While I don't rely on every handgun I own for self-defense, I do try to keep at least a couple magazines/cylinders full of what I consider to be decent SD ammo for the given caliber for each handgun I own. Of the 17 handguns in 11 different calibers that I own, there are three different calibers for which I opt for non-expanding ammunition as my SD ammo (though none of those calibers are regularly relied upon for self-defense). They are as follows:
.32 Automatic- There is no hollowpoint ammunition for this caliber that I trust to both expand reliably and penetrate adequately. Given an either/or decision between adequate penetration and expansion, I'll take the expansion. I'm not particularly worried about overpenetration in this caliber because, in the tests I've seen .32 FMJ seems to penetrate comparably to JHP's in larger calibers (usually 13-14" in bare 10% gelatin). My ammo of choice in this caliber is Fiocchi 73gr FMJ.
7.62x25 Tokarev- I choose FMJ ammo in this caliber because, quite simply, JHP ammo is not widely available. While the ballistics are certainly there to make the cartridge perform well with JHP, I think that FMJ ammo is better than no ammo at all. My ammo of choice in this caliber is Winchester 85gr FMJ.
.38 S&W (not .38 Special)- Hollowpoint ammo in this caliber is pretty much non-existant so non-expanding bullets are really the only option. Actually, this is one of the very, very few cases in which I feel that I can make handloads that are appreciably better than factory ammo since nearly all factory loadings use bullets too light to shoot to POA in my gun (its fixed sights are regulated for 200gr bullets). My ammo of choice in this caliber is a handloaded Lyman #358430 hardcast LRN.
In every other caliber I own, which includes .22 LR, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 10mm Auto, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 ACP I use hollowpoint factory ammo though, to be perfectly honest, I don't expect the .22's to actually expand (the particular loading I choose seems to tumble rather than expand at handgun velocity).
.32 Automatic- There is no hollowpoint ammunition for this caliber that I trust to both expand reliably and penetrate adequately. Given an either/or decision between adequate penetration and expansion, I'll take the expansion. I'm not particularly worried about overpenetration in this caliber because, in the tests I've seen .32 FMJ seems to penetrate comparably to JHP's in larger calibers (usually 13-14" in bare 10% gelatin). My ammo of choice in this caliber is Fiocchi 73gr FMJ.
7.62x25 Tokarev- I choose FMJ ammo in this caliber because, quite simply, JHP ammo is not widely available. While the ballistics are certainly there to make the cartridge perform well with JHP, I think that FMJ ammo is better than no ammo at all. My ammo of choice in this caliber is Winchester 85gr FMJ.
.38 S&W (not .38 Special)- Hollowpoint ammo in this caliber is pretty much non-existant so non-expanding bullets are really the only option. Actually, this is one of the very, very few cases in which I feel that I can make handloads that are appreciably better than factory ammo since nearly all factory loadings use bullets too light to shoot to POA in my gun (its fixed sights are regulated for 200gr bullets). My ammo of choice in this caliber is a handloaded Lyman #358430 hardcast LRN.
In every other caliber I own, which includes .22 LR, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 10mm Auto, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 ACP I use hollowpoint factory ammo though, to be perfectly honest, I don't expect the .22's to actually expand (the particular loading I choose seems to tumble rather than expand at handgun velocity).