Sig Sauer V-Crown Review (2026): Gel Tests vs HST

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This Sig Sauer V-Crown review puts every heavy clothing shot on the page for the four loads with per-shot data. We fired V-Crown in .380, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP through four layers of heavy clothing into gel, five shots each, with Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot and Hornady Critical Defense from the same pistols.

In short: the 9mm 124 gr averaged 17.34 inches and the .380 12.84, both in the FBI window, and V-Crown 9mm costs less per round than all three rivals. The weak spots: the .40 165 gr went 20.18 inches with 1 of 5 shots in the band, the .40 180 gr did not open through denim in two shots, the 147 gr went 20 to 23 inches, and the 200 gr .45 went 31.16 inches without opening.

Last updated October 16, 2026

Table of Contents

Sig Sauer V-Crown Review at a Glance

V-Crown is Sig Sauer’s defensive hollow point, a stacked hollow point made for Sig by Sierra. Sig announced in May 2016 that it would move its ammunition plant to Jacksonville, Arkansas, and it lists fourteen handgun V-Crown loads today.

Our Rating: 7.5/10

V-Crown load	Gun	fps	Depth	Width	In 12 to 18 in
.380 ACP 90 gr	Glock 42 3.25 in	861	12.84 in	0.51 in	3 of 5
9mm 124 gr	S&W M&P9c 3.5 in	1,072	17.34 in	0.52 in	3 of 5
.40 S&W 165 gr	Glock 27 3.42 in	1,014	20.18 in	0.57 in	1 of 5
.45 ACP 200 gr	Kahr CW45 3.64 in	871	31.16 in	0.45 in	0 of 5

Those four loads are the ones we can show shot by shot. The rest of the line, from the 365 rounds to the M17 +P and the 10mm, has its own section below with the data we hold for it and a plain note where we have none.

How We Tested V-Crown

Our main V-Crown test follows the FBI heavy clothing protocol: four layers of fabric in front of 10 percent ordnance-grade synthetic gel, five shots from 10 feet, measured for penetration and recovered diameter, from short carry pistols.

For this Sig V-Crown review the pistols matter, because carry guns are short. We used a Glock 42 with a 3.25 inch barrel for .380, an S&W M&P9c at 3.5 inches for 9mm, a Glock 27 at 3.42 inches for .40 S&W and a Kahr CW45 at 3.64 inches for .45 ACP. HST, Gold Dot and Critical Defense went through the same guns and the same fabric.

The FBI band is 12 to 18 inches: deep enough to reach vital organs from an awkward angle, shallow enough that the bullet stays in the target. A width of 1.5 times caliber or better is what a hollow point is for.

We also compare V-Crown results through bare gel and through 2 layers of denim, chronograph averages from pistols with barrels from 2.8 to 5.03 inches and from 5.5 inch revolvers, and groups at 15 and 25 yards. Each gel table names the gun, the barrel, the medium and the shot count.

Inside the V-Crown: A Stacked Hollow Point, Not Bonded

V-Crown is a cup-and-core hollow point with two cavities stacked one above the other. Sig describes “a consistent V-shaped main cavity on top of a deep narrow trail”, and the bullet is not bonded.

Sig’s product pages list the parts: a “stacked hollow point cavity”, “low-flash propellant” and a “cannelured shank”. The cannelure is toothed and sits about halfway up the shank. At launch Sig said the design “offers exceptional performance in a non-bonded bullet”.

Is V-Crown bonded? No. Sig told the press in 2016 that “With the exception of the .380 ACP, all projectiles utilize a mechanical jacket-to-core locking feature.” Sig does not name the part that does the locking. Its .380 V-Crown page still lists “a cannelured shank”, but per Sig the .380 has no mechanical lock.

Sig also loads V-Crown in nickel-plated cases; its spec tables list nickel-plated brass on ten of the fourteen handgun V-Crown loads. At launch Sig said its Ducta-Bright 7A coated cases would “significantly aid feeding and extraction”.

Who makes the V-Crown bullet? Sierra builds V-Crown bullets for Sig, and Sierra sells all six Sierra V-Crown bullets to handloaders under a “Sig V-Crown” family name: 90, 124, 125 and 147 gr .355 bullets, a 165 gr .400 bullet that Sierra lists as 10mm, and a 200 gr .45.

