The HoneyBadger is a fluted solid copper bullet that Black Hills makes for self-defense. In this load it weighs 125 grains and leaves the muzzle at 1,225 fps with 417 ft-lbs of energy. Power factor comes out at 153, which scores minor but falls short of the 165 major floor. From a 25-yard zero the bullet sits 1.2 inches low at 50 yards and 9.4 inches low at 100.

Most of what this load offers comes from speed, and the light bullet gives some of it back as it travels. By 100 yards it has slowed to 972 fps, 253 fps under its muzzle speed, and carries 262 ft-lbs. The path stays flat at defensive distances: the 50-yard drop is small enough to hold dead on, and only past that point does the curve call for a deliberate hold. Recoil follows bullet momentum, which is what power factor measures, more closely than it follows muzzle energy. A 125-grain bullet at this speed therefore kicks less than its 417 ft-lbs would suggest, and that is the case for it in a lightweight revolver.

Buy it for carry in a light .44 Special revolver when low recoil and a flat path matter more than bullet weight. Shooters who want a heavier bullet at nearly the same recoil should look at Hornady Critical Defense 165, which kicks only about 4 percent harder in the same revolver but starts 325 fps slower. Anyone who needs to make the 165 major floor should pick HSM's 200-grain cowboy load instead. Its power factor of 170 clears the line, in exchange for about 39 percent more recoil energy than the HoneyBadger.