peacemaker45
Member
Ok, here's a general question about bullet construction. This is brought to mind by the threads about "What would you carry if you lived in olden times?" Someone made the comment that if they lived way back when, then they'd have to carry a big bore, because of the lack of expanding ammunition. But soft lead bullets were the original expanding ammunition. Also curious about many folks' insistence on "only carry premium self defense JHPs."
What makes an expensive premium JHP preferable to an old fashioned softcast lead bullet, at handgun velocities? A JHP will generally expand, provided the hole doesn't clog, and it's traveling the right speed, etc. Soft lead will expand, whether there's a hole in the end of it or not. You can load a lead hollowpoint backwards in the case, and it will still expand.
I can see the point of JHPs in a high velocity rifle application, where a soft lead bullet would shred/disintegrate/lead the heck out of a barrel. But why in handguns?
~~~Mat
What makes an expensive premium JHP preferable to an old fashioned softcast lead bullet, at handgun velocities? A JHP will generally expand, provided the hole doesn't clog, and it's traveling the right speed, etc. Soft lead will expand, whether there's a hole in the end of it or not. You can load a lead hollowpoint backwards in the case, and it will still expand.
I can see the point of JHPs in a high velocity rifle application, where a soft lead bullet would shred/disintegrate/lead the heck out of a barrel. But why in handguns?
~~~Mat