Originally posted by BugBeard:
................. Related to this, even if it doesn't expand reliably, is the power still worth the tradeoff?
One wonders if the stopping power would be greater on a lighter load that expands vs one that is hotter but doesn't...
Reliable expansion for certain specific velocity ranges is the way we count on getting just the right penetration depth and maximum wound chanel for self defense against human assailants.
The idea is to get 12" of penetration (depending on who is talking and why) and not so much more that the bullet will over penetrate. That's because of considerations of bystanders. If it were not for concerns about others, there would be no concern about over penetration.
If the bullet doesn't expand, there will be a perfect .357 diameter hole through the person being shot. Under circumstances having no bystanders, why not exit the target? At least there would be a nicer blood trail to follow - just like archery. Come to think of it - carrying non-expanding ammo is just like going hunting with an arrow with a target tip on it, isn't it? Why would you do such a thing unless you had a full 1" diameter arrow to fire.
Rediculous!
Expansion stops the bullet in time to not exit the target and hit bystanders. PROPER expansion assures that it all happens within the depth of the human torso in most cases. Proper expansion assures us that there is the widest possible hole punched in the most vulnerable areas of the target.
Under ideal circumstances - a .357 bullet becomes a .65 bullet sometime before it reaches the supposedly ideal 12".
The "hotter" the ammo, the sooner the bullet should reach .65 (or whatever) to assure that the bullet slows enough to not exit the body at the end of it's swath of damage.
Other than a little bit of damage from a TEMPORARY wound chanel - there is
**** VIRTUALLY NO MORE STOPPING POWER *******
with a bullet fire at very fast velocities and one fired slower. If neither bullet expands properly, both will cut a swath exactly .357 diameter through the victim. Perhaps the lower velocity round would not exit the body like the hotter round - but then, it probably would not reach the vital nervous system related targets near the back of the victim either.
Assuming they both do reach at least deep enough to do some damage back there, you have your choice - I suppose. You can have a .357 hole all the way through the back side of the target with a nice blood trail to follow. Or you can have a .357 hole most of the way through with a bullet left in the victim to cause blood poisoning somewhere in the future and kill him that way.
Long post - and that aint the half of it!
***(It is true that rifle velocities can cause significant damage upon impact and temporary wound chanels can become in reality true wound chanels - but not so with typical handgun velocities. It is also true that some fragmentation of handgun bullets can cause true damage at the beginning of the swath as well.)
Bottom line = get a .357 bullet that expands to around .65 or so (some expand more than others) and stops in about 12" or so - at the speed your particular powder charge will be pushing it. Barrel length will allow for more or less velocity and the bullet choice will be chosen accordingly.
Under those circumstances, why get kicked any more than necessary to do that? Target acquisition will be better with a lower velocity choice. Even assuming proper expansion of any recoil level round chosen - increased temporary wound chanel damage will be a very poor trade off for loss of accuracy in bullet placement IMO.
