I’ve personally been skeptical of Ruger’s new ARX bullet from its inception (when it was released under its OEM, Polycase), but have been working to keep an open mind, after the ammunition was shown to be generally effective by one of my favorite ammunition testers, ShootingTheBull410, at least in its .380 ACP variant.

Now, TNOutdoors9 (my other favorite ammunition tester) was able to put the 9mm version through his own testing. Using the FBI protocols, the 9mm version was not as successful as its shorter-cased brethren.

To ensure the testing was fair, this time TN added some other ammunition to test directly next to the ARX including some of the well-respected Speed Gold Dot

While results were good through the bare ballistics gel, the ammunition had some issues through the various mediums. As TN predicted (and I had guessed), the light hybrid construction of the round was not as effective as the traditional hollow-point ammunition.

When shot through either dense or rigid mediums, the ARX’s polymer construction deforms and in the case of sheet meta, fragments. This could be an issue if the bullet hits bone.

Still, its an interesting round, especially using the round nose to ensure reliable feeding compared to existing hollow-point.

What do you think of the new ARX ammunition? Is it the next step forward (and perhaps a small step backwards)? Or, is it more talk than results?