Darker Loaf
New member
I haven't been on the Firing Line long enough to become annoyed with this type of thread yet, but here's my two cents:
1) FMJ kills.
2) Hollow points kill.
I'd personally have loaded self-defense handguns with FMJ's because I had them on hand and FMJ's aren't toys. They will make holes in things. Holes in things kill things. Hollow points are probably more often deadly than FMJ's but that hardly matters. Practice and shot placement will get you the desired result.
As far as sub-9mm FMJ's for self-defense: I would always recommend FMJ's in sub-9mm handgun calibers for self-defense. Expansion with tiny bullets is a joke and rounds under 9mm don't seem to benefit from having a hollow point. Hollow points in lower energy handgun rounds seem to fill up and become more FMJ-like but they loose penetration. It seems that with even .380's hollow points prevent sufficient penetration to achieve FBI protocol. Smaller/lower energy rounds seem like they are worse still. Since you need to get to the organs to stop a determined attacker, penetration is going to be far more important in a lower power handgun round.
For 9mm up, hollow points can work better than FMJ, but FMJ is adequate for killing (see all wars).
NOTE: The author realizes that one could say "all handguns are underpowered," but hopes the readers realize he is referring ft/lbs of 250 or lower, like .380's down in terms of energy, as opposed to 250+ ft/lbs spectrum of handgun rounds.
Oh! Also, I say that some handguns DO run better with FMJ's than hollow points, and I don't think that is grounds to sell a gun, even one use for self-defense. Just figure out what works.
1) FMJ kills.
2) Hollow points kill.
I'd personally have loaded self-defense handguns with FMJ's because I had them on hand and FMJ's aren't toys. They will make holes in things. Holes in things kill things. Hollow points are probably more often deadly than FMJ's but that hardly matters. Practice and shot placement will get you the desired result.
As far as sub-9mm FMJ's for self-defense: I would always recommend FMJ's in sub-9mm handgun calibers for self-defense. Expansion with tiny bullets is a joke and rounds under 9mm don't seem to benefit from having a hollow point. Hollow points in lower energy handgun rounds seem to fill up and become more FMJ-like but they loose penetration. It seems that with even .380's hollow points prevent sufficient penetration to achieve FBI protocol. Smaller/lower energy rounds seem like they are worse still. Since you need to get to the organs to stop a determined attacker, penetration is going to be far more important in a lower power handgun round.
For 9mm up, hollow points can work better than FMJ, but FMJ is adequate for killing (see all wars).
NOTE: The author realizes that one could say "all handguns are underpowered," but hopes the readers realize he is referring ft/lbs of 250 or lower, like .380's down in terms of energy, as opposed to 250+ ft/lbs spectrum of handgun rounds.
Oh! Also, I say that some handguns DO run better with FMJ's than hollow points, and I don't think that is grounds to sell a gun, even one use for self-defense. Just figure out what works.