this, ensuring consistent expansion even through challenging barriers. This makes it a prime candidate for concealed carry, home defense handguns, and duty firearms.
• For Handgun Hunters: Expanding the capabilities of your handgun for hunting requires a bullet capable of humane, single-shot kills. The 140 grain FTX’s ability to achieve reliable expansion and retain weight ensures deep penetration into vital organs, making it suitable for species like whitetail deer, wild hogs, and coyotes where precise shot placement and terminal effectiveness are paramount.
• For Competitive and Recreational Shooters Seeking Accuracy: While primarily designed for terminal performance, the Hornady FTX doesn't sacrifice accuracy. Its secant ogive profile and heavy jacket contribute to excellent ballistic coefficients and superior flight characteristics, allowing reloaders to craft incredibly precise rounds for target practice or even handgun silhouette shooting, honing skills with a bullet that behaves predictably downrange.
• For Reloading Enthusiasts: Discerning reloaders understand that the bullet is the heart of a cartridge. Using Hornady FTX components allows for the creation of customized loads tailored to specific firearms, optimizing velocity, accuracy, and terminal performance. The consistent manufacturing quality of Hornady ensures that each bullet will perform identically to the next, a crucial factor for reliable hand loads.

The Core of Hornady FTX Innovation: Unpacking Key Technologies

The secret to the Hornady FTX's exceptional performance lies in a combination of patented and proven technologies, each working in harmony to deliver unparalleled results.

The Patented Flex Tip eXpanding (FTX) Technology

At the forefront of the FTX bullet's innovation is its polymer Flex Tip. Unlike traditional hollow-point bullets that rely on hydraulic pressure within the hollow cavity for expansion, the FTX tip is designed to be compressed into the front of the bullet upon impact. This compression initiates and drives expansion consistently and reliably, regardless of velocity or the presence of common barriers like heavy clothing.

Why is this critical?

• Reliable Expansion: Many conventional hollow points can become plugged with denim, leather, or other fibrous materials, preventing the hollow cavity from filling with fluid and thus preventing expansion. The resilient polymer tip of the FTX actively pushes into the bullet's core, forcing expansion even through these challenging mediums.
• Controlled Expansion Profile: This controlled expansion creates a devastating temporary cavity while maintaining directional stability. The energy transfer is immediate and efficient, maximizing the bullet's disruptive effect within the target.
• Wide Velocity Window: The FTX design ensures reliable expansion across a broad range of velocities. This is especially important for handgun calibers, where velocities can vary significantly depending on barrel length (e.g., from compact concealed carry pistols to longer hunting revolvers or carbines). Whether fired from a short-barreled .38 Special snub-nose or a full-size .357 Magnum revolver, the 140 grain FTX is engineered for consistent performance.

The Indomitable InterLock Ring: Maximum Weight Retention

Beneath the Flex Tip, another core Hornady technology comes into play: the InterLock Ring. This unique feature is a raised ring inside the jacket that is mechanically locked into the bullet's lead core. This mechanical lock prevents the jacket and core from separating during expansion, even upon violent impact.

The benefits of the InterLock Ring include:

• Superior Weight Retention: By ensuring the jacket and core remain united, the bullet retains virtually all of its original weight. This is paramount for deep, straight-line penetration into the target, reaching vital organs in hunting scenarios or ensuring sufficient depth against a threat in self-defense.
• Consistent Penetration: Maintaining structural integrity means the bullet follows a more predictable path, reducing deviation and ensuring the energy is delivered precisely where intended.
• Enhanced Terminal Performance: A bullet that retains its weight and expands properly delivers its full kinetic energy within the target, maximizing terminal effectiveness and ensuring a more decisive outcome.

Precision Engineering: The Secant Ogive Profile and Heavy Jacket

Beyond the core expansion and retention technologies, the Hornady FTX 140 grain bullet integrates additional design elements that contribute to its overall excellence.

