Carry ammo. Factory or Handloads?

I would NEVER carry handloads for self defense. It's not about accuracy or dependability, it's about liability.

You were in fear for your life and just shot Johnny Dirtbag who was trying to car-jack you at knife point. You just winged him and now a year later he is on trial. (Yeah, I know, the wheels of justice have fallen off the axle). Now some public defender that WE are paying for gets you on the stand and accuses you of "maiming" the defendant with your home-made-nuclear-tipped-poison-dipped-mega-magnum-man-killers that you made in the basement while watching Dirty Harry.

Use one of the reputable manufacturers that has the word "DEFENSE" anywhere on the box. Critical Defense, Home Defense, whatever.

IMHO
 
To me this is a silly argument. Does anyone, anywhere have real court records that show a shooter was ever convicted due to his/her choice of hand-loaded ammunition?
My first reaction to an active shooter situation is, if at all possible get out of there...if it becomes necessary for me to engage then whatever is in my gun at the time is what I use. Again, avoidance is my first reaction but my ability to shoot what I am familiar with in my gun is what I am most comfortable with and I will use it to defeat the immediate threat if necessary. nuff said!
 
Walkingwolf said:
But at the end of the day, it is still my business how I legally carry a gun. Plus it is none of my business how others legally carry.
Click to expand...

100 percent agree with you.

I am not reading this thread as "this is what you need to do", I am reading it the same as when my lawyer, shooting at a steel target in my back yard, asked me if I made my own SD ammo, and shared her concerns with me.

FWIW, I don't think her CONCERN is a conviction in a justifiable situation. Rather its: use SB and have a 20 minute interview or use HL and have an hour interview and your lawyer has two one hour conversations with authorities and you spend two hours talking to your lawyer.
 
Last edited:
zonker5 said:
The issue is not in the criminal case of justified or not, it is in the civil case that may follow where a lawyer make make the claim of excessive strength ammo.
Click to expand...

This is along the lines of what I was going to say. Never underestimate a lawyer to screw things up. I was told a story by an old timer when he was on the street. They used to load their own ammo for patrol. One of the guys got the great idea to load his HB wadcutter with the hollow side out. got into a struggle with a bad guy and ended up shooting him in the chest. Blew up the bad guys heart. He ended up getting some grief about it and from then on they were ordered to reload hollow base down.

Not worth the legal issues. You might even have an issue between those labeled as hunting rounds and self defense rounds that are almost the same. I have purchased CorBon ammo for my 357 that is just about the same as hunting rounds. I have purchased the "Hunting" rounds because they are cheaper. I am sure I will have to deal with that should the occasion arise.:(
 
TomkinsSP said:
100 percent agree with you.

I am not reading this thread as "this is what you need to do", I am reading it the same as when my lawyer, shooting at a steel target in my back yard, asked me if I made my own SD ammo, and shared her concerns with me.

FWIW, I don't think her CONCERN is a conviction in a justifiable situation. Rather its: use SB and have a 20 minute interview or use HL and have an hour interview and your lawyer has two one hour conversations with authorities and you spend two hours talking to your lawyer.
Click to expand...

Unless in a liberal city, or state that just does not usually happen. Charlotte, NC is a liberal city in our state, and the mother demanded that the Pizza Hut employee be charged because he was not supposed to be carrying at work. The normally liberal SA ignored her, no charges filed.

Even in extreme blue states when a person is justified they are justified even when they are breaking another law. Such as a felon with a firearm under the car seat. A felon in possession is a felony in both Illinois, and federal. At the time a gun under a car seat was illegal also, IL had no permit at the time.

Numerous times we have threads about a round in the pipe, but it is a point brought up several times by prosecutors. They tried it in the Zimmerman case. As for the ballistic testing that will only happen in the most high profile cases. The state is not going to waste money for a clearly justified case.

Of course you are going to get questioned by the police, it doesn't matter what you carry. If you are in a shooting you can count on it.

IMO people worry too much about what is not a problem instead of worrying about how to stay out of trouble. Don't play the what can I get away with game, but be sure you have absolutely no choice but to use deadly force to protect your family, or yourself. That means retreating if you can, even if the law does not require it. Even if the law says it is OK to protect a third party with deadly force I will not do it. I do not carry to play hero.

Common sense it the most important aspect of carry, not caliber, not gun type, not type of ammo. A person will be judged on whether they reasonably believed the use of deadly force was absolutely necessary.

As for lawsuits in most red states that is not an option in justified shootings. Use of force laws usually have protections for the defender when they are justified. A law suit may be filed but it ain't going anywhere. That is why Zimmerman has not been sued. The law in Florida is clear.
 
Muss Muggins said:
I'm gonna guess that most replies will be in support of factory ammo for defense, me included. I like Hornady Critical Duty/Defense for my carry pistols. . . .
Click to expand...
I wonder whether percentage favoring one ammunition or the other changes with change of handgun type - that is, would revolver EDC-ers be more likely to be comfortable with carrying their handloads than those preferring semiautomatics?
 
