Hollow Point V Full Metal Jacket ?

[SC Tiger]

True. I read on one site for a personal security firm that they prefer FMJ - it leaves two holes to bleed from. They aren't that interested in collateral damage, just protecting the one that signs their paychecks.

Is this one of the firms that operates in Iraq or Afghanistan? They could be concerned about being considered a "war criminal" for having HP ammo. That said I can't fathom a security firm not worrying about collateral damage.

One other issue with FMJ is that it is usually sold as practice ammo. Therefore it is cheap and of (usually) poorer quality than SD ammo.

My LCP carries Hornaday XTP right now, but I plan to switch to Critical Defense if I can ever get to the range to test some out in her.

[cc_ryder]

Where is it writen, Tho shall use only one type of bullet in self defense?
I believe the rule is always cheat! Gain the advantage anyway you can.
Use reliable hollow points for your caliber for complete energy transfer.
Use reliable full metal jackets for penitration through heart, lung and spine.
Use high velocity, use large caliber, use night sights, blinding light.
Use it all. Use two or three types or ammunition, and use it all until the threat is eliminated!
JUST BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET, AND WHAT IS BEYOND.

[SGB]

Hollow point ammunition is superior to ball ammunition when used for self defense. However not all hollow point ammunition is equal.

Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

In 9mm I like the 147 gr loads.

[cc_ryder]

The manufacturers would like you to believe that hollow points are superior so that you will pay a 300-400% premium for it.
As you say, not all are equal. The FBI's ballistics show a great variance, all but the most powerfull hollow points rate poor in penitration. The ones that penitrate the best are the ones that do not expand. I was suprised how shallow the penitration was for premium 9mm that had full and consistant expantion. The round nose or full jacket ammunition is straight forward. A large mass with the proper velocity creates a large wound with good penitration. If your first priority is to stop overpenitration, then the hollow point or frangable bullet is the way to go.

[Iteach4U]

I currently use Remington High Performance Jacket 9mm Luger for my Sig Sauer P226r. This is Hollow Point. I bought this for defense purposes. From what I understand Full Metal Jacket is better for that purpose. I like using Remington. However, I honestly do not know which is the best type and which is the best manufacturer for defense ammunition. I would appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

I'm still not sure who keeps spreading that the FMJ is supreme for self-defense, but it's yet another ammo myth. The FMJ has increased penetration and is quite reliable, but it doesn't tend to mushroom until it impacts something really hard and bone isn't hard enough to do that in some cases. The FMJ is very notorious for pass-through shots.

Even the hollow point is plagued with myths. Manufacturers and ammo testers will swear that some new fandangled hollow point is THE self-defense round to have. The fact is that once a hollow point is clogged with material, be it clothing, skin, or other, it's nothing more than a FMJ round and will fail to open/mushroom. Hollow point ammunition has a tendency to meet this failure to open more than 50% of the time (an engineer in Missouri illustrated it may be nearly 70% and/or up to 80% failure to open rate).

There are ways around the problem, but those solutions present problems of their own. One of those solutions was the Federal Hydra-Shok, but bend the post and you're back to the clogged hollow point. Another has been the Hornady Critical Defense round, polymer tipped hollow point. Dislodge the tip in the right fashion and you're back to the clogged hollow point. The same goes with Pow'R Ball ammo. That engineer in St. Louis came up with a brilliant means of solving the problem by porting the base of the hollow point cavity and took the opening failure from ballpark of 70% to roughly 30% and even managed to get great penetration as well as jacket separation. But it's unknown how the ported cavity will affect accuracy and if there's a possibility of jacket separation before impact. It also was only tested on traditional hollow points and hadn't been tested on any of the ballistic tipped ammunition.

So for defensive purposes the hollow point should give you the greatest possibility of a large damage path (the actual damage pressure-wave might be larger with the FMJ, especially if it's a pass-through) once in the body, less of a possibility for a pass-through than the FMJ, and the ability for your round to act like the FMJ should you shoot through thick or layered clothing.

One major rule to remember if someone tells you to use FMJ. Positively identify your target and KNOW what's beyond it. This is vital with the FMJ in the event of a pass-through.

Shot placement is absolutely key, no matter what your ammo choice is.