Pro's & Con's of Carrying your Reloads

[Double Naught Spy]

g56, so what if Ayoob is the expert witness? He has made the claim about handloads for years, along with other Ayoobian myths, but has NEVER documented a case where handloads were an issue.

Not only has he not documented any, nobody here seems to know of actual cases. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65021&highlight=ayoobian

Quite surprisingly, he seems to have had a significant change of heart and noted that if the DA ever goes after the type of gun or ammo used, then the DA has no real case in regard to the actual shooting incident.

Additionally lacking has been reports of factory loads coming under fire. In this change of heart, Ayoob noted TWO incidents where the DAs went after cops and factory ammo selection. So his notion of using was the cops use (supposedly justifies the ammo type used for a non-leo) and to use factory ammo over handloads died. By count, he has two more documented cases of DAs going after factory ammo than handload ammo.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89289&highlight=ayoobian

 

[ezypikns]

Does anyone know of a website.....

which will let me know what the approved weapons and ammunition are for my local police department? Of couse the simple thing to do would be to contact them, but I'm not sure what kind of a reception I'd get.

 

[twolf]

the difference

Double naught,

The difference is people pay him for his opinion and he is published on self defense concerns, he owns his own self defense school and he is a police officer. If you want to attack someone's character, I'd find someone other than Ayoob.

 

[David4516]

I use my own handloads in both of my 2 carry guns...

One of the main reasons is caliber. It's hard to find good Factory JHP ammo in both calibers, and the ammo that is out there is loaded down. I'll probably get flamed a bit for this, but my calibers are:

9mm Makarov (aka 9X18)

.25 ACP

I don't really "like" these rounds, but the guns they are chambered in are very reliable (I carry a Makarov and a Beretta Jetfire), and I believe that reliability is the #1 most important thing in a carry pistol...

Thats the second reason I carry handloads... they are reliable, or mine are at least. I've loaded a few thousand rounds now (most for the Makarov), and have yet to have a "dud".

I dout that my handloads would be an issue in court. While it's true that my loads are considerably "hotter" than factory loads in these calibers, they are still weaker than most rounds used by LEOs. It will be hard for somebody to argue that my rounds are "super-duper killer rounds" when the local cops carry somthing bigger...

Edited to add:

I like Hornady XTPs, but the factory Hornady ammo is a bit slow. For example, Factory 9mm Mak is about 950 FPS with the 95 gr XTP. I load the same bullet in my handloads to about 1050 FPS. I also use the XTP (35gr) in the .25, and Bullseye powder with both.

 

[Ryder]

Not superstitious

Doesn't matter to me. Handloads are not illegal and I'll shoot whatever my gun happens to be loaded with. I buy ammo at the corner gas station and I handload.

Proof of innocence is not the defendant's burden. Any claim that my ammo was handloaded to inflict more damage simply can not be proved. If I was focused on wanting to inflict excessive damage on the target I would just purchase ammo off the shelf. Consider the huge variety of +P and extra power premium hunting ammo choices available.

I've had plenty of factory ammo malfunctions. I consider my handloads more dependable and wouldn't hesitate to use them in a life threatening situation. I generally use newish brass for carry.

Speaking of custom triggers. I recall reading of a case where the defendant was found not guilty of murder when it was brought to light that his trigger was modified for a light release. It served as proof that the discharge was unintentional. I wouldn't count on that one though since this guy was a cop but it is not illegal here and if you don't know your own limitations the gunsmiths have you covered since they wont do a 2 pound trigger job on a defense gun due to liability anyway to my knowledge.

A civil problem? Fear of bonified idiots doesn't run my life. They've already done their best to ruin it with little effect.

 

[halvey]

Pro's & Con's of