Spats McGee
Administrator
For me, it's a matter of risk assessment. I'm a lawyer, and while I've never been counsel of record on a gun or SD case, I've done civil right defense, criminal defense, prosecution (traffic court, to be honest), and a smattering of other areas. Here's my take:
Is the use of handloads for SD illegal? No. Not in any state of which I'm aware, anyway.
Is the use of handloads for SD a good idea? No. Using handloads introduces a wildcard element into the potential criminal and civil trials that poses a risk that I judge to be greater than the potential benefit.
As far as the statement that "a good shoot is a good shoot," well, perhaps we should amend that statement to "a good shoot is a good shoot after the police, the prosecuting attorney, twelve jurors and a judge decide that it was a good shoot." That's the reality. It's not a good shoot until you convince at least several other people that it was a good shoot. And you can bet that the BG, if he survives, will tell them all that he's a church-going choirboy who was minding his own business when you decided to off him.
In Arkansas, we rarely use grand juries. Most state felonies are charged by felony information. We have a mechanism for grand juries, but they just aren't used in state court much. So, assuming that the police or prosecuting attorney remain unconvinced that it was as clear-cut as it seemed to you at the time, you're probably going to jail, at least until you can make bail. In and of itself, that's going to be expensive. That's not affected by the handload vs. factory issue, but it still means that you are going to be somewhat lighter in the pocketbook than you were before the shooting, and you may find yourself in need of funds for several trials. The prosecuting attorney will file a felony information, and suddenly, you're a felony criminal defendant.
When it gets to trial, probably after several months of legal wrangling, motions, and bills that your lawyer wants paid, you'll get to trial. Then we get to the evidentiary issue. If you're using handloads, your reloading records are suspect, no matter how meticulous you have been in keeping them. They will be seen as self-serving, and that's what the prosecuting attorney will tell the court. You'll have to convince the judge that the records kept were accurate, that the ammunition that you used was loaded in conformity with those records, and that the sample provided to your expert was the same as the ammunition used in the shooting. This is a case where the exact ammunition used is destroyed during the shooting. Assuming that your ammunition functions correctly, the powder burns and the bullet is expelled at high speed. The bullet may or may not ever be found. It's not like a knife case, where the knife survives the incident and can be tested later (provided that it can be located).
On the other hand, if you use factory ammunition, you can subpoena the records on the ammunition specs from the company that made your ammo, and suddenly, you've got third-party records. Those records will not be viewed as self-serving. That company doesn't have a dog in the fight, as it were. It should be much easier to get those records in, if you need them.
I'll grant you that there are a lot of ifs involved in this situation. Reloads only become an issue: (1) if you're involved in a shooting; and (2) you're charged or sued; and (3) the type of round you used becomes an issue. I will also agree that if I were confronted with the need to shoot while I had reloads in the gun, I'd rather face a court than a casket. However, given the stakes (my liberty, my finances, and the financial well-being of those who depend on me), I have a very hard time believing that reloads really provide enough of a benefit to outweigh those risks.
Is the use of handloads for SD illegal? No. Not in any state of which I'm aware, anyway.
Is the use of handloads for SD a good idea? No. Using handloads introduces a wildcard element into the potential criminal and civil trials that poses a risk that I judge to be greater than the potential benefit.
As far as the statement that "a good shoot is a good shoot," well, perhaps we should amend that statement to "a good shoot is a good shoot after the police, the prosecuting attorney, twelve jurors and a judge decide that it was a good shoot." That's the reality. It's not a good shoot until you convince at least several other people that it was a good shoot. And you can bet that the BG, if he survives, will tell them all that he's a church-going choirboy who was minding his own business when you decided to off him.
In Arkansas, we rarely use grand juries. Most state felonies are charged by felony information. We have a mechanism for grand juries, but they just aren't used in state court much. So, assuming that the police or prosecuting attorney remain unconvinced that it was as clear-cut as it seemed to you at the time, you're probably going to jail, at least until you can make bail. In and of itself, that's going to be expensive. That's not affected by the handload vs. factory issue, but it still means that you are going to be somewhat lighter in the pocketbook than you were before the shooting, and you may find yourself in need of funds for several trials. The prosecuting attorney will file a felony information, and suddenly, you're a felony criminal defendant.
When it gets to trial, probably after several months of legal wrangling, motions, and bills that your lawyer wants paid, you'll get to trial. Then we get to the evidentiary issue. If you're using handloads, your reloading records are suspect, no matter how meticulous you have been in keeping them. They will be seen as self-serving, and that's what the prosecuting attorney will tell the court. You'll have to convince the judge that the records kept were accurate, that the ammunition that you used was loaded in conformity with those records, and that the sample provided to your expert was the same as the ammunition used in the shooting. This is a case where the exact ammunition used is destroyed during the shooting. Assuming that your ammunition functions correctly, the powder burns and the bullet is expelled at high speed. The bullet may or may not ever be found. It's not like a knife case, where the knife survives the incident and can be tested later (provided that it can be located).
On the other hand, if you use factory ammunition, you can subpoena the records on the ammunition specs from the company that made your ammo, and suddenly, you've got third-party records. Those records will not be viewed as self-serving. That company doesn't have a dog in the fight, as it were. It should be much easier to get those records in, if you need them.
I'll grant you that there are a lot of ifs involved in this situation. Reloads only become an issue: (1) if you're involved in a shooting; and (2) you're charged or sued; and (3) the type of round you used becomes an issue. I will also agree that if I were confronted with the need to shoot while I had reloads in the gun, I'd rather face a court than a casket. However, given the stakes (my liberty, my finances, and the financial well-being of those who depend on me), I have a very hard time believing that reloads really provide enough of a benefit to outweigh those risks.