Sig sells V-Crown component bullets of its own in 115, 124 and 147 gr 9mm, next to the Sierra V-Crown bullets. We do not print load data on this page; use the published data from the bullet maker if you handload them.

Elite Performance, Elite Defense, 365 and M17: Sig Names Explained

Sig Elite Defense V-Crown, Elite V-Crown, Elite Performance, 365 and M17 all name the same V-Crown bullet family. The names track packaging and target guns, not a change of bullet, on Sig’s own pages.

• Elite Performance is the name of Sig’s whole ammunition range on its store, from Elite Ball FMJ to Elite Match rifle loads.
• Elite V-Crown is the product name of the defensive hollow point on Sig’s spec tables, for example “9MM, 115GR, Elite V-Crown, JHP”.
• Elite Defense is what the current gray box says on its face: “ELITE DEFENSE V-CROWN”, under “PERSONAL DEFENSE AMMUNITION”. Sig Elite Defense V-Crown is the same load as Elite V-Crown.
• 365 boxes are black, say “EVERYDAY CARRY AMMUNITION”, and are tuned for short barrels in 9mm 115 gr and .380 90 gr.
• M17 boxes are brown and say “9MM NATO”, “124gr +P” and “MILITARY GRADE”.
• V Crown without the hyphen is how many dealer listings write it, as in “Sig V Crown” or “Sig Elite V Crown”. It is the same bullet.

Sig also sells Elite Ball FMJ as a practice twin, which it says is “Engineered to match SIG V-Crown ballistics”, so practice and carry rounds shoot alike. Legion TAC-XP is a different Sig defensive line, not a V-Crown.

V-Crown 9mm Review: 115, 124 and 147 Grain

V-Crown 9mm 124 gr is the load we would carry: through heavy clothing from a 3.5 inch M&P9c it averaged 17.34 inches and opened to 0.52 inches, with 3 of 5 shots inside the FBI band.

Our five 124 gr shots stopped at 15.1, 16.9, 17.8, 18.3, 18.6 inches. HST 124 gr from the same gun averaged 18.28 inches and opened wider, at 0.61 inches; Gold Dot 124 gr averaged 18.14 inches at 0.54 inches. V-Crown was the third widest and the third deepest of the four 9mm loads.

Load	Gun	fps	Depth	Width	In 12 to 18 in	Every shot, in
V-Crown 124 gr	S&W M&P9c 3.5 in	1,072	17.34 in	0.52 in	3 of 5	15.1, 16.9, 17.8, 18.3, 18.6
Federal HST 124 gr	S&W M&P9c 3.5 in	1,135	18.28 in	0.61 in	2 of 5	17.3, 17.8, 18.4, 18.8, 19.1
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr	S&W M&P9c 3.5 in	1,067	18.14 in	0.54 in	2 of 5	15.1, 17.7, 18.6, 18.9, 20.4
Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr	S&W M&P9c 3.5 in	1,143	13.06 in	0.50 in	4 of 5	11.6, 12.9, 13.3, 13.7, 13.8

Critical Defense 115 gr from the same M&P9c stayed shallower, 13.06 inches with 4 of 5 shots in the band, and opened to 0.50 inches, so V-Crown went deeper and slightly wider. Our Critical Defense review has every one of those shots.

Through 2 layers of denim from a 4.6 inch Browning Hi Power, the same 124 gr load averaged 14.0 inches and 0.56 inches wide at 1,208 fps, with a 12 fps standard deviation over 10 shots. Bare gel tells another story, which the test-medium section explains.

V-Crown 9mm 147 gr

The 147 gr is the deep one. Through the standard four-layer heavy fabric, all five shots went 20 to 23 inches and opened to 0.48 to 0.53 inches, so every shot passed the 18 inch line. In a separate session the 147 gr averaged 23 inches.

Pick the 147 gr for a 9mm carbine or a suppressed pistol, not for a small carry gun. Sig listed it as out of stock on its own store on October 16, and we could not build a clean 147 gr price card for this page that day.

