Originally Posted By: hi-miler
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I'm actually quite shocked at some of the recommendations in this thread. They could get someone killed.
Great last line!
I carry the high velocity totally frangible soft points knowing full well they won't penetrate much if the perp is wearing more than a tee shirt. Here in Dallas a policeman shot a dog with a Magsafe (so the story goes) and it just ran off. No the dog silly! Who knows, might be an urban legend, but it does represent the confidence most have in this family of bullets not being able to penetrate much. I was in a situation where I worked right behind the county hospital, and had a lot of people around but still had the need for self protection.
All this to say, you have to know the characteristics of what it is that you carry, both firearm and bullets.
Kind of the point of beginning this thread.
Thanks Chevofreak
Steve
If you rely on it just hurting them enough to scare them off, I really hope you don't come up against someone who is on PCP. About the only way to stop someone who is on PCP is to empty their body of blood, or destroy their central nervous system. They'll keep fighting right up until their body is physically incapable of doing so.
I want a round that is going to do the most damage possible in a given caliber, while not overpenetrating. Hollowpoints that expand as designed will usually not pass completely through a human body. Even if they penetrate all muscle and bone, they often are stopped by the elasticity of the skin on the other side.
Modern stuff like the HST from Federal and Ranger T from Winchester are probably the best bullets currently available. They're designed to have controlled expansion and predictable penetration. In all calibers tested, the bullets penetrated just a couple inches beyond the FBI's requirements. That shows just how well they're designing the bullets today. They're designed to work at the velocity they're driven at, and achieve similar results in all calibers. That is why 9mm is now quite an effective man-stopper, right up there with .40S&W and .45ACP.