Do you load FMJ ammo on your SD/HD handgun?

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ramp_tech

New member
Just wondering whether you load FMJ ammo on your home defense or self defense handgun. Why and why not?

Talked to a Marine who just came back couple months back and he told me that they use FMJ ammo on their M9?? :confused: I thought no one use FMJ ammo for defensive round because they don't have enough stopping power.
 
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RedneckFur

New member
The military uses FMJ in all of its small arms. Not because it is more deadly or anything, but because of treaties that require the use of FMJ ammo.

It suposedly causes less grevious wounds in wounded soldiers.
 
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Regolith

New member
We aren't signatories of the treaty that bans expanding bullets, actually, but we do generally observe it anyway.

FMJ is probably easier and cheaper to make, as well.
 
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Bud Helms

Senior Member
Helps mitigate feeding "wobbles" from less-than-perfect feed path from mag to chamber. Fewer feed problems.

Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper.
 
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Jofaba

New member
Still waiting on my permit, but I only plan on carrying hollow point. In the very serious scenario of you being forced to defend your life, you want your bullets to stop traveling as soon as possible. You want misses, god forbid, to hit a wall and fragment instead of ricocheting (though I don't know the actual ballistic capabilities of a hollow point, I think that "tumbling" through the air will slow its bounce travel more), and hits to expand and not exit, or exit slowly.

I thought I read somewhere that some states don't allow hollowpoints. I guess, if legal, that safety slugs would be an alternative. Some people say that they are less effective than a fmj against the bad guy, though obviously safer if you miss.

I read some people saying "make sure of your backstop" which is fine for target shooting but I don't know if you'd have the time to arrange for your bullet path in self defense. I'm short, so unfortunately if I ever have to defend myself, chances are I'll be shooting up and not down*. Not that down is "safe" as bullets can skim depending on the angle and the material you're shooting at.

No bullet is surefire safe. Just practice often, and I guess that any round, if its all you have, and it manages to fire, can stop the bad guy and not hurt innocent bystanders.

--

*I know this sounds kind of funny. By "Up" I mean past an angle of horizon, not that I'm two feet tall and firing skyward. =P
 
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Shorts

New member
Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper.
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+1

I only have 230gr FMJs in the .45 right now. I've yet to run across JHPs and I'm not going out of my way to find them. I'll use what ammo I have on hand.
 
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Jkwas

New member
I use both based upon what works best in my firearm and availability. In my .380 I use FMJ for penetration and reliability. All the rest JHP but if none where available I would use FMJ or hardcast lead flatpoint for that matter.
The important thing is to make sure of your target and backstop. There is no guarantee that JHP will not overpenetrate in a given situation so don't count on it.
 
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gb_in_ga

New member
Just wondering whether you load FMJ ammo on your home defense or self defense handgun. Why and why not?
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I use it in my autoloaders at the range. And I've got a supply set aside in case of TEOTWAWKI. But I don't use it for "conventional" SD/HD. Too much threat of an inadvertent shoot-through, and it is not as good at stopping BGs. Bigger holes = faster stops.

Talked to a Marine who just came back couple months back and he told me that they use FMJ ammo on their M9?? I thought no one use FMJ ammo for defensive round because they don't have enough stopping power.
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Everybody except the military. And then sometimes not even them. There are several reasons why the military uses FMJ. Even though we aren't signatories to the treaties, we respect the terms of the treaties pertaining to the prohibition of the use of them in warfare between lawful combatants. It is less expensive to procure. And it has superior barrier penetration characteristics, which is desirable in military combat. Note that in special operations against unlawful combatants, US military units have used expanding ammo when that might give us an advantage, and doing this is not a violation of international treaties contrary what the tranzis (transnational progressives) may cry.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
From what I've gleaned over the years, ball is a reasonable choice in .45ACP.

If you're carrying .32/.25, stick with ball, as you want as much penetration as possible. I've also heard the same logic with .380/9x18. Scuttlebutt has it that, in those calibers, you have a choice between penetration or expansion, but not both.
 
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Glenn E. Meyer

New member
Not hard to find JHP 230's. In fact, much easier than FMJs as the HPs cost more. Gun stores and places like Cabela's will come across with JHP 45s at a stiff price.
 
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carguychris

New member
In case the OP is curious, the treaty prohibiting the use of hollow-point or soft-point ammo is the Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration "C", specifically this sentence:
The Contracting Parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core, or is pierced with incisions.
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Full text here:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/dec99-03.asp

Note that the treaty does not specifically require FMJ, nor does it prohibit bullets designed to cause damage by disintegrating or yawing. This is one of the reasons for the recent advent of extremely-high-velocity small-caliber military rifle bullets that tend to yaw violently and/or come apart in the body. Furthermore, while it is true that the USA did not sign the Hague Convention, the USA has typically obeyed its rules when fighting wars involving countries that did sign it, which includes most of the major European powers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Contrary to what the guy at the gun store may tell you, it has nothing to do with the Geneva Convention.
 
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Jkwas

New member
I was surprised to hear that when Rob Leatham, U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Single Stack National Champion, was asked in a recent interview said he used .45 FMJ hardball in his home defense guns. He cited reliability as the most important concern.
 
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chupps

New member
I agree with Mr. Servo regarding the .380 and 9x18. I carry a 9x18 Makarov and had some problems with the HPs feeding. I was also disappointed with the penetration of the round. I will keep looking for a good 9x18 HP for my Mak, but until I find it I will carry fmj for reliabilitiy and penetration.
 
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honkylips

New member
I have just enough HP's to keep the mags full in my pistols. I unload those at the rang and practice with FMJ. I then reload with HP. Only exception is my Makarov which only sees FMJ.
 
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WeedWacker

New member
I have a friend who uses FMJ's in his Kimber for HD (Couldn't and still can't carry -WI resident. Yeah I told him to move) but that's because that's all he can find really. But that was a year ago, haven't asked him recently.

I use JHP Speer Gold Dots in my .45 but I have yet to find some available .380 JHP's or 9mm. I might be able to get some 9 Hydra Shoks soon though...
 
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