V-Crown 9mm 115 gr

The standard 115 gr is the fastest standard-pressure V-Crown 9mm on Sig’s table at 1,185 fps from a 4 inch test barrel. We have no gel data for this exact load; the 365 115 gr below is its short-barrel cousin, and that one we did shoot.

M17 V-Crown 9mm +P 124 gr

Sig M17 ammo is a +P 124 gr V-Crown that Sig rates at 1,198 fps from a 4 inch test barrel and calls “military-grade ammunition”. Sig says it is “specifically engineered for exceptional performance in any 9mm +P rated pistol”, so check your pistol’s manual before you load it.

Through 2 layers of denim our five M17 shots averaged 14 inches and opened to 0.56 inches with 100 percent retained weight. It ran 1,159 fps over the chronograph. When we shot two lots of it next to two lots of the matching M17 FMJ, all four lots shot to the same point of impact at 15 yards.

The 365 Line: V-Crown for Short Barrels

Sig 365 ammo is built for short barrels, as V-Crown JHP and a matching FMJ. The V-Crown comes in 9mm 115 gr and .380 90 gr, and Sig says it is “now optimized for use in short barrel pistols”.

From a Sig P365 with a 3.1 inch barrel, 365 V-Crown 9mm ran 1,070 fps, 20 fps over the 1,050 fps on Sig’s spec table, and 1,091 fps from a Glock 19X. Ten-shot groups averaged 1.5 inches at 15 yards from the P365 and 1 inch from the 19X.

From the P365 into bare gel it averaged 14.5 inches, and through added fabric and light denim it still went 13 to 14 inches. Through leather and heavy denim it was less reliable: one bullet clogged and went straight through the block. That is the 365 load’s weak spot.

One catch: Sig’s spec table lists a 4 inch test barrel for 365 V-Crown 9mm, an odd choice for a load built for 3.1 inch guns. The 365 9mm was out of stock on Sig’s store when we checked, and we could not build a price card that showed only 365 boxes.

The 365 .380 90 gr shares the standard .380 V-Crown’s 980 fps rating from a 3.75 inch test barrel and was in stock at Sig. For 9mm, practice with Sig 365 ammo in FMJ, which Sig designed to hit the same point of impact as the 365 V-Crown.

V-Crown .380 ACP 90 Grain

V-Crown .380 90 gr reached the 12 inch mark through heavy clothing from a pocket pistol and still opened, which many .380 hollow points fail to do. From a Glock 42 it averaged 12.84 inches and opened to 0.51 inches.

Load	Gun	fps	Depth	Width	In 12 to 18 in	Every shot, in
V-Crown 90 gr	Glock 42 3.25 in	861	12.84 in	0.51 in	3 of 5	11.6, 11.8, 12.4, 13.7, 14.7
Hornady Critical Defense 90 gr	Glock 42 3.25 in	910	13.24 in	0.52 in	5 of 5	12.3, 12.8, 13.5, 13.6, 14.0
Speer Gold Dot 90 gr	Glock 42 3.25 in	937	11.00 in	0.49 in	0 of 5	10.8, 10.8, 11.0, 11.1, 11.3
Federal HST 99 gr	Glock 42 3.25 in	893	22.48 in	0.35 in	0 of 5	20.1, 20.2, 21.1, 22.3, 28.7

Critical Defense 90 gr went slightly deeper, at 13.24 inches with all five shots in the band, and HST 99 gr went 22.48 inches and did not open. V-Crown put 3 of 5 shots in the band; its two short shots stopped at 11.6 and 11.8 inches.

Through 2 layers of denim from a 2.8 inch Diamondback DB380 the .380 averaged 10.0 inches and 0.54 inches wide at 952 fps. From a Ruger LCP it averaged 14 inches at 882 fps, and expansion passed half an inch.

Remember that the .380 V-Crown is the one caliber without the mechanical jacket lock, one more reason not to push it through hard barriers.

V-Crown .40 S&W: 165 and 180 Grain

V-Crown .40 S&W 165 gr penetrates deep and opens modestly: through heavy clothing from a Glock 27 it averaged 20.18 inches, with 1 of 5 shots in the band. The 180 gr failed to open through denim in two shots.

