Posted: 3/4/2009 3:17:37 PM EDT
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I have heard a lot of people talking about "not wanting to risk overpenetration". What is the risk? I would think that you would want the bullet to penetrate as deeply as possible so that it definitely makes it to its intended target. The ability to penetrate substantially further than the minimum twelve inches allows for a round to maintain lethality even after going through a hard obstacle. If there was something in front of the person you were shooting at (wall, door, windshield) you would need all the extra penetration capability that you could get. What am I missing here? MAX |
| Lawsuit is why you do not want it in some instances. Home defense for one, if you shoot a bad guy entering your home and the Bullet passes thru him and your walls and your neighbors walls striking any one in proximity,you probably would pay for it the rest of your life. |
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If you're like 99% of the people here, you'll legally only be shooting someone in a defensive situation. Generally that means not shooting someone "through windshields", doors, or walls.
But that means using some sense like opting for 00 buck vs. a 3" magnum slug or hot .44 specials instead of 340g .44 magnum loads, 75g .223 TAP loads instead of your .338 Lapua bolt-action or .50BMG, etc...... Some folks think there is magical ammunition that won't pierce "too much" drywall but will still kill every zombie. No such thing. |
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Quoted: If you're like 99% of the people here, you'll legally only be shooting someone in a defensive situation. Generally that means not shooting someone "through windshields", doors, or walls. But that means using some sense like opting for 00 buck vs. a 3" magnum slug or hot .44 specials instead of 340g .44 magnum loads, 75g .223 TAP loads instead of your .338 Lapua bolt-action or .50BMG, etc...... Some folks think there is magical ammunition that won't pierce "too much" drywall but will still kill every zombie. No such thing. Maybe you will not need to overcome obstacles in 99% of scenarios. I just like knowing that I can for the 1% of the time that it could come in handy. As for your point about choosing practical weapons, I can see your point about not needing to use a .338 or .50 for self defense. However, what could be wrong with loading your shotgun with slugs? They are more precise and generally more useful than buckshot (I'm not saying that buckshot isn't useful). |
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Overpenetration, while certainly a consideration, is not the only concern that I'd have in relation to post incident liability exposure. The rounds that miss the intented target (threat) and go on to strike other persons/objects are more of an issue (due to the fact that we tend to "miss" more than we "hit" when shooting in the defense of our lives) than overpenetrating rounds (because they have lost some of their kinetic energy in transit through a human threat) and a bullet that won't make it through a few thicknesses of drywall won't perform effectively upon the threats that we are attempting/expecting to neutralize.
As an example, 9mm "ball" (115 gr. or 124 gr. FMJ) is notorious for "through and through" penetration of the unarmored human anatomy and is capable of penetrating a considerable amount of materiel afterwards. Carry any of the premium SD JHPs and mitigate the risk (to what degree is "academic" at best) even where a "miss" occurs, since the JHP might expand upon striking the commonly encountered building materials that compose our homes and apartments. In short, there no "guarantees" and there are far too many variables to give an answer that will satisfy every situation that might be encountered. The bullet will do what the bullet will do. TK |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
If you're like 99% of the people here, you'll legally only be shooting someone in a defensive situation. Generally that means not shooting someone "through windshields", doors, or walls. But that means using some sense like opting for 00 buck vs. a 3" magnum slug or hot .44 specials instead of 340g .44 magnum loads, 75g .223 TAP loads instead of your .338 Lapua bolt-action or .50BMG, etc...... Some folks think there is magical ammunition that won't pierce "too much" drywall but will still kill every zombie. No such thing. Maybe you will not need to overcome obstacles in 99% of scenarios. I just like knowing that I can for the 1% of the time that it could come in handy. As for your point about choosing practical weapons, I can see your point about not needing to use a .338 or .50 for self defense. However, what could be wrong with loading your shotgun with slugs? They are more precise and generally more useful than buckshot (I'm not saying that buckshot isn't useful). If you live in an apartment a 12ga slug is probably the last load you want to use. I have shot numerous large deer with them and not once did the slug stop inside the deer. The most impressive one I shot was a 150ish pound buck that I shot diagonally from the front with a 1oz, 3" magnum shell. The slug went through the front Left shoulder shattering it, diagonally through the body striking the rear pelvis and completely obliterated it and continued to exit the Right rear quarter never to be seen again. The internal damage was massive throughout the entire body of the deer, to the point where most of the meat was ruined and ended up as hamburger. I applaud your concern for your neighbors and thinking about what is beyond your target. Maybe you should look into frangible ammo. |
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Quoted: In a self defense shooting the bad guy is your back stop. Would you rather have a bullet that will shoot completely through the bad guy or a bullet that will usually stop fully expanded under the skin on the far side of the bad guy? Good point but what happens when you need to go THROUGH something to get to the bad guy? Do you want to choose a round incapable of the penetration necessary to defeat barriers before doing its job? |
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I have never heard anyone knowledgeable - nor would I ever consider - having different bullets stacked to accomplish different things. In a gun fight, you think you'll have time to run behind cover and switch mags, much less keep straight which mag has what? That's just one more thing to deal with in a life-and-death situation to deflect your attention. No thanks. |
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I carry HST in the gun and Gold Dots in the spare, this is how I train and have trained, I also train to use cover rather than concealment for tactical reloads if possible, I don't belive I will ever be in this situation having to have a long drawn out gun fight, but I try to train for the worst case, do I think I can actually do this if it would ever happen....I hope I never find out, but probably not, then again if you train enough maybe a small percent will stick with you, thats what I have found out in my line of volunteer work you don't think and sit and wonder you do and do it fast using what training you have been given without conciously making a lot of decisions because many lives depend on fast decisions that you cant sit around and discuss. I plan for odd situations and try and think what might give me a small edge to keep myself and family safe.
If one round doesn't work maybe the other round will have a better effect if you hfe to reload... just my opinion and another reason to carry a second type that perfoms ballistically well and functions well in my guns. 
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