• Secant Ogive Profile: This aerodynamic bullet profile is a Hornady hallmark. It's designed to be efficient, reducing drag and contributing to flatter trajectories and higher retained velocities downrange. For a handgun bullet, this means improved accuracy at extended ranges and more predictable performance. The secant ogive is known for its stability in flight, which translates directly to greater precision.
• Heavy Jacket over the Shank: The jacket of the FTX bullet is thickest over the shank (the rear portion of the bullet). This heavy construction, combined with the InterLock design, further reinforces the bullet's structure, preventing premature deformation and ensuring controlled expansion while enhancing accuracy by providing a stable bearing surface against the rifling.
• Cannelure for Secure Crimping: The presence of a cannelure (a groove around the bullet's circumference) allows for a secure crimp when reloading. This prevents bullet setback under recoil in tubular magazines or during rough handling, ensuring consistent chamber pressures and reliable feeding.

Real-World Applications: Where the Hornady FTX Shines Brightest

The synthesis of these advanced technologies culminates in a bullet that excels across a variety of crucial applications.

Unrivaled Personal and Home Defense Performance

For those who carry a .38 Special or .357 Magnum handgun for personal protection, the Hornady 140 gr FTX offers critical advantages. Its reliable expansion through clothing, consistent penetration, and effective energy transfer are paramount when stakes are highest. This bullet is designed to perform predictably and effectively in a wide range of defensive scenarios, from close-quarters encounters to situations requiring precise shot placement. The reduced recoil perception compared to heavier .357 Magnum loads, when used in that caliber, also allows for faster follow-up shots and better control, which are vital in self-defense. This bullet is engineered to deliver immediate energy for a devastating temporary cavity, even at lower velocities often associated with smaller .38 Special firearms, making it a versatile choice for a multitude of firearm platforms.

Ethical and Effective Handgun Hunting

Handgun hunting presents unique challenges, and bullet performance is critical for humane kills. The Hornady 140 gr FTX is an excellent choice for hunting small to medium-sized game. Its deep penetration and controlled, wide expansion ensure that vital organs are reached and disrupted effectively.

• Suitable Game: Ideal for deer, wild hogs, javelina, and larger varmints.
• Ethical Performance: The consistent expansion and high weight retention deliver the kinetic energy necessary for clean, ethical harvests, minimizing animal suffering.
• Accuracy: The inherent accuracy of the FTX design means that hunters can place their shots precisely, maximizing their chances of a clean kill at appropriate ranges.

Precision Reloading for Discerning Shooters

The Hornady 140 gr FTX is available as a component bullet, offering serious reloaders the opportunity to craft custom ammunition tailored to their specific needs. Buying these bullets in boxes of 100 (UPC 090255357455) means a ready supply of high-quality components. Reloading with these bullets allows for:

• Optimized Performance: Fine-tuning powder charges and seating depths to achieve optimal accuracy and velocity from a specific firearm.
• Cost Efficiency: Reloading can significantly reduce the cost per round, making practice more affordable while still utilizing premium components.
• Consistency: Hornady's rigorous quality control ensures that each 140 grain FTX bullet is manufactured to precise specifications, leading to consistent performance shot after shot.

Why Hornady FTX Stands Apart from the Crowd

In a market saturated with ammunition options, the Hornady 140 grain FTX distinguishes itself through its foundational design philosophy and proven track record. It’s not just about a single feature, but the synergistic effect of multiple innovations. While other bullets might offer deep penetration or rapid expansion, few combine both with the reliability and consistency of the FTX across a broad velocity spectrum and through challenging barriers.

Consider the common issues with other bullet types:

• Traditional Lead Hollow Points: Can clog, leading to inconsistent or no expansion. They can also deform upon impact, losing significant weight and limiting penetration.
• Solid Copper Projectiles: While offering excellent weight retention, they often require higher velocities for reliable expansion and may not expand as widely as hybrid designs like the FTX, resulting in less energy transfer.
• Bonded Bullets: While effective, the bonding process can sometimes limit the degree of expansion. The FTX achieves bonding via its InterLock ring, offering both robust construction and aggressive expansion.