Load	Gun	fps	Depth	Width	In 12 to 18 in	Every shot, in
V-Crown 165 gr	Glock 27 3.42 in	1,014	20.18 in	0.57 in	1 of 5	17.4, 19.7, 20.4, 21.6, 21.8
Federal HST 180 gr	Glock 27 3.42 in	964	18.50 in	0.72 in	2 of 5	17.3, 17.7, 18.4, 19.4, 19.7
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr	Glock 27 3.42 in	955	14.50 in	0.65 in	5 of 5	13.4, 13.6, 14.3, 14.4, 16.8
Hornady Critical Defense 165 gr	Glock 27 3.42 in	1,075	16.60 in	0.60 in	5 of 5	14.3, 16.5, 16.5, 17.8, 17.9

Our five 165 gr shots went 17.4, 19.7, 20.4, 21.6, 21.8 inches, the deepest of the four .40 loads, and opened to 0.57 inches, the narrowest. Gold Dot 180 gr and Critical Defense 165 gr kept all five shots inside the band, and Gold Dot’s own 165 gr went deeper still, 27.14 inches with 0 of 5 in the band.

Through 2 layers of denim from a 4.25 inch S&W M&P40, the 165 gr averaged 13.5 inches and opened to 0.70 inches at 1,105 fps, with a 5 fps standard deviation.

The 180 gr was in stock at Sig on October 16; the 165 gr was not, apart from a blemished box. From a Glock 22 into bare gel two 180 gr shots ran 939 and 942 fps, went 16.2 inches and opened to 0.53 to 0.69 inches. Through denim the next two went 25.5 inches with no expansion at all, 179.7 gr retained.

Two shots is a small sample, but a clogged hollow point through denim is the failure that matters most. If you carry a .40, Gold Dot 180 gr and Critical Defense 165 gr are the safer picks on our data.

V-Crown .45 ACP: The 200 Grain Problem and the 230 Grain Load

Our worst V-Crown result is the 200 gr .45 ACP. From a Kahr CW45 through heavy clothing it averaged 31.16 inches and finished at 0.45 inches wide, bullet diameter, so it did not expand at all.

Load	Gun	fps	Depth	Width	In 12 to 18 in	Every shot, in
V-Crown 200 gr	Kahr CW45 3.64 in	871	31.16 in	0.45 in	0 of 5	29.1, 31.2, 31.5, 32.0, 32.0
Federal HST 230 gr	Kahr CW45 3.64 in	822	14.02 in	0.85 in	5 of 5	13.1, 13.3, 13.4, 13.6, 16.7
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr	Kahr CW45 3.64 in	752	12.86 in	0.71 in	4 of 5	11.5, 12.4, 12.9, 13.3, 14.2
Hornady Critical Defense 185 gr	Kahr CW45 3.64 in	941	17.62 in	0.59 in	2 of 5	11.2, 12.8, 13.9, 23.6, 26.6

Four of the five 200 gr shots went past 31 inches and two stopped at the 32 inch end of the gel, so the true depth may be greater. Through 2 layers of denim from a Para Commander the same load averaged 16.2 inches at 0.64 inches wide, and in bare gel 13.58 inches. Heavy clothing clogged it.

The good news: Sig no longer lists the 200 gr .45 V-Crown on its store. The current .45 V-Crown is a 230 gr rated 830 fps from a 5 inch test barrel, and we have no gel data on it, so we do not grade it here. Until we do, Federal HST 230 gr is our .45 carry pick.

V-Crown 10mm, .38 Special and the Loads Sig Dropped

Sig lists two 10mm V-Crown loads and a .38 Special +P, but no .357 SIG, .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum V-Crown today. None of the three was in stock at Sig on October 16, 2026.

The 10mm comes in 180 gr at 1,250 fps and 200 gr at 1,050 fps, both from a 5 inch test barrel. In our Glock 29 review the 180 gr V-Crown ran 1,034 fps and grouped 2.4 inches, and our Glock 20 Gen 5 review logged 100 rounds of it with no malfunctions. Neither is a gel result, so we do not rank 10mm V-Crown; our 10mm ammo guide does.

