Well, this has been one of those all-too-seldom thread topics which I found myself wanting to read to the end.
Being of an age where some of the stuff mentioned was actually contemporary to me, once upon a time, probably helped make it interesting ... but, so too did some of the experiences, observations and comments of gentlemen of a loosely, ahem, similar age group.
Yes, there were some mistakes made throughout the years when it came to what we expected duty ammo to be able to accomplish under a variety of circumstances, fired from both short and long belt guns.
Personally, I've always thought that more opportunities for mistakes, misconceptions and over-optimistic expectations resulted from the training philosophies and practices of the day.
One of the reasons we can still buy the light, middle & heavy bullet weight loads in a variety of calibers is that people are still willing to use all of them, and for reasons that may vary quite a bit.
The Winchester 110gr .38 Spl +P+ Treasury Load? I remember when a close friend was required to use it in his M60 in the late 70's when he was working for the CHP. His M60 was inspected and maintained by the agency, so he used what they gave (and told him) to use and called it a day. He qualified and carried issued .357 Magnum 125gr JHP's, as well as the .38 Spl 110gr +P+ loads, depending on which field office he was assigned to, and whatever revolver/duty ammunition they had in-stock at any given time. He worried about other things over which he actually had some control from one day to the next.
FWIW, I remember when we were talking back about the time of his retirement, and just prior to mine, comparing observations from our additional responsibilities as firearms trainers for our respective agencies. At one point he said something that echoed what another person from that agency was once quoted to have said, which is that the standard 180gr JHP .40 that had been in-service since about '90 had actually acquired a better track record of street effectiveness in stopping threats than even the 125gr Magnum load had done for them in previous times (or the 110gr +P+ load). Maybe some training changes helped things along? Dunno. History is ... history, and always subject to revision and interpretation, right?
All well, it's still a handgun, and not all of us have the ability to indulge our personal preferences, desires or whims.
I can say that I was once in the right place at the right time to help dispose of 20-odd cases of the 110gr +P+ load (not from my friend's agency) that had been recycled out of service and was set aside for disposal. It made for some fine shooting from an early M640 (one of those marked as being rated for +P+ loads in the frame window), and I got in a lot of training & practice time helping dispose of it.
I actually came across 2 or 3 boxes of that W-W 110gr +P+ load, unexpectedly, a while back. I'll probably get around to shooting it someday.
I tend to carry one or another of the +P loads in bullet weights of 125gr, 130gr, 135gr or 158gr in my own J's nowadays. (I use some standard pressure 110's in a pristine 37-2, though.)
I tend to worry more about my accuracy and ability to try and make rapid, effective hits than I do any specific combination of penetration/expansion. Accurate, well-placed hits are optimal ... and if an attacker's intervening limb (arm) is in the way, or the 'wrong' angle of a shoulder capsule gets in the way, or too much heavy clothing, auto glass, etc?
Well, that's why I load all 5 cylinder charge holes in my J's, and practice making 'precision/aimed' shots under the most demanding conditions I can safely create on our training range (or which a current qual course-of-fire may throw at me, since I'm not primarily responsible for devising all of them anymore
).
I guess you could say I worry more about Mindset & Skillset than I do any particular ammo nowadays. I figure that just about the time I feel I've finally the "best answer" to the ammo question, someone will either change the rules, they'll change ammo vendors, the OTC market will stop having it available, or something else will toss my self-satisfied feeling into a cocked hat.
Things
happen. We
deal with we're facing and try not to resort to useless whining or complaining. (Hopefully, anyway.)
Stay well guys.