For the average guy who goes to work, goes shopping with the family, eats at the local restaurant, we are told to try to get away before ever firing a shot in self defense. We shouldn't even present our weapon if at all possible, much less fire a shot, if we can leave the area. If we ever have to actually shoot in self defense, we are told to stop shooting when the threat is neutralized. The legal system will be judging every single shot fired afterwards.
If all of the above is true and a good guideline, then should the average guy really be carrying bonded, barrier penetrating ammo?
We fire the least number of shots possible to avoid hitting bystanders. So why carry ammo that could possibly penetrate a barrier and hit a bystander?
Effectiveness on the intended target is the only reason. If a bonded Gold Dot is MUCH more effective at stopping a bad guy than an unbonded Golden Saber, then I would prefer the Gold Dot. If this were to be true, it would be possible to stop the bad guy with less shots, which is the goal for the average guy.
So the question is, are bonded bullets really any more effective than unbonded bullets?
Are they enough better to justify their use by the average Joe?
Do bonded bullets really penetrate barriers any better than unbonded bullets?
I've talked to an officer who worked in a morgue and he swears by Gold Dots. But seeing that Gold Dots were very effective, doesn't mean he actually got a good sense of the effectiveness of other ammo such as the Golden Sabers.
Both of these rounds have proven effective on deer, (so I've read) and the Sabers tend to expand more and penetrate a little less in testing I've done. I believe both of these rounds would stop a threat fairly equally but I have no actual evidence of one being better than the other.
Shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't...
Far too many people focus on trivialities on the supposed theory that "violating" them will lead you into legal hot water.
NEWS FLASH:
If you have to shoot somebody, fatally or not, you WILL be in legal hot water. This is because there WILL be an investigation into the shooting and investigations aren't done to determine innocence...they're done to see if there's anything a person can be charged with.
If the totality of the evidence in a given circumstance being investigated indicates a violation of the laws from the point of view of the government, then charges will be preferred. If they do not, then charges likely will not be preferred.
BUT, BUT, BUT...we hear all the time how the prosecution hammers the type of ammunition used!
ANOTHER NEWS FLASH:
It is the JOB of the prosecution to obtain a conviction. To that end, the prosecuting attorney WILL skew everything he or she can in favor of that conviction, and part of that will be playing up on the beliefs and emotions of those sitting in the jury.
The key to understanding "self defense" lies in exactly those two words: "self" and "defense".
You're not using deadly force to conduct an offensive attack on innocent people. You're using it as a means to ensure your own survival in the event your life is placed in imminent danger.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means that the type of ammunition you use takes a back seat to the totality of circumstances of the event itself, with respect to the justifiable use of deadly force. If you WERE justified in using deadly force, then the fact that your means of delivering it was through the application of jacketed round nose ammunition, jacketed hollowpoint ammunition, or barrier penetrating ammunition matters very little.
I daresay anybody here would be hard pressed to produce a court case where a person was convicted solely on the kind of ammunition they used. Rather, I suspect that any such mention has more to do with proving the intent behind the assault/killing was a deliberate act of malice and not a justifiable act of self defense and was likely only a small part of such a conviction.
WHAT AMMUNITION SHOULD BE USED?
Ammunition which will have a significant change of stopping a violent attack, and which feeds reliably in your chosen firearm.
Beyond that, with all the quality ammunition out there it's a matter of research, function checking, and personal choice.