The card above is the 200 gr; dealers showed no clean 180 gr listings when we checked. The .38 Special +P 125 gr is rated 965 fps from a 7.7 inch test barrel and was out of stock. The .357 SIG 125 gr V-Crown, which averaged 14.5 inches through 2 layers of denim at 1,384 fps from a Sig P226E, is gone from Sig’s store, as are the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum hunting loads.

Sig also once listed a .45 ACP 185 gr and a .38 Super +P 125 gr V-Crown. Neither is on its store now, and we hold no test data for either.

From 5.5 inch revolvers those revolver loads did well: the .357 Magnum 125 gr ran 1,456 fps and drove 16 inches, and the .44 Magnum 240 gr ran 1,288 fps and went 19 inches at 0.65 inches wide, both through a deer hide. Buy them only if you find old stock.

Same Bullet, Different Test: Why V-Crown Reviews Disagree

V-Crown reviews disagree because they use different tests. The same 9mm 124 gr load went 9.16 inches in bare gel, 14.0 through 2 layers of denim and 17.34 through four layers of heavy clothing.

Bare gel lets the wide V-Crown cavity open fast and shallow, so bare-gel results look short. Fabric slows the opening, so the bullet keeps going. Heavy clothing is the test closest to a winter jacket, and it is the one our comparison tables use.

The pattern holds in all four calibers we shot in all three media: deeper as the clothing gets heavier. The heavy clothing guns were also the shortest and slowest in all four of those calibers: in 9mm, 1,072 fps against 1,198 bare and 1,208 through denim, which adds depth too. Check the medium before you compare any V-Crown result with ours.

Load	Gun	Barrel	fps	Depth	Width
V-Crown .380 90 gr	CZ-83	3.82 in	977	8.94 in	0.56 in
V-Crown 9mm 124 gr	Glock 22 with a 9mm barrel	5.03 in	1,198	9.16 in	0.72 in
Federal HST 9mm 124 gr	Glock 22 with a 9mm barrel	5.03 in	not logged	13.10 in	0.68 in
V-Crown .40 S&W 165 gr	Sig P226	4.4 in	1,066	12.80 in	0.73 in
Federal HST .40 S&W 165 gr	Sig P226	4.4 in	not logged	16.72 in	0.70 in
V-Crown .45 ACP 200 gr	Springfield XDm-45	4.5 in	917	13.58 in	0.73 in
Federal HST .45 ACP 230 gr	Springfield XDm-45	4.5 in	not logged	14.18 in	0.87 in

Barrel Length vs Velocity

Short barrels cost V-Crown muzzle velocity, but less than you might think. The 9mm 124 gr ran 1,072 fps from a 3.5 inch M&P9c, 93 fps under its 1,165 fps box speed from a 4 inch test barrel.

Load	Gun	Barrel	fps
9mm 124 gr	S&W M&P9c	3.5 in	1,072
9mm 124 gr	Browning Hi Power	4.6 in	1,208
9mm 124 gr	Glock 22 with a 9mm conversion barrel	5.03 in	1,198
365 9mm 115 gr	Sig P365	3.1 in	1,070
.380 90 gr	Diamondback DB380	2.8 in	952
.380 90 gr	Glock 42	3.25 in	861
.380 90 gr	CZ-83	3.82 in	977
.40 165 gr	Glock 27	3.42 in	1,014
.40 165 gr	S&W M&P40	4.25 in	1,105
.40 165 gr	Sig P226	4.4 in	1,066
.45 200 gr	Kahr CW45	3.64 in	871
.45 200 gr	Para Commander	4.25 in	933
.45 200 gr	Springfield XDm-45	4.5 in	917

Barrel length is not the whole story. Our 2.8 inch DB380 ran the .380 91 fps faster than our 3.25 inch Glock 42, so lot and gun matter as much as an inch of barrel. The 1,165 fps box figure for 9mm 124 gr is also lower than the 1,189 fps Sig printed at launch.

V-Crown vs HST, Gold Dot and Critical Defense

Across four calibers on the same heavy clothing test, V-Crown put seven of twenty shots in the 12 to 18 inch band. Critical Defense put sixteen, Gold Dot eleven and HST nine.

