Constitution Arms have published a high speed video showing their Tri-Cor .38 Special round being fired in gel. The Tri-Cor is loaded with three separate bullets stacked on top of each other, with a total weight of 158 grain. The individual projectiles separate in flight.
The Tri-Cor is very expensive. Constitution Arms are selling them in clamshell packaging containing six rounds for $29 + tax + shipping. This makes practice at the range very expensive.
Somewhere I’ve got a Guns & Ammo magazine from the 1980′s where they experimented with this idea. The .38/.357 used three 50 grain (more or less) wadcutter bullets seated on some fast powder, and they had a 4 projectile round in a .357 Maximum case.
I don’t remember the exact results, but I seem to recall they were getting minute-of-pie-plate accuracy with all the projectiles at 25 yards.
I also recall that they cautioned that these rounds were not prosecutor-proof, and might give you some problems with a jury. But that was in the 80′s, after all…
0 
0expensive for what looks like just 6″ or so of penetration. Sure you get an okay wound cavity but I don’t think this has the penetration or hydrostatic ability to be a real ass-putter.
Also you get 3x the chance for stray projectiles and lawsuits. 
0 0Didn’t Federal do this with ammo for the judge for less $$$ ?
0 0I remember some company marketed Tri-plex ammo back in the late 80′s/ early 90′s then disappeared. I might have to buy some of this stuff before is goes away as well.
0 0A serious video would have featured much more data:
- Distance of gun from target
- Actual penetration distance
- Comparison with other 38 rounds
- Comparison of various barrel lengths
They are likely conscious that their palm pistol is firing a relatively small calibre from a short barrel and they want to give the impression that lethality is better than it actually is.
0 0Hickory45 did a test similar to the round shown above. It was not impressive.
0 0Can they do this with the 5.56? Maybe then it will kill the insurgent up that mountain in Afghanistan.
0 0I’m with Jim. Penetration looks anemic, much like a Glaser that hasn’t gone through sheetrock.
0 0“Pardon my ignorance, but is this just a manlier Glaser, that will go through glass/sheetrock?”
Glasers will easily go through glass or sheetrock. Don’t know who told you otherwise, but that’s asinine. You can put a BB through a wall with a slingshot, much less a 100 plus grain projectile firing at over 1000 fps.
This round doesn’t look like it has adequate penetration, win which case 3 round channels isn’t going to do you much good.
0 0Now that others have mentioned it, I seem to recall seeing some articles back in the early 90′s – may in G&A – that involved using four segments in a .357 maximum case (maybe Wiley Clapp??)
0 0A less expensive alternative for handloaders who wish to explore this concept would be the old “3-1″ load, which has been extant since the 1970s, and possibly earlier.
It’s nothing more than a Speer .38 shot capsule, loaded with 3 #1 buckshot, to standard .38 Special pressures and velocity.
The load achieved a fair amount of popularity in years past. It’s certainly worth a try.
0 0It would be interesting to know how far out of the barrel the round trifercates.
0 0too expensive for, what is likely, minimal gain
that’s five dollars a round, as much as .338 lapua magnum
and I thought dollar a round stuff from every other manufacturer was expensive
0 0$29 for 6? I’ll stick with 00 buck for my short range multi -projectile needs, thanks.
0 0Pardon my ignorance, but is this just a manlier Glaser, that will go through glass/sheetrock?
I get the whole kinetic energy transfer thing, spreading the penetration out; I just am trying to understand what this means….
Also, with that price point will be tough to get any volume out the door, I would think.
0 0Whilst I question the validity of multiple projectile rounds, the slow motion footage and trance music on the video really chilled me out.
0 0Looks like a significant portion of the price is meant to pay for producing that spiffy video.
I’m assuming those marks at the bottom of the block are inches. In which case we are looking at about six inches of total penetration into a bare block of gelatin.
Color me unimpressed.
0 0reminds me of the blue bird in angry birds…
0 0Most self defense ammunition packs are at least in the 20 / pack range. I don’t see this being anything more than a novelty round at that price. Or something that a person will buy when they buy the gun, but never try out.
