The 5.7x28mm round was developed to be a more capable armor-defeating round than existing 9mm ammunition fired out of submachine guns and handguns. Although it is commonly seen in handguns today, the 5.7 looks like a small rifle round and the way it does its damage on target is different than conventional handgun rounds.
The 5.7 is available in a number of loads ranging from full metal jacket to open-tip match rounds, some of which we have previously tested. In every case thus far, the 5.7 relies on its high velocity and long-for-caliber projectile to tumble after impact. Open tip rounds like the SS195 LF load we previously tested may look like a hollow point that should give expansion, but are really intended with tumbling in mind. But one 5.7 defensive load I have long been curious to test is the Speer Gold Dot 40 grain. In theory and in practice, it offers the upset of a light, fast projectile with the carry-through of a mushrooming conventional hollow-point bullet.
The 5.7 Speer Gold Dot: Overview and Shooting Impressions
CCI has been producing the Speer Gold Dot hollow-point load for years in conventional pistol calibers like .380 ACP, .38 Special, 9mm Luger, and 45 ACP, among others. The Speer Gold Dot 5.7×28 round debuted during SHOT Show 2020 and was pitched as the first 5.7 load made specifically for personal defense. To be clear, the 5.7 in all its guises is a good round, but the Speer is unique in using a jacketed hollow point that is designed to expand like conventional pistol ammunition.
The Speer load uses a 40-grain copper-jacketed spitzer round with a very small hollow-point cavity. At first glance, it resembles some of the open-tip 5.7 rounds on the market. On closer inspection, there are four small partitions in the jacket at the tip to promote expansion. It is not the conventional round-nosed Gold Dot load we are accustomed to.
When fired out of my PSA Rock with a 5¼ inch barrel, the Speer Gold Dot load cycles reliably and shoots accurately. There is some sharp muzzle rise with the Speer load that is in line with other conventional 40-grain high-velocity loads. In my subjective opinion, recoil is less with the Fiocchi 40-grain subsonic and FN 27-grain lead-free load.
Velocity Test
After getting a feel for the ammunition, I set up my Caldwell Chronograph and shot through it with the PSA Rock from a distance of 10 feet. I fired five rounds with an average velocity of 1807 feet per second. The deviation from the lowest velocity round to the highest velocity round was 78 feet per second. That sounds like a lot, and with most handgun rounds, it is. But at velocities this high, I have seen worse. It is worth noting that that difference might still affect hollow point expansion from one round to the next.
Gel Test
After checking the round’s velocity, I fired four rounds through 10% Clear Ballistics gelatin blocks fronted by four layers of denim. This represents muscle tissue and heavy clothing that would be a worst-case scenario for hollow point performance. I fired those rounds from a distance of 10 feet.
One round sailed straight through sixteen inches of gel and kept going, so I placed an additional block in the way and fired three more rounds. The first hit high and traversed into the backup block, stopping at 20 inches on the nose. The second round struck low and stopped at 16 inches. The third hit in between and stopped at 17 inches.
I was initially surprised to find the rounds did not tumble off course and exit the block, which had been the case with all the other 5.7 loads I have tried. These rounds did not appear to tumble as they traversed on a relatively straight path, opening up and shedding copper jacket and lead fragments along the way. This is how you would expect conventional pistol ammunition to behave. But the high velocity of these rounds likely caused the impressive shredding in the first block of gelatin after the rounds cleared the denim. These stretch cavities measured upwards of an inch, not including the bits of jacket that splintered from the rounds to cause secondary wounds.
The deepest penetrating round recovered opened up to .292 inch in diameter while the other two rounds both measured out to .308 inch. Not bad for a .22 caliber projectile. All projectiles shed some degree of lead and copper fragments within the first block of gelatin. But weight retention with the Speer Gold Dot load was fairly high. The lowest-weight projectile recovered still weighed 35.6 grains after doing its damage.
The Bottom Line
Over the years, I have had good luck with Speer’s Gold Dot hollow-point ammunition. Although the Gold Dot 5.7 does not look like a traditional Gold Dot, it certainly performed like one. This round has the high velocity that makes the 5.7 so effective paired with a true hollow point that delivers controlled expansion.
If I had to give my subjective opinion, I believe the Speer Gold Dot 5.7 load did more damage through its path into our gelatin blocks from start to finish. Other rounds provide impressive damage at the start before dumping much of their energy. By the time those rounds reached their final depth, the projectiles created wounds not much larger than the projectiles themselves. Although the Speer Gold Dot may not be the best option for armored targets, when it comes to personal defense for most of us, it might be the ideal load.
