New (less expensive) offering from Underwood : )

[Kenk]

Worth a look... They appear to be aprx $15.00 less per box of 20


https://www.underwoodammo.com/search?type=product&q=9mm+90+GRAIN+XTREME+DEFENDER&goal=0_d1f0f5dd95-14594a7f47-8730125&mc_cid=14594a7f47&mc_eid=7d462b5398

NEW 90gr FTM®-EXD – LOWER PRICE SAME
PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY

Underwood Ammo is pleased to announce the release of a new 90gr Fluid Transfer Monolithic Bullet (FTM®). Lehigh Defense developed a new manufacturing process that would not only produce their 90gr .355 diameter FTM® bullet with identical features and benefits as their CNC machined bullet but in higher volumes at a lower cost.

After two years of work, we are finally releasing our FTM®-EXD products. The FTM®EXD can be found in our 9MM 90 Grain Xtreme Defenders, 38 Super +P 90 Grain Xtreme Defender, 357 Sig 90 Grain Xtreme Defender, and 9X25MM Dillon 90 Grain Xtreme Defender. Work has already begun on a .355 diameter 65gr FTM®-EXD bullet, which we expect to be released in the summer of 2020.                                     

As you can see, the cost is the only real difference between the two. The new FTM®-EXD product line process still allows us to offer our customers the following features:

? Flutes that force fluid inward to build hydraulic energy and expel it radially.

? Consistent penetration and wounding performance despite encountering barriers via monolithic material and non-expanding design.

? Lightweight – high energy, low recoil

? It does not rely on deformation for resistance in soft tissue, thus eliminating concerns of over-penetration resulting from a lack of expansion.

? Barrier Blind - minimal surface area to increase the force at the point of contact and sharp cutting edges that defeat barriers

? Lead-Free

? Streamlined manufacturing process over original CNC design.

Shop Now

[Rojo27]

Interesting.....

[5pins]

I'm still not sold on the penetrator and fluted bullet concept but the new price is nice. I wonder what they did in the production process to bring down the price.

[sqlbullet]

I like the lower price as well.

I am sold on the hypothesis that if two bullets of the same weight and diameter enter a media at the same velocity and stop at the same penetration depth, the one that deformed LESS will have transferred MORE energy to the media.  That is simple physics.

I am not sold that this is what is actually happening with the current options in fluted solids.

But lower pricing means more affordable testing.

[Kenk]

I received a box of these today, and have determined that Underwood's 90gr FTM - EXD projectile (the $19.00 per box loads) look a bit less refined than their  original  Lehigh Defense that are $10.00 - $15.00 more per box. I don't know anything about their new process versus their more expensive original CNC version, but are for sure slightly different. I'll continue to work at getting a clear picture, but has not happened thus far
Thanks

Ken

[Kenk]

Just in from Underwood regarding their new manufacturing process
Thanks

Ken

Kenneth, The new process is a cold-forming method that actually yielded a harder bullet than the CNC'd version, via cold work hardening, which makes the already very barrier blind Xtreme Defender even more barrier blind as the harder grade of copper is even less likely to change shape as harder and thicker barriers are encountered. It is essentially the exact same bullet and performs all tests consistently as before, only with the harder bullet design we found a slight improvement in some rather obscure thick barrier tests. There is a little bit of a visual difference as you noted, but we're happy to say that is the only downside to this new forming process!