0 0Appears to have wholly inadequate penetration. And nearly $5 a round, whew!
0 0Ah, ‘multiball’ ammo returns.
0 0If these catch on, I’m tempted to make a simple mold for these stackable bullets and manufacture my own. I bet I could sell them for 1/2 that amount and still make an obscene profit.
0 0
Can they do this with the 5.56? Maybe then it will kill the insurgent up that mountain in Afghanistan.
I’m with Jim. Penetration looks anemic, much like a Glaser that hasn’t gone through sheetrock.
“Pardon my ignorance, but is this just a manlier Glaser, that will go through glass/sheetrock?”
Glasers will easily go through glass or sheetrock. Don’t know who told you otherwise, but that’s asinine. You can put a BB through a wall with a slingshot, much less a 100 plus grain projectile firing at over 1000 fps.
This round doesn’t look like it has adequate penetration, win which case 3 round channels isn’t going to do you much good.
Now that others have mentioned it, I seem to recall seeing some articles back in the early 90′s – may in G&A – that involved using four segments in a .357 maximum case (maybe Wiley Clapp??)
Hickory45 did a test similar to the round shown above. It was not impressive.
A serious video would have featured much more data:
- Distance of gun from target
- Actual penetration distance
- Comparison with other 38 rounds
- Comparison of various barrel lengths
They are likely conscious that their palm pistol is firing a relatively small calibre from a short barrel and they want to give the impression that lethality is better than it actually is.
Somewhere I’ve got a Guns & Ammo magazine from the 1980′s where they experimented with this idea. The .38/.357 used three 50 grain (more or less) wadcutter bullets seated on some fast powder, and they had a 4 projectile round in a .357 Maximum case.
I don’t remember the exact results, but I seem to recall they were getting minute-of-pie-plate accuracy with all the projectiles at 25 yards.
I also recall that they cautioned that these rounds were not prosecutor-proof, and might give you some problems with a jury. But that was in the 80′s, after all…
expensive for what looks like just 6″ or so of penetration. Sure you get an okay wound cavity but I don’t think this has the penetration or hydrostatic ability to be a real ass-putter.
Also you get 3x the chance for stray projectiles and lawsuits.
Didn’t Federal do this with ammo for the judge for less $$$ ?
I remember some company marketed Tri-plex ammo back in the late 80′s/ early 90′s then disappeared. I might have to buy some of this stuff before is goes away as well.
A less expensive alternative for handloaders who wish to explore this concept would be the old “3-1″ load, which has been extant since the 1970s, and possibly earlier.
It’s nothing more than a Speer .38 shot capsule, loaded with 3 #1 buckshot, to standard .38 Special pressures and velocity.
The load achieved a fair amount of popularity in years past. It’s certainly worth a try.
It would be interesting to know how far out of the barrel the round trifercates.
Most self defense ammunition packs are at least in the 20 / pack range. I don’t see this being anything more than a novelty round at that price. Or something that a person will buy when they buy the gun, but never try out.
Appears to have wholly inadequate penetration. And nearly $5 a round, whew!
Ah, ‘multiball’ ammo returns.
reminds me of the blue bird in angry birds…
Looks like a significant portion of the price is meant to pay for producing that spiffy video.
I’m assuming those marks at the bottom of the block are inches. In which case we are looking at about six inches of total penetration into a bare block of gelatin.
Color me unimpressed.
too expensive for, what is likely, minimal gain
that’s five dollars a round, as much as .338 lapua magnum
and I thought dollar a round stuff from every other manufacturer was expensive
$29 for 6? I’ll stick with 00 buck for my short range multi -projectile needs, thanks.
Pardon my ignorance, but is this just a manlier Glaser, that will go through glass/sheetrock?
I get the whole kinetic energy transfer thing, spreading the penetration out; I just am trying to understand what this means….
Also, with that price point will be tough to get any volume out the door, I would think.
Whilst I question the validity of multiple projectile rounds, the slow motion footage and trance music on the video really chilled me out.
If these catch on, I’m tempted to make a simple mold for these stackable bullets and manufacture my own. I bet I could sell them for 1/2 that amount and still make an obscene profit.