What's the difference between Paper cutter and whatnot?

swc/.45

had a .45 but had bought SWC. The best he ever got was maybe three shots before it jammed mostly just two.
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You are correct that some autos will while others won't. Both of my 1911s, a Springfield and a Gold Cup, shoot SWCs flawlessly. For some guns, that break in smoothness by the shoulder of the bullet is a deal stopper. Usually, that can be fixed by polishing/altering the ramp.
Premium ammo for practice. When I buy a box of premium ammo, at a cost of maybe $1 a round, I will shoot maybe five to see if it functions and where the gun shoots them. Over the years, though, those boxes accumulate, especially since I don't get into gun fights. There comes a time when I will just shoot up a box for practice. Not very often. It's much easier to duplicate the load (not always possible) and practice with the handloads (and wildly cheaper).
Pete
 
If it's for self defense I am not going to be out shooting 14 different kinds of ammo then change to another kind just to use for self defense... I'd rather be familiar with how the round shoots so I don't have to change any habits to defend myself...
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If the target round you use to practice is the same bullet weight and in the same general velocity class as your self-defense ammo then it will probably shoot very close to the same point of aim.

I keep a box that stores all my partial ammunition boxes. If I take a gun to the range and come back with 5 rounds in a box, I don't put that back in my normal storage, I put it in my "partial" box. So after awhile I end up with a wide variety of different loads in the box. For fun I took something like 5 or 6 different 9mm loads and put them all in a magazine. A few types of FMJ, a couple of types of hollowpoints. I think all were 115gr but there may have been one 124gr bullet load in the bunch. All were standard pressure rounds--no +P or +P+. Then I shot the entire magazine into one group at 15 yards. It wasn't really appreciably different from the groups I had been shooting using only one kind of ammunition.

If you're worried about it, do your own experiment to see if the two rounds behave significantly differently in terms of point of impact, recoil, etc. I think you'll find that they're more alike than different and that you can practice with the cheaper range ammo without worrying about how it will affect your performance with the more expensive self-defense ammunition.
 
Why is that relevant to the question of purchasing say a box of 9MM Luger rounds?

If it's for self defense I am not going to be out shooting 14 different kinds of ammo then change to another kind just to use for self defense... I'd rather be familiar with how the round shoots so I don't have to change any habits to defend myself...
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Well, if your funds are unlimited, I suppose it is of no consequence whatsoever. Buy the best, shoot to your heart's content.

For most of us in the real world, who like to practice weekly, the price of ammo over that last two years has become, ummm, a factor.

I don't need 14 types of ammo. I need two types--practice ammo, of which I can shoot a lot, and SD ammo, of which I shoot "just enough".

Top-shelf SD ammo is getting up to about a buck a round.

I shoot at least 50 rounds a week (which, if I were shooting SD ammo, would be $50). Some people I know go through 150 a week ($150). And those who compete go through a good bit more. I don't know anybody who can afford to shoot large quantities of factory ammo at those prices.

I can load and shoot 50 rounds of 45acp (LSWC) target ammo for $6-7 (and rising).

So, if you want to shoot well, and you can spend either $7 or $50 per week, will this affect how regularly will you shoot? And consequently, how well you shoot?
 
Factory wadcutters are usually reduced loads for target shooting. To realize the full potential of the wadcutter it is best to reload them hot. I personally wouldn't dream of using a soft lead wadcutter as a SD load. They tend to lead up barrels, too.
 
I disagree. .38 SPL is just borderline fast enough; I don't trust JHPs too expand every time, so I use hollowbase wadcutters.

I load 148 gr .358" LHBWCs with 4 gr of W231/HP-38 and it's a smokin' round. It removes a core sample from anything I shoot; it's a great penetrator as well. No leading at all from this load.
 
The thing to watch out for with a hot HBWC is that the skirt can split, which can a cause the bullet to tumble. I've also been warned that it can shear off entirely, within the bore. But I've never pushed one hard enough to find out if this is true.
 
When I go to the range I get my moneys worth on range time. Shoot several hundred rounds of 22, 9 and 45 each trip. If I'm shooting my Gold Dot +P for those rounds I'd go broke.

Also, at the range I'm shooting for best shots on target. In a SD situation I'm shooting quickly and the target is center on the body. Don't need to be more accurate with my SD ammo.
 
The fundamentals here are: Price, Purpose and Proficiency.

Price: This has been well covered above, but basically it costs way too much to go to the range put 400 GoldDots downrange. Whereas, with ball ammo you can do it for pretty cheap (relatively speaking of course :D ).

Purpose: The is a plethora of reasons as to why JHP's are generally better for self defense. Mainly, it has to do with the concept of stopping power. We won't go into that, as there is more than enough info here on that subject already. Do a search on "stopping power" or "FMJ vs JHP" etc. for more info in that department.

Proficiency: Generally the expensive JHP's operate with higher pressure levels (+P, +P+) than your standard target ammo. This adds to the recoil when firing, which in turn adds to the fatigue experienced by the shooter after so many rounds. Of course, you should practice with your SD ammo, to familiarize yourself with it, and most importantly to make sure that your gun will operate properly with that specific type. However, to accomplish both of those, it is not necessary to shoot only SD ammo every time you go to the range, and really there's no need to practice with it at all on most of your trips to the range.

Basically, JHP is designed for SD/HD/LEO etc. and FMJ is cheap for practice. If the time ever comes, God forbid, that you have to use your SD ammo in an SD situation, you won't thinking about the differences between the two. However, after a day at the range shooting nothing but SD ammo you and your wallet will notice the difference. :D
 
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