Which center-fire rifle cartridge would you not trust for self defense?

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I kinda took this thread's intent in a different direction as in "What is overkill?". What would create other risks or potential issues such as high penetration or penetration without a chance for expansion or creating the immediate damage needed or being typically chambered in weapons unwieldy in close quarters.
 
There is nothing wrong with a rifle in 44 Mag if its short enough and this one is short enough.
 

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Ozzieman-exactly. I don't think anyone would find those unwieldy even in a 10x10 room and they can be loaded not to over penetrate. Just my opinion.
 
Sport....if those are accurate out to 300 meters like it says then they have a good bit of velocity behind them.... I would still take them.

The only problem is that they won't cycle in a semi-automatic rifle.
 
They'd be fun, but I still wouldn't trust them for defense. With a 10gr plastic bullet it's hard to imagine much potential for penetration.
 
Among other possible reasons for the Chinese quilted uniform turning .30 Carbine bullets myth is the historical account of Andrew Jacksons duel with a crack shot.
Jackson knew he couldn't out shoot the other man and was likely to be hit before he could return fire, so he wore a loose heavy cloak to obscure his body position and stance.
When the opponent fired at what seemed to be center mass he scored only a serious flesh wound rather than a fatal wound. Jackson then calmly took his time and drilled the man dead center.

Bulky clothing on a skinny soldier could result in bullet passing through the uniform jacket without touching flesh, or only grazing wounds.
Use of opium before going into battle could also deaden the pain of relatively minor wounds.

Since some effective body armor was available to the Chinese, thats another factor to consider.

Heres some info on body armor available during WW2.
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/woundblstcs/chapter11.htm
Besides Soviet surplus breastplates and armor left behind by the Japanese there'd be many U S flak vests taken from U S casualties and prisoners.

Silk waste packing in those quilted jackets would also offer some resistence to projectiles.

I don't know of any centerfire rifle cartridge other than the short lived .22 WCF and the various European rook rifle and velo dog cartridges adapted to rifles that could not produce a fatal wound at close range.

PS
Tests of the plastic 7.62 bullets used by the U S Army showed they would penetrate an automobile fender and produced wounds similar to a .357 magnum hollow point.
 
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I would tend to guess....that some battlefield shooting distances in the Korean War, would tend to make the 30 carbine round quite underpowered.

Otherwise...the stories of the carbine being weak in Korea are true. "From the Army Ord Board and the small arms lab backed up by the White Lab ---They concluded that the WW-2 ammo that had a tropical humidity inhibiter, had degraded the powder and a 0 degree Farh. and below temps, it would go off around 650 fps out of a 16 inch M-2, with a huge share of the rifle charge not lighting off and clogging up the action and its gas tappets."

www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?t=Ammo:30 Carbine Robertso
 
Thats sounds reasonable, not much more punch than a pocket pistol with that velocity.
I have fired old milsurp ammo of various sorts, not .30 carbine, that showed decreased muzzle velocity and weak report when temps were in the 20's F.
Weak pin strke due to congealed oil would add to ignition problems.
 
It isn't post ignition performance that would keep me from picking a centerfire cartridge, it's the fact that .30 carbine ammo in particular and 7.62x39 , with their high dud count, absolutely leave me cold.
When I drop the hammer to blow something to hell, I hate having to book a later flight. I want positive ignition. And there's another reason to reload.
 
I want positive ignition. And there's another reason to reload.
Click to expand...

I prefer not to use commercial sporting ammo or reloads in a milspec autoloader.
So far I've had no ADs but came close to a slamfire with a Yugo SKS I had for awhile, with the milspec primer deeply indented, a common commercial primer would no doubt have gone off. Then theres the necessary neck tension and added grip of milspec sealants that prevent bullets from being jammed back into the case, I have several commercial sporting 7.62x39 cartridges with just that problem in my junk box. I'll be using the inertial puller on these later to reseat the bullets. I'll use the rest of that box as single loads only.
It was pure luck that I noticed the difference in feel when racking these in, otherwise I might be looking for a new bolt at the very least.

Staked primers are another plus of milsurp ammo vs commercial ammo.

Some milspec autoloaders may gobble up any brand with no problems, but others are much safer if only milspec ammo is used.
 
Murphy carried a carbine as that was the "issued weapon for officers". My uncle was issued a carbine as a Glider Pilot. He told me he took a M-1 Rifle and ammo from the first dead GI he found.
 
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