I really hate to jump on the bandwagon, but I will add my two cents. I learned to shoot a handgun with the philosophy that only hits count, so my focus was to place my shots on target. I was taught by my long time gunsmith that round nose ammo pushes away tissue, not punching a clean wound channel, and most hollow points are shaped to replicate some type of round nose. One of the long time lessons that I learned is that wadcutters and semi wadcutters punch nice holes that bleed freely. In my readings in a quest to prepare for handgun hunting, I learned that the flatter the bullet nose (metplat), the greater amount of shock that is inflicted.

That being said, I want incapacitation to occur as quickly as possible if I am forced to fire a defensive shot! New technology is not necessarily better. Given my druthers, I would prefer a unique, stout load. In 45, I would prefer a 185gr or 200gr FMJSWC pushed at about 825 fps for a 45. In 38 Special or 357 Magnum, I would love to see Speer resurrect it's 146gr and 160gr half jacketed HPSWC, pushing the 38 Special at about 850 fps, and the 357 at about 1150 fps. For the 9mm, I have yet to see a commercial SWC type bullet, so I would have my reservations.

My first priority is reliable functioning, followed very closely by shot placement. Then, I want a round that will make whomever I am forced to defend myself from to bleed profusely and be incapacitated by shock. Without effective bullets, I would rather score 7 hits with 32 ACP FMJ than 6 near misses with 44 Magnum JHPs!

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Judge control not gun control!