The Hornady FTX overcomes these limitations, offering a solution that combines the best attributes: reliable expansion even at low velocities, deep penetration thanks to superior weight retention, and tack-driving accuracy. This bullet's coefficient of .160 and sectional density of .157 indicate its efficient ballistic profile and its ability to penetrate effectively for its weight, making it a highly effective and versatile choice.

Deep Dive into Specifications and Performance Metrics

Understanding the detailed specifications of the Hornady FTX 140 gr bullet provides a clearer picture of its capabilities and why it's a top-tier choice for various applications.

• Brand: Hornady – A globally recognized leader in ammunition and reloading components, known for innovation and quality.
• Model: FTX – Denotes the Flex Tip eXpanding technology, a proprietary design for consistent performance.
• Caliber: .38 Cal – Designed for use in .38 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges, both utilizing a .357 inch diameter bullet.
• Rounds Per Box: 100 – Generous quantity for reloaders, allowing for significant practice or load development.
• Bullet Tip Material: Polymer – The key to the FTX’s reliable expansion through various mediums.
• Application: Defense / Hunting – Clearly categorizes its primary intended uses, highlighting its versatility.
• Coefficient (Ballistic Coefficient): .160 – For a handgun bullet of this weight and type, this is a respectable BC, indicating good aerodynamic efficiency and less susceptibility to wind drift at common handgun engagement distances.
• Core Material: Lead – The traditional and effective material for bullet cores, optimized by Hornady’s design.
• Sectional Density: .157 – This metric relates a bullet's mass to its cross-sectional area, directly correlating to its ability to penetrate. A higher sectional density for a given caliber generally means better penetration.
• Weight: 140 gr – An ideal intermediate weight for .38/.357 applications, balancing velocity, recoil, and terminal performance. It offers a good balance between the lighter 110-125 gr bullets and heavier 158 gr options.
• Boxes Per Case: 15 – Useful information for retailers and high-volume buyers.
• Bullet Diameter: .357 – The precise diameter for .38 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges.
• Bullet Type: Flex Tip eXpanding – Emphasizes the signature technology.
• Cannelure: Yes – Ensures a secure crimp for reliable feeding and consistent pressures in reloaded ammunition.
• Jacket Material: Copper – The standard for high-performance bullet jackets, offering strength and reliable interaction with rifling.
• SKU: 61151 – Internal stock keeping unit for inventory management.
• MPN: 35745 – Manufacturer's Part Number, uniquely identifying this specific product.

Your Trusted Source for Hornady FTX Bullets

When you’re investing in components for critical applications like personal defense or hunting, trust matters. The Hornady 140 gr FTX Handgun Bullets (UPC 090255357455) are available through reputable dealers like DEGuns.com. Choosing a reliable supplier ensures you receive genuine Hornady products, backed by customer service and inventory to meet your needs. For components that promise consistent, reliable, and superior performance, look no further than Hornady FTX from DEGuns.

The commitment of Hornady to innovation and quality is evident in every aspect of the 140 grain FTX bullet. From its patented Flex Tip to the robust InterLock design and precise secant ogive profile, this bullet is engineered for excellence. Whether you are safeguarding your home, pursuing game, or meticulously crafting the perfect hand load, the Hornady FTX bullet offers the terminal performance, accuracy, and reliability that professional shooters and responsible citizens demand.

Hornady FTX Handgun Bullet Specifications

Feature	Detail
Brand	Hornady
Model	FTX
Caliber	38 Cal
Bullet Diameter	.357
Bullet Type	Flex Tip eXpanding
Weight	140 gr
Coefficient	.160
Sectional Density	.157
Bullet Tip Material	Polymer
Core Material	Lead
Jacket Material	Copper
Cannelure	Yes
Rounds Per Box	100
Boxes Per Case	15
Application	Defense / Hunting
MPN	35745
UPC	090255357455