Naphtali said:
I wonder whether percentage favoring one ammunition or the other changes with change of handgun type - that is, would revolver EDC-ers be more likely to be comfortable with carrying their handloads than those preferring semiautomatics?
Click to expand...

Not sure, I don't know of any formal studies. What I have noticed is that the people who carry handloads are older, and long time hand loaders. They are not the type of people to go looking for trouble, but want hand tailored ammo if they do find trouble. Most, myself included will go out of our way to avoid trouble. Most are not heroes, and will not be risking their own hide to protect a stranger. This is just my observation from other boards.

Boards with a lot of younger LEOS are going to be very vocal against hand loads. The old time LEOS in the August of their lives have a different outlook on life, and when to stick your nose in, and when not to. We also tend not to care what others think, and will do what we want legally no matter how much those that are against stomp their feet.
 
I will let my last statement stand alone. This is not and should never be a legal discussion. Debating justifiable shootings, or criminal or even civil prosecutions is NOT THE ISSUE. You can use any kind of ammunition and get arrested for excessive use of force - if it was, you lose. If it wasn't, it was justified, and you win. The weapon is irrelevant as is the ammunition it is stoked with. Don't listen to idiotic lawyers or cops who tell you something different. The world is chock full of opinions. The case law is a lot less chock full.

Walkingwolf's little tirade up above is directly on point. Do the best you can to stay out of trouble and you won't have to worry about your equipment.

But when the chips are down and you have to use your gun you want two things to be true (never mind being right; that's a different issue - we are discussing equipment):

1. Reliability.
2. Reliability.

Item 1 covers your gun. Item 2 covers your ammunition. I don't care how good your handloads are, factory loads are infinitely more reliable. Perfection? Maybe not. But if the factory can make an error what makes your ammunition perfect?
 
It depends on the loader. Factory is loaded mostly by a machine, machines make errors just like people. There have been many kabooms with factory ammo. Ammo like 45 acp is low pressure brass, a double charge spells kaboom. It is the reason I do not use progressive presses, single stage, and each process is done one process at a time. Plus every charge is weighed every case inspected. I have never had a reload not go boom, or perform within 25fps deviation. I have had factory ammo squib, or an extra loud boom. Plus my hand loads are constant. Bullets are separated by weight, cases the same. That adds up to accuracy, and that is one of the most important factors in a shooting.

It is personal choice, that should not be made lightly. Usually only very experienced loaders carry their own loads. I will not use any body else's handloads, and I am not to wild about any factory ammo. 22lr is about the only factory ammo I use. Heck after a couple of rounds of primers loaded backwards was enough for me to know that quality control in factories is not what it used to be.
 
Last edited:
Naphtali said:
I wonder whether percentage favoring one ammunition or the other changes with change of handgun type - that is, would revolver EDC-ers be more likely to be comfortable with carrying their handloads than those preferring semiautomatics?
Click to expand...

(.38 special) When I started handloading my loads were Wolf or lower quality. A dozen years later I would trust them over Federal, Remington, Olin, S&B, Magtec, GFL,.But I carry Buffalo Bore.

Two reasons: Tim mixes some sort of magic fairy dust into his powder to get incredibly low SDs, and even at $5 a round (which its NOT), its worth a one time investment (since I don't go around shooting anyone) of $75 to avoid the tiny, tiny chance that home-made will cause the smallest legal issue.
 
Granted, I have only been hand loading for a couple of years. Have I ever loaded a squib? Once. Do I carry factory rounds? Yes. Also, MORE deadly? What is that? You kill him and he turns into a zombie and you kill him again?
 
while i do not carry hand loads ,I carry some remanufactured ammo. there is a small ammo company here and there load for 38 special has become my go to for revolver. he has business license ,atf 06 license
and insurance
 
I oppose the use of home loads for carry for legal reasons. Most people are not shooters. Most shooters are not loaders. It would not take much for a warped plaintiff's lawyer or even a DA who hates guns to make you out as some sort of psych who was just ITCHING to try out his home brew on some guy, deserving or not. Why put one extra possible problem into the mix. Plus commercial ammo has a known dispersal pattern. You can PROVE how far away you were from the bad guy (within reason) when you fired by the powder dispersal on his clothing. This is not reliable with unknown hand loads that may not even be the same from one to the next in the same batch. Why buy possible trouble?
 
It is legal to carry hand loads in all 50 states. NJ only limits hollow point use. Factory ammo fans will just have to get over it. All the mumbo jumbo they put out has no basis at all in fact.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
My new concealed-carry trio
Replies
8
Views
515
Tom Garrett
T
Deke Thornton
  • Locked
Bodyguard 2.0 sights / ammo questions
2 3
Replies
41
Views
2K
Tom S.
Tom S.
D
Looking to get educated on non-appendix IWB holsters
2
Replies
26
Views
822
Norton 750
Norton 750
P
S&W UC 32 H&R Magnum Light Strike with Lost River Ammo Only…anyone else?
Replies
9
Views
719
Riposte1
R
B
Just shot my used BG 2.0 for the first time
Replies
1
Views
255
Cphobes
Cphobes

Latest posts

Back
Top