Especially the 45 ACP FMJ FP and 40 FMJ FP don't penetrate as far as does 9mm ball and FMJ TC.
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Range verses self defense ammunition
- Thread starter drcotlar
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Especially the 45 ACP FMJ FP and 40 FMJ FP don't penetrate as far as does 9mm ball and FMJ TC.
I How about the flat nose and fmj guys study the info found below in your favorite cartridge and decide what might be a better load that might save your life quicker than a non-expanding bullet . design .
There are cartridges I will not carry do to bullet designs but as an old handgun hunter you can learn when a hard cast heavy bullet for a cartridge option and when a modern HP bullet design is simply better by being able to cause far more internal damage .
Over the years many people shot by fmj ammo lived but you as should know on a skinny drugged up mutt a fmj bullet can pass thru and perhaps hit some innocent person behind the bad guy .
Today I carry ether heavy bullet weight for cartridge in a standard pressure 180gr HST or Ranger T-series 40sw but that might be changing to 147gr or 150gr hst 9mm as the years by and a 15 to 17 round pistol .
Study the info linked below and perhaps changes some minds .
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/
There are cartridges I will not carry do to bullet designs but as an old handgun hunter you can learn when a hard cast heavy bullet for a cartridge option and when a modern HP bullet design is simply better by being able to cause far more internal damage .
Over the years many people shot by fmj ammo lived but you as should know on a skinny drugged up mutt a fmj bullet can pass thru and perhaps hit some innocent person behind the bad guy .
Today I carry ether heavy bullet weight for cartridge in a standard pressure 180gr HST or Ranger T-series 40sw but that might be changing to 147gr or 150gr hst 9mm as the years by and a 15 to 17 round pistol .
Study the info linked below and perhaps changes some minds .
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/
No. The data doesn't change my mind. I'm also aware of both 40 and 9mm LE JHP rounds that penetrated perpetrators and struck civilians within the last few years.
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It depends on the bullet used. Range ammo typically uses a round-nose FMJ. In 9x19, range ammo velocity is often 50-100 fps slower than defensive ammo in the same bullet weight, so it's not really that far off because it would cause functioning problems going any slower (and sometimes does anyway in some guns). It's using the FMJ bullet that causes overpenetration. Using a bullet that expands at that velocity will reduce penetration.
I’m not a .32 or .380 guy but if I was ccw’ing either of those calibers I’d opt for “range” stuff as I value penetration over expansion for those. I pocket carried a P32 a few times and always had 73-gr FMJ Fiocchi in it as it fed reliably and Fiocchi seemed to have slightly higher velocities than most other .32 ammo.
Wise and judicious advice.
AJ
US Veteran
I carry a Model 30-1 that has had the chambers reamed out to .32 H&R Magnum. I carry 100 grain wadcutters with 3.0 grains of Bullseye.
E= mc squared you want the bullet to expand and stay in the body.
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Even good hollow point ammo needs velocity to expand well. An under powered round that does not expand will penetrate more than the same bullet driven fast enough to expand.
This is particularly true with heavy for caliber bullets like 147 grain in 9mm. Looking at the various gel and meat target tests expansion is often iffy if they are launched out of a short barrel or the ammo is not loaded on the hot side. If you want them to expand 158 grain hollow points need to be loaded in 357 Magnum ammo, not 38 Specials.
That's something else I don't believe. If you've had to seal sucking chest wounds on open thorax trauma victims you'd see how truly incapacitated they are when the puncture is all the way through (regardless of what made the penetration). People leaking air from the lungs generally aren't too threatening, IME.
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