In a fairly quiet manner, Corbon introduced a new 9mm cartridge earlier this year. Part of the company’s small Urban Response line, the new load is the first handgun caliber to be added to the group.

The Urban Response 9mm uses a light for caliber bullet moving at pretty fast speeds: 100 grains @ 1,475 fps. According to Corbon, the hollow point bullet uses a soft lead alloy with a new gilded metal jacket. This design allows for excellent expansion in tissue.

A black polymer ball is crimped into the mouth of the hollow point. This ball is supposed to enhance feeding, improve aerodynamics and prevent the hollow point cavity from being plugged with debris. In theory, the ball delays expansion slightly to improve penetration, but ensures reliable expansion. A similar design concept is used by Hornady in its Critical Defense and Critical Duty lines of ammunition.

Corbon already makes a hollow point ammunition line that uses a polymer ball. Called Pow’R Ball, this line of ammunition has been around for many years and has quite a few devotees. Some of the ballistic gel testing I have seen with Pow’R Ball suggests the round is a credible self-defense choice.

Here is an older video of the Pw’R Ball in gel (skip to 1:12 to get to the actual shooting):

A polymer ball is not used in the rifle calibers in the Urban Response line.

Compared to the Pow’R Ball, the new Urban Response uses the relatively new Ducta-Bright 7a nickel coating process on the case. This process increases the strength of the case, making it better for +P ammunition and reloading purposes. Ducta-Bright 7a is also being used by SIG on its Elite Performance line of ammo.