Using reloaded hollow points for self defense

[Buffalo11]

I absolutely trust any and all of my reloads..for hunting, target and deadly force..So much so that my wifes carry gun is loaded with them as well..Never had a miss fire in over 3000 rnds of my stuff..Everything from 380, 38spl, 357 Mag,40S&W, 30-30 rifle..Only factory stuff I use is rim fire 22 LR..AFA court goes.. I don't expect to attend one.. If I do, the man that taught me to reload will be my witness of my knowledge.. He is also a very respect person here and owner of the gun store where he reloads for many people here in town..

wPm

[Gordon Shumway]

The original post asked about the legality of reloads in self defense, not the quality of the reloaded product.

Legal advice was the the question, to use or not to use.

Probably the top defense witness/advisor in the USA, Massad Ayoob, says use fresh factory loads only.

[Stan45]

If we must get carried away with every legal aspect, then let us do so for all of them, not pick and choose.
The writers will say do not put a sign on your fence "Beware of Dog" but just put a sign up that says "Dog". The thought process behind this is the word "Beware," which may mean you knew the dog may bite. We have not found any case law about this, but it does not stop the “experts” from writing about it. There is a court case in Florida where the judge said the sign must read "Bad Dog" –I have not seen any signs that read that, have you?
This falls under “Specific Intent,” meaning there is NO intent required. A defendant may testify at trial as to his intent. Whether the defendant intended to break the law does not matter; rather, the issue is whether he intended to do that which is unlawful.
Back to the dog… if your dog bites someone, you are going to be charged. The sign on your fence could read, “My dog can make it to the fence in 2 seconds. Can you?” or it could read “Trained Attack Dog” or “Welcome”--Under the law it would not make any difference.
This same principle can be applied to statutory rape. It does not make any difference how old she said she was. If she was under age you will be charged.
Getting back to self defense, the bottom line is if you live in a state that has a good law of Castle Doctrine and includes Stand your Ground, then all of this is a mute issue.
You are immune from civil suit from the perpetrator so long as you acted within the law when defending yourself. If you did not get that, it means you are immune from prosecution and torts.
Tort; from French for "wrong," a civil wrong or wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which result in harm.
You could have used a gun, shovel, ice pick, or your bare hands.
Now if you were not justified in your shooting, i.e., if you robbed a store and shot someone, or if you kicked in someone’s front door, you would have much bigger issues than whether or not the ammo was factory or reloaded.
I have not heard of any state having a law that forbids the use of reloaded ammo for self-defense. Nor have I ever heard of a law case where this was an issue.
We should spend more time focusing on our front sight, getting our rounds on target, and understanding the use of lethal force. If we do this, then our only issue will be: did our bullet stop the threat.

DVC
Stan

[sgtbill]

Very well put Stan45
Bill

[Buffalo11]

Stan45;271998]If we must get carried away with every legal aspect, then let us do so for all of them, not pick and choose.


Well Stan very well written.. However I am 74 not 17 and I can read and understand the laws.. In my opinion, anyone that enters my house with intent of doing harm to my family and or myself will go down if within my power.. My wife also carries.. I was trained in military..she went to self defense classes.. We have no fear of the law here in Florida.. The state we were both born and raised in is quite another problem.. Can you say CALIFORNIA.. The laws there SUCK! IMO the protection laws should be a National law not State laws..Thanks for your input

wPm

[SDavis35]

I reload especially for hunting and targets as I have found factory ammunition to have two distinct powers in the same box of ammunition. Yes, I trust my loads and would not hessitate to carry them for self defense. I do however carry hollow points, while using FMJ for target shooting because of cost.

[lostone1413]

I for one believe in self defense you should carry factory rounds. The mag in my Glock is hollow points and I keep the spare mag loaded with FMJ

[kelcarry]

I did not read all the replies on this thread but I would suggest you read the threads on FN57 forum or fiveseven forum about the FN57 pistol "explosion". I understand reloads but beware of your warranty on your fiream, which probably voids same if you use reloads. This 57 owner admitted on the forums and to FN themselves that he shot reloads and now is in the awkward position of having significant damage to his hand, which will be difficult to prove mfgr fault on firearm design.

[LkWd_Don]

What about those of us who cast or swage our ammo before we reload. Thoughts?

Don't cast from recycled lead battery clamps that might still contain sulfuric acid contamination. LOL Sorry for my sarcasm.. couldn't resist.. but still.. the acid will do your peice harm too.

I wasn't going to post just yet as I wanted to make it through reading all of these first.
Since I am posting, let me say that the only time I have heard of problems with reloaded ammo that lead to a court case after a shoot was declared justified, was when the reloads fell into what most might call exotic and designed specifically to kill even if initially it is only a wounding shot. Exotics such as Hydraulic Rounds, Poisoned Rounds, etc..

[LkWd_Don]

I have been reloading since the early 90`s (the Clinton gun ban era), and have fired 1000`s of rounds through my Ruger revolvers (GP100-Super Redhawk) and pistol (P90), with not one miss fire or jam.

Same here, in fact I came across about 300.. 4 year old reloads that I had tucked away and took them out to the range just to shoot them up, I was on the range for a while with both of the revolvers I had reloaded them for and had ZERO problems with them. When you load your own, you learn quickly what works and what doesn't and as you get more proficient those loads can be just as reliable as factory loads.
Until lead became a problem in most indoor ranges, I almost exclusively reloaded using lead WC & SWC slugs and I still load lead for open-air ranges that do not prohibit lead use. Why lead some may ask? It causes less wear on the barrel with the lead being soft and forming to the lands and groves where the copper jacket wears away the steel considerably faster.