That count hides the caliber story: V-Crown put more shots in the band than HST and Gold Dot in .380 and 9mm, then lost the .40 and .45 counts. In 9mm, V-Crown, HST and Gold Dot all averaged 17.3 to 18.3 inches.

On width, V-Crown 9mm 124 gr opened to 0.52 inches, short of HST 124 gr at 0.61 and Gold Dot 124 gr at 0.54. Our Federal HST review, Speer Gold Dot review and Hornady Critical Defense review carry every shot of each rival, and the figures here match them.

For the head-to-head between the two duty loads, read HST vs Gold Dot, and for Hornady against Federal as brands, see Hornady vs Federal. Critical Duty, PDX1 Defender and Ranger T-Series cover the other defensive lines in this series.

We have no same-test Hornady XTP data, so V-Crown vs XTP is not ranked here.

Rival card for comparison, not V-Crown: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

Rival card for comparison, not V-Crown: Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124 gr.

Rival card for comparison, not V-Crown: Hornady Critical Defense 9mm 115 gr.

Feeding, Accuracy and Known Problems

V-Crown fed well in most of our guns: two failures to feed in our logs, both .380, in a Diamondback DB380 and a Glock 42. Its wide mouth looks like a Hydra-Shok, so test it in your pistol.

In our first V-Crown session we fired 20 rounds per caliber in four pistols with no feeding problems. The 365 9mm ran 50 rounds over the chronograph from a P365 and a Glock 19X without a hiccup, and our Glock 42 review logged the one Glock 42 failure to feed.

Every V-Crown group in our test logs

Load	Pistol	Barrel	Distance	Groups	Size
V-Crown .380 90 gr	CZ-83	3.82 in	15 yd	one 10-shot group	2.4 in
V-Crown .380 90 gr	Diamondback DB380	2.8 in	15 yd	five 5-shot groups, average	2.76 in
V-Crown 9mm 124 gr	Glock 22 with a 9mm conversion barrel	5.03 in	15 yd	one 10-shot group	3.1 in
V-Crown 9mm 124 gr	Browning Hi Power	4.6 in	25 yd	five 5-shot groups, average	2.13 in
V-Crown 9mm 147 gr	Sig P226 SAO	not logged	25 yd	5-shot groups, average	1.97 in
V-Crown 9mm 147 gr	Sig P229 Legion	not logged	25 yd	5-shot groups, average	1.602 in
365 V-Crown 9mm 115 gr	Sig P365	3.1 in	15 yd	10-shot groups, average	1.5 in
365 V-Crown 9mm 115 gr	Glock 19X	not logged	15 yd	10-shot groups, average	1 in
V-Crown .357 SIG 125 gr	Sig P226E	4.4 in	25 yd	five 5-shot groups, average	1.92 in
V-Crown .40 S&W 165 gr	Sig P226	4.4 in	15 yd	one 10-shot group	2.2 in
V-Crown .40 S&W 165 gr	S&W M&P40	4.25 in	25 yd	five 5-shot groups, average	2.57 in
V-Crown .45 ACP 200 gr	Springfield XDm-45	4.5 in	15 yd	one 10-shot group	1.6 in
V-Crown .45 ACP 200 gr	Para Commander	4.25 in	25 yd	five 5-shot groups, average	1.52 in
365 V-Crown 9mm 115 gr	Sig P365	3.1 in	25 yd	10-shot groups, average	2.75 in
365 V-Crown 9mm 115 gr	Glock 19X	not logged	25 yd	10-shot groups, average	2 in
V-Crown 10mm 180 gr	Glock 29	3.78 in	15 yd	three 5-shot groups, average	2.4 in
V-Crown 9mm 124 gr	Sig P210 US Target	not logged	25 yd	best of our P210 groups, shot count not logged	0.49 in

At 25 yards our five-shot averages ran from 1.52 to 2.57 inches across six pistols, and our best single V-Crown group is 0.49 inches at 25 yards with the 124 gr from a Sig P210 US Target; see our Sig P210 review. V-Crown was accurate in every service pistol we shot it from.

