Quote:
Originally Posted by ZGrand
In my uninformed opinion, wadcutters are intended for making nice round holes in practice targets. For self defense, I prefer a good jacketed hollow point. That said, I know a lot of folks say wadcutters are just fine for self defense. Thankfully, I have no practical experience either way.
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I agree that expanding bullets are better as long as:
1 - The bullet actually does expand as intended.
2 - After expanding it has enough energy for adequate penetration.
Once you get to 9mm power levels or higher most good HP ammo can do this. At 38 Special/380 power levels or less most cartridges do not. The bullets either fail to expand or fail to have adequate penetration if they do expand. Choosing a wadcutter that might create a little bigger wound channel and penetrates well isn't a poor choice for someone that cannot or does not want to use a more powerful cartridge. As long as I am able I am going to keep using something more powerful than a regular pressure 38.
Edited to add: I do not consider wadcutters loaded up to +P or higher power levels "real" wadcutters. Wadcutter ammo should be accurate, low recoil and accurate. Loading them up to high power levels defeats their purpose.