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Old 01-18-2010, 04:06 PM
38-44HD45 38-44HD45 is offline
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Lubbock, TX, US
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Dave, to be clear, when I use the term "overpenetration," I am talking about a bullet passing completely through the target, so I think we're roughly on the same page there. And for hunting purposes, where I'm not concerned about criminal or civil consequences that might land someone in the courthouse, I agree that two bleeding holes are better than one. However, in the self-defense context, I don't want to see pass-through. I'm far less concerned about energy transfer than I am about legal ramifications, although energy transfer is a good thing, and is very real, sensationalist writings notwithstanding.

In a recent case in which I was hired as an expert witness, Good Guy shot Bad Guy 10 times with 124 gr. 9mm ball, basically peeling BG off GG's friend, who was getting the hell beaten out of him by BG, who was on probation for aggravated assault at the time. Every round penetrated through-and-through, including a few that went diagonally through BG's torso from high-shoulder level to low abdomen. (Two bullets entered BG's quadriceps muscles after exiting the abdomen, so they were the only ones that stayed anywhere in his body.) One bullet made it through to cause a wound to GG's friend's calf muscle and stopped under the skin on top of his foot. BG was DRT. GG was no-billed by the grand jury. "Friend" then sued GG, whose lawyer hired me. Rare situation, to be sure, but GG's insurance carrier paid a substantial sum to settle the case (against the advice of both GG's lawyer and yours truly). Food for thought. *

While I've not shot people to make comparisons, the forensic pathologists whose work I've seen will tell you that flat-point jacketed ammo (at least, if we're talking about truncated cones and not full wadcutters) is little to no different from round nose ball, in terms of penetration or wound channel ballistics, just as they will tell you that it is usually impossible to tell the difference between the wound paths left by 9mm from .40 from .45. Erich has handled somewhere north of 200 shooting cases and works with pathologists regularly, and they seem to be consistent on the subject. While I'd agree that some writers, both popular and ad copy types, may have overblown "energy transfer," I sure want any bullets I might have to launch at a goblin to stay inside said goblin, unless I know for sure that no non-goblins are behind him.

*For what it's worth, this shooting occurred just a few months too early, before Chapter 83 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code became effective. Our boy would have been at least arguably immune from civil suit after Chapter 83 came into effect.

Last edited by 38-44HD45; 01-18-2010 at 04:45 PM.
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