FMJ Ball For Self Defense?

[mkm]

I prefer jhp in most cases. However, I have and will carry/use ball for some scenarios. If I'm in/around lots of water, ball will likely be my carry choice because they won't expand in the water. In the woods, I carry depending on what I'm most concerned about encountering. People and only people, jhp loaded and in the spare mag; people first critters second, jhp loaded and fmj I'm the spare mag; critters first people second, fmj or likely hard cast loaded and know in the spare mag. My reasoning is that ball is better for critter penetration but less so for people, but will be better than nothing on people. And vice versa. I also carry some 9 NATO in the truck if penetration is preferred in a given situation.

I primarily carry 9&10mm. I want max expansion in most cases. If I carried a 45, I wouldn't want to negate that advantage in size by not having it expand too.

[jaybet]

Being in NJ we would only fire in self defense on our property or home and 99% probably in the home. Here we also have the duty to retreat, so we would naturally retreat to the closest gun. Problem is, that's usually not somewhere where there's maneuvering room, so no choice as to which DIRECTION you can engage.

Having said all that, we have softened all of our loads in the home. The shotty has birdshot, the 357 and 45 is Critical Defense (HP with plastic insert), the 9mm is frangible ball. We try to minimize through-wall penetration. NJ is a little hinky about regular HP ammo too. it's legal, but if they somehow determine that you were not 100% in the right, then all of a sudden you used HP in a "crime" and you're screwed, so we try to avoid straight HP.

[kmitch200]

NJ is a little hinky about regular HP ammo too. it's legal, but if they somehow determine that you were not 100% in the right, then all of a sudden you used HP in a "crime" and you're screwed, so we try to avoid straight HP.

That sucks on a whole bunch of levels. 
Too bad the PRNJ isn't in the United States is in occupied territory.

[JoeG]

The military uses FMJ in both 9mm and 5.56 with effect. But also they do not care about over penetration. 

I do not feel at all under gunned by FMJ ammo. It was employed around the world and used by most of the fiercest killers in out history.

JHP ammo in the realm of how we think about it is relatively new. People used softer non jacketed ammo (lead). The Colt Army Navy I believe shot a round .44 lead ball. It had no problem putting people down.

Can't agree with where you are going here.

The military uses FMJ because some feel good lawyers all got together in Geneva and told them they had to. As you pointed out when they can avoid it they do.

You can use bullets designed to dump their energy inside the target or you can use FMJ and know that you are likely to have the bullet pass through the target. Having the bullet make the biggest wound channel possible and then poke an exit hole and fall to the ground right behind the target gives the highest chance of stopping the threat.

If you use a bullet designed to expand it will either work as designed or fail to expand depending on conditions (plug up with cloth etc.) If it fails to expand you are back to FMJ performance. All the research lately has been to improve the performance to get the expansion under all conditions (through barriers etc.) This is harder than you might think.

Old soft nosed lead bullet designs were usually another way to get expansion while keeping bullet weight.

Read massad Ayoob's book on concealed carry. He has a chapter on real world data for shot throughs by LEOs and others. When you see the data it is clear that FMJ for SD is a bad idea.

All the internet theories are entertaining but actual real world and experimental data trumps all the fiction writers.

[tombogan03884]

It's just like any other form of work.
Do you want to "make do", or do you want the tool designed for the job ?

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