hand loads or factory ammo

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Mt Shooter

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I was told by a friend who was in the security business that I should not be using my hand loads in my CCW. Reasons being, one, should you be involved in a shooting they could say that you where out looking for a fight because you made special bullets. The second reason was factory ammo will not give you a squib or miss feeds that factory ammo would not. Although I have heard of squibs and miss feed problems with factory ammo. I was wondering what the thought here was.
 
I agree with your friend. His second point is debatable; some reloaders are more meticulous than others and also use better components.

There's plenty of quality factory rounds for SD. Many of them are better than what you can load since factory SD ammo is often loaded with low-flash powder. Some SD bullets are not available to the public either (Hydrashoks, HST, Tactical Bonded, Golden Saber Bonded, etc).
 
Fell free to use your handloads for your CCW. If you search the threads you will find facts do not support the theory you will be in more legal trouble for using handloads vs factory loads. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Can anyone provide a link to a case where this was in fact an aggravating circumstance? I've heard it repeated many times that reloaded ammo will cause legal problems in self-defense shootings, but I've never seen anything authoritative on the subject. I'm not calling BS or anything, just curious.
 
I think the reasoning is that the potential exists for it to be a Big Deal. Buy some LE Gold Dots or HST for $25/50 and call it good.

Kinda like why it may not be prudent to carry a .500 S&W.
 
Ayoob cites two cases where handloads came into play, but neither of which were self defense shootings, so not truly applicable to the situation at hand.
 
I don't carry handloads out of the concerns about extra legal trouble from a melodramatic attorney harping on you that "ordinary bullets weren't deadly enough for you so you made super deadly cop killer school-seeking HE rounds". I don't know if it's every actually happened in a case though.
I don't agree with the second point, I've had more failures to go bang with factory ammo than handloads, it just depends on how careful you are. Train for failures regardless.
I definitely like the cost savings of handloads though. Training with stuff that costs $1-$1.50 a round is not fun.
 
I carry factory ammo. My handloads are at least as reliable as factory as they are inspected by.....me.

I'm not concerned with the "killer" bullet argument. I am concerned that if there are questions my handloads can't be duplicated like factory loads. If I said "I shot when the BG with the knife was 5 feet away", forensics can prove from tattooing on his clothing that he was 5 feet away if I was using factory ammo. If I was using "158 swc over 5 grains of Unique" that raises the question "is that what he used, maybe it was 4.5 or 5.5" as that would alter the forensic results.
 
I don't 'roll my own' ammo right now, so factory (or commercial reloader) ammo all the way....
 
If the stuation is so serious I have to shoot someone, I wont care whether I have hand loads in the gun or not. Because obviously I'll be dead if I don't shoot. Otherwise why would I even think of shooting anyone?
 
i most certainly do not put factory ammo in my carry guns. i want ultimate reliability and accuracy in my carry gun, and factory ammo does not provide that.
 
I read an article recently by a pro-gun attorney who says this "legal trouble" mumbo jumbo is nonsense. He himself carries home-brew .44mag loads in his CCW revolver.

I am inclined to agree. Using quality factory JHPs is just as open to an overzealous DA as handloads: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defendent used Federal Hydrashok bullets in this shooting. They are specifically designed to expand to huge diameters, causing more pain and suffering to those they strike. Additionally, the manufacturer puts a metal post in the center of the hollow tip, designed to lacerate arteries and even break off to puncture the vital organs."
 
Personally I'm not worried about the DA where I live, my reason is more economics than anything. I will be carrying my CZ-82 as soon as I get my CPL; the only way I can afford to shoot that any more is with handloads. $20 per 25 rounds of factory ammo is just too much for me. I'd like to carry what I practice with, so reloads it is for me.
 
"So, Mr. Smith. You do a lot of target shooting, as evidenced by your gun club memberships and your extensive arsenal. You use target bullets for that, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, the state maintains that the defendant purchased these hollowpoint hydroshock bullets for nothing other than killing!"
 
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