Every time I think of self-defense shooting, I remember the quote my CHL instructor said in class, "Every bullet fired in self-defense has a lawyer attached."
Oh, definitely. If you miss the bad guy and strike someone else, expect to be sued. One may be liable for that, though I'd hope that the court would find one not responsible because they missed in a life-or-death moment and may not have had time to properly aim. The maxim "Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife" may apply.
It was related to me by a shooting buddy that using handloads for self-defense could put you in a bad position if the shooting in question ever went to a jury. The attorney on the other side of the table will use that information and twist it to make you out as the bad guy. Once he puts that information out there the way he wants for the jury to hear, it is very hard to take it back.
As I mentioned above, I've read over the details of a few dozen (hundred?) defensive shootings. All the cases were concerned about was the legitimacy of the shoot (that is, "was it legal and appropriate for the defender to shoot the attacker"). None cared about the ammo used at all.
Assuming the situation justified shooting a bad guy, would one be "ok" shooting a bad guy with a 9mm Luger round, but "not ok" shooting him with a .45 ACP round? If so, why? How about a +P or +P+ round? How about a handloaded round loaded to normal velocities? Less than normal velocities? Greater than normal?
What if you use Gold Dots loaded by another company, like Black Hills? Or using Buffalo Bore ammo?
I would imagine that someone handloading their own self-defense ammo would choose to use a well-known brand of JHP bullets (say, Gold Dots). If so, it's likely that one's loadings would be within the prescribed boundaries of a well-known loading manual (to do anything else would be unsafe in most cases). If that's the case, what's the big deal?
I would probably keep detailed, and I mean DETAILED, records of your handloads just in case the day comes when you have to defend your use of that particular ammo in a justified shoot.
It's always a good idea to keep records for handloading purposes, and covering one's butt for legal reasons is not a bad idea either.
In an attempt to dispel or clarify this common topic of "using handloads in a justified shoot will make the defender look bad", I pose the following challenge to members of THR:
Find a case where a private citizen shot an attacker/attackers in a justified self-defense shooting using handloaded ammunition, the case went to court, and the fact that the shooter used hand loaded ammunition to defend him/herself was even mentioned in the case, let alone became a deciding factor. If someone finds such a case, I will buy the person $20 worth of ammo, beer, or other thing of their choosing (or if they're far away, I'll send them $20).
