cvixx,
Thanks for some more history on police use of this round, plus more input on its characteristics. (Or at least what you all thought they would do! :-)
Like you, I've never had to shoot this round--or anything else--in anger, and hope I never will. Even so, it seems odd to me that police rounds that served for decades suddenly became considered "suicidal" for civilians to use for self-defense in the 1970s or '80s! Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming that no advances have occurred in recent decades, nor am I claiming that modern-day LEOs face the same kinds of threats they faced back then. Clearly, things have gotten far, far tougher for police: BG's have everything from better guns, cars, and lawyers (ahem), to a higher likelihood of gangs, PCP use, etc. So, if I were an LEO these days, I'd want serious hi-cap firepower in my primary sidearm, at least.
But as I've mentioned before, most of us civilians (or retired military/police) have no duty, little need, and usually no authority to chase down gangs in their lairs. We also have little need, I imagine, to shoot through cars & windshields like police obviously do. In other words, it seems to me that "our" threat actually has more in common with the traditional threats than it has in common with the threats modern LEO's face. Accordingly, isn't it logical that for most of us, traditional solutions can still work?
For me, that means heavy, solid lead bullets with large, flat meplats and/or sharp shoulders. What I lack in expansion, I hope to make up in penetration--at least I can rest fairly well assured that I could shoot thru a BG from side-to-side, my bullet won't bounce off the sternum or ribs in frontal shots, or off the skull in most cases. It also won't run out of gas in the periphery--if pointed at bones, blood vessels, or important organs when it goes "bang," it will reach them, crush its way through them, and go out the other side. Likewise, it'll get thru my oft-mentioned leather furniture :-)
I recently re-read "The Ayoob Files," and was struck by the number of hits that simply failed to get to the BG's boiler room. JHPs expanded in arms (.45ACP), ground to a halt in torso musculature (.45 ACP), failed to penetrate ribs in a contact shot (.38SPL 125g), failed to penetrate brain in a contact shot to the skull (.38SPL 125g), etc. In other cases, the JHP functioned as designed and did its job well--perhaps better than a solid would have done, it's tough to tell. For my girls, I think the .38 S&W with a heavy-as-possible LFN or LSWC bullet is preferable to a faster & lighter .38SPL or 9mm that may not reach what it needs to reach. In my personal sidearms, it's 255g LFP in .45LC @ 870, plus 200g LSWC-K in .38SPL @ 750. My Terrier holds the 200g LFPs I've written about, @ 600. Everything is low blast, flash, and recoil, deep & straight penetration. If I can get a reliable tumbler that penetrates deeply, I may switch to that in the Terrier. (Amazing as it sounds, that's very much like what I got from the much-maligned British 178g FMJ! Full report follows this weekend.)
Am I an expert? No. Do I feel inadequately armed? No. Do I think you are outdated & vulnerable? No again.
Take care & stay safe. Thanks for your service to our communities. I think Ayoob's analogy was sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. I appreciate dogs, don't you? :-)
