Mixing Ammunition in One Magazine

[RevolvingGarbage]

The difference in what materials a .45 ACP will penetrate with ball vs. HP ammo is not worth worrying about. Neither are going through anything more robust than a 70's flak jacket, so the only advantage ball has is the depth of the hole it makes, and at that you are talking good enough (HP, 15") versus borderline too much (FMJ, 30"+).

 

[Potatohead]

i do a little mag mixin'

 

[Sam1911]

Yes. In sociology (and a great many areas of soft science and the humanities) the majority view is by definition the right view. So the group view and the right view will tend to coincide. It's a subtle form of confirmation bias.

That doesn't apply to physics.

Several different issues here, but the group polling dynamic actually works far beyond confirmation bias. Certainly if you ask folks what the best flavor of ice cream is and 87% say chocolate, then chocolate IS the best flavor because they all said so.

However, if you ask a large enough group of the same people some question of hard-science or history fact (Q: Which year did Vasco DeGama first land in India?) and give them a set of choices (A: 1450, 1498, 1515, or 1537?) the group does tend to pick the right answer more often than not. That's rather the opposite of confirmation bias.

It doesn't even apply to the stock market or home prices. Did the group here predict two years ago that bulk pack .22lr would be a rare and precious substance today? No.

This is a bit of a red herring. The group has to be given all the relevant information in play, and this of course can't predict outlying oddities and unforeseen events.

If you'd polled gun owners a totally blind question like, "How much will a brick of .22 LR ammo cost in March of 2013?" They'd have totally blown the answer. If you'd said, "If we have a highly publicized mass shooting of children during a Democrat presidency and in an intensely polarized political climate, what will the price of a brick of .22 LR ammo be four months later?" They'd be quite likely to guess a price point not very far off from reality.

Bringing this back to the realm of the discussion we're having here, when there are pretty much two choices (Option A: JHP, or Option B: mixed ammo, mostly FMJ ball) and the debate over the question had largely been answered decades back, with NO relevant new data arising in that time to lend further support to the value of "Option B" -- the group really doesn't stand a chance of getting the answer wrong. Calling their answer "groupthink" makes it sound like the answer is questionable or worse, which is a way of casting doubt on the answer's validity without having to provide a legitimate basis for that doubt.

"Battery acid is poisonous! Do not drink it!" ---> Pshaw! That's just groupthink! Be a free thinker! They don't want you to know the TRUTH!

 

[VetPsychWars]

OK, you've convinced me! Plus, the horse is already dead!

Ordering another box of HST now!

Tom

 

[hariph creek]

Mixed mags for SD irritate me. For most the reasons listed previously.
It seems the prevailing tactic of internet commandos and gun shop ninjas.

My first impression was that frequent dry fire, with the assumption of frequent rechambering. Was a "set-back" concern? Necessitating (frequent) disposal of, otherwise, usable rounds?
Am I wrong here?

 

[VetPsychWars]

Mixed mags for SD irritate me. For most the reasons listed previously.
It seems the prevailing tactic of internet commandos and gun shop ninjas.

My first impression was that frequent dry fire, with the assumption of frequent rechambering. Was a "set-back" concern? Necessitating (frequent) disposal of, otherwise, usable rounds?
Am I wrong here?

You're pretty much right. Not just set-back (of which there is little) but the rims get chewed up a little too.

Tom

 

[tarosean]

8 rds of HST is "not inexpensive?" C'mon man, even at a dollar a piece, if you paid that much, you're talking about the price of lunch at McD's, not a new Caddy. And you don't have to shoot off your carry ammo more than once or twice a year, if then.

Couldn't agree more...

 

[CPLofMARINES]

No, I don't do this, only in a woods application. FMJ will
Penetrate too much for street use. Something some of us
Forget about is that we, as law abiding, concealed carrying
Pistol citizens are held a hell of a lot more accountable.
All the hard chargers talk about penetration, but that
Bullet after leaving bad guy just may hit good guy. I know
"Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6." We have all
Heard it. LEO's have a different rule book. So, a mixed
Load (Combat Mix) for the woods, (bear/couger...) is fine ,
Streets, no.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, if mixing two loads in a mag is good?

Then why stop there??

Here is my carry load for my .380 Kel-Tec P3AT!

I got all the bases covered I tell ya!!



PS: Except I need to change a couple of them out.
I need a Silver bullet for werewolf's, and a wooden bullet for vampires!

rc

 

[rcmodel]

But with my lifestyle?

Rattlesnakes & copperheads are a more likely threat then Border Ruffians, Gangsta's, Villain's, or Zombies!
Besides, it was a joke anyway.

I am not a proponent of mixing loads in a mag or cylinder.

Except for a couple of snake-shot when tromping around in the woods.
And then a revolver is far superior to a bottom-feeder anyway.

rc

 

[ChCx2744]

Dude, just buy some good quality carry ammo (In your case Federal HST) and load it up fully with that. It's not that expensive if you really think about the application. A box of good quality HSTs will last you at least a couple years. I am still cycling the same box of Gold Dots I bought two years ago. Whenever I chamber a round, I mark it and chamber a new round. If a round gets two marks, it gets shot. You can cycle a box of 50 for a long time using this method, even if you carry an extra mag.

 

[CPLofMARINES]

^^ What he said.

 

[HankB]

I met an old retired sheriff's deputy (or maybe he was a state trooper) many years ago who carried a .357 when he was on the job - the first few rounds were standard lead SWCs, and the last few were Winchester metal piercing. He said that in his job if he fired more than a few rounds and the fight was still on, the bad guy was likely behind a barricade and he wanted something that would get through it. (Lead SWCs and metal piercing were the only loads commonly available when he was on the job. He may have hollow-pointed the SWCs himself.)

Personally, I don't mix ammo in my handgun loadouts, I just use premium JHPs.

Now, in RIFLE loads, there's something to be said - theoretically - for loading the first few rounds in the magazine (last ones fired) as tracers; they'll tell you when you're due to reload. But how many of us are going to go through a whole rifle mag in a HD situation at a long enough distance that we'll see tracers?

 

[BSA1]

There is a school of thought that bullet placement is more important than bullet style.

Another school of thought is to keep shooting until the threat stops his aggressive actions.

Some view overpenetration as a red herring as it is not possible to predict what distance, the build of the attackers, clothing, cover and angle you may shoot from. No one type of bullet will cover all of these variables.

Another school of thought is when using a semi-auto ball ammunition is the most reliable.

And then there is something called Murphy's Law.

You can probably figure out by now what schools I went to.

 

[Robert101]

Back in my early handgun days, I only had a couple of guns - one was a S&W 44 Mag (629 model). For SD, I loaded the first round with #4 lead shot cap and the rest were Winchester Silvertip 44 Specials. My reasoning was, for a night stand gun, I would have a better chance of getting some lead on a target and then could apply the 200 grain Winchester's as needed.

Today, I gravitate to semi-automatics and love the Glock 40 for SD. I use Winchester 180 grain, JHP T-series ammo in all mags. I'd like to think I know better now than years ago. I really hope I shoot better too. All those 1,000's of reloaded practice rounds should account for something.

 

[Onward Allusion]

That's correct gentlemen... Back in the day with REVOLVERS. Mixing ammo is absolutely fine with a revolver. Even a shotgun. Doing it with a semi-auto pistol is not wise for SD/HD. If one must mix, then test with the same mag(s) & ammo mix a dozen or more times.