I'm staying away from all of them.
At least, not until some serious testing is done on them beyond what has been done. Especially testing that drapes clothing (heavy denim, leather jackets) over the ballistic media. Because most people don't run around nekkid when they are looking to harm folks, not unless they're rock-solid-batshit crazy.
I'm not sure if these new bullets are Bede-grade snake-oil or not.
But what I do know is this: I'm not going to be one of the ones trying them out. My opinion is that in a weapon where you need it to go "bang" to stop someone from doing harm to you or your loved ones, this is what I do:
In guns that have modern police-grade ammo available (9mm, .40, .357 SIg, .45 ACP), use what the cops use, if you can get it. Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, Federal Hydrashok, Remington Golden Saber. Buffalo Bore makes some good stuff for both revolvers and automatics. For .38s, the FBI's last revolver load (158gr LSWCHP +P) is good. .357 magnum, 125grn JHPs are a proven fight-stopper. Other calibers with some power, .41/.44 magnum, you can find stuff that is both effective and doesn't have punishing recoil.
Smaller, I don't know. There is lots of discussion as to whether a .380 hollowpoint will function (ie, open up) or whether you're better off with FMJs. There are probably some good .32/.327 magnum loadings, but down to .32 ACP and weaker, you're probably better off with FMJs.
Most all of those (probably all) are proven. There is plenty of independent testing and a significant amount of evidence from actual use. There is none of that for these new rounds.
Look, there are lots of areas in the gunnie world where it can be fun to experiment with new stuff. That's especially true in the target and competition realms. The new tech fails and you lose a match, meh.
But when we're talking about uses where you need to stop the threat, that's not the place for most of us to experiment. I sure as hell don't want to be on the cutting edge, not when there is a lot of history about the latest whiz-bangs not working the way that they were
I suspect that you don't, either.
Like you, I stick to the rounds with a proven track record. Also, having the same round in your magazine that your local police officers have makes it much easier in court than if you shoot some scumbag with some zippy "mangle them like no other" round that a prosecutor with an agenda can latch onto.
ReplyDeleteAmmo called R.I.P. would have to be proven beyond a doubt significantly better than every other premium ammo for me to use it for self defense, and even then I'd think twice--I'm not sure it would make a difference in court if the shooting was justified but it is another place I don't want to experiment. Glaser Safety Slugs at least made their branding an advantage rather than a disadvantage in court, even if the ammo itself was hype.
ReplyDeleteSevesteen, in a close call, I'd rather not have to deal with the connotation of shooting someone with RIP, DRT ("dead right there") or the Zombie stuff. I can see a plaintiff's attorney (or a prosecutor) argue that the ammo choice would suggest that the defendant was looking to shoot someone.
ReplyDeleteIn a lot of places, that argument won't cut any ice. But there are places that it might.
It's easy to argue that the Next Generation of "Cop Killer bullets" is in and of itself intent to use said rounds to murder persons and not just for self-defense.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe we should ask the folks at The Box O' Truth (www.theboxotruth.com)? They shoot pretty much everything and pretty much anything, and they love submissions.
ReplyDeleteGood point, use what the local LEOs use...
ReplyDelete