Other known problems: stock is patchy at Sig itself, the M17 is +P and the 365 9mm clogged once through leather and heavy denim. Our P365 review and P365 XL review pages list V-Crown 124 gr among the loads that ran in those pistols.

Which V-Crown Load for Which Carry Gun

Match the load to the barrel. For most 9mm carry pistols the 124 gr is the pick; for micro 9mm pistols try the 365 115 gr; for pocket .380s the 90 gr is a strong choice.

• Sig P365, P365 XL and other micro 9mm pistols: 365 V-Crown 9mm 115 gr, which beat its box from a P365, or the 124 gr. See our P365 review.
• Glock 19, M&P9c and other compact 9mm pistols: V-Crown 124 gr, 17.34 inches through heavy clothing from a 3.5 inch barrel.
• Sig P320 and M17 owners: Sig M17 ammo, the +P 124 gr, if your pistol is +P rated, as Sig says. See our P320 review.
• Glock 42, LCP and pocket .380 pistols: V-Crown 90 gr or 365 .380, both rated 980 fps by Sig. Read our .380 ammo guide.
• .45 ACP pistols: skip V-Crown until we test the 230 gr; carry a .45 load from our guide.

Sig Sauer V-Crown Variants

These are the V-Crown loads we would shortlist, with Sig’s box speed and box count. We leave out the .40 and .45 loads after their gel results and the 10mm, which we have not gel tested.

Who Should NOT Buy V-Crown

V-Crown is a sound 9mm and .380 carry load at a fair price. It is the wrong buy for four kinds of shooter, and each of them has a better choice on our site.

• .45 ACP carriers. Our 200 gr V-Crown did not open through heavy clothing, and we have no data on the 230 gr; carry Federal HST 230 gr.
• .40 S&W carriers who want proven expansion. The 180 gr did not open through denim in two shots; Speer Gold Dot 180 gr kept all five shots in the band.
• Anyone who shoots through car glass or doors. V-Crown is not bonded, and Sig said in 2016 that a jacketed hollow point suits jobs where glass is not a requirement; look at Hornady Critical Duty.
• Buyers who need a box this week from Sig. Nine of fourteen V-Crown loads were out of stock at Sig, and more stores carried Critical Defense 9mm than V-Crown 9mm 124 gr on our cards; see our Critical Defense review.

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Price and Where to Buy

Per round, V-Crown 9mm cost less than HST, Gold Dot and Critical Defense on our cards on October 16, 2026. That price gap is the strongest reason to buy V-Crown in 9mm.

Prices on the cards update from our dealers, and we print none in this review. Most V-Crown comes in 20-round boxes; the .40 165 gr and 180 gr and the 9mm 115 gr Competition also come in 50s, and Sig sells the 9mm 124 gr only in 50s, though dealers still list 20s.

For bulk practice ammo, the 9mm rail near the top of this page shows larger packs from several stores, and our ammo buying guide compares box and bulk buying. Our American Eagle review covers a range FMJ to practice with.

Sig Sauer V-Crown Review: The Verdict

V-Crown is a good 9mm and .380 carry load, cheaper per round in 9mm than HST, Gold Dot and Critical Defense. The .40 165 and 147 gr ran deep; the .40 180 and .45 200 did not open in fabric.

Is Sig V-Crown good? In 9mm and .380, yes: through heavy clothing the 124 gr averaged 17.34 inches and the 90 gr 12.84, and both opened. Buy the 9mm 124 gr. It is not bonded, so it is a carry load, not a barrier load.

Does Sig still make V-Crown? Yes. Sig sells fourteen handgun V-Crown loads on its store, and stock is the problem, not the line.

In a May 2016 press release Sig announced it had “finalized plans to relocate its ammunition manufacturing operation from Eubank, Kentucky to a permanent site in Jacksonville, Arkansas”.

Our 9mm ammo guide and defensive ammo guide rank V-Crown against the other defensive loads we test, and this Sig V-Crown review will add the 230 gr .45 when we have it.

If you want the deepest data on a rival, start with our HST review, and for small guns see our concealed carry ammo guide and .38 Special ammo guide.

Sig’s own brand page covers the company and its pistols.

Sig V-Crown FAQ

Short answers, from our data and Sig’s own pages.