Originally Posted by bubbatime
How do you think a district attorney is going to frame that up for a jury of your peers? "The defendant couldn't just use regular ammo. No, he modified his ammo to be super deadly exploding killer bullets."
Originally Posted by Shannow
.......If you are modifying factoryammo for self defence, then you are acting with intent...which doesn't look good.
I hear this argued a lot. Especially about using reloads / handloads for self defense. While it sounds like a plausible argument, that a prosecutor might try to pick up on, in order to make someone look bad. (Mostly if there isn't anything else on the table that would). Can anyone site an actual case where a defendant in a self defense shooting trial was actually convicted because of using handloads, or "modified ammunition"? Or even having it be a contributing factor?
I'm not saying it never happened. But if it has, I've never seen, read, or heard of it. And this topic comes up constantly on self defense forums every day. It's a non logical argument, because any defense attorney could either argue himself, or else bring in someone well versed on the subject, and explain the whole theory away in 5 minutes by applying common sense.
Anyone who handloads buys their bullets from the same outfits that make the exact same bullets that go into most all modern self defense ammunition. It quickly becomes a non issue from a lethality standpoint over who assembles the rounds. Besides, most handloading manuals published today are watered down to the point factory "+P" self defense ammunition is stronger. Especially when you factor in the powder the ammo makers use. Which is a canister grade that is custom tuned for low flash, and better short barreled performance. Handloaders can't even purchase the stuff if they so desired.
And as far as, "modifying ammo". What could some clown do with a file and a drill in his garage, that would out perform what a multi million dollar ammunition manufacturer like Winchester or Hornady can produce? With a room full of ballistic engineers, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of laboratory grade test equipment? The whole argument is preposterous.
I'm not suggesting to use reloads. In fact, I selected my self defense ammo by asking a Phoenix cop what their department uses..... Which at the time were Speer Gold Dots. So that's what I keep my self defense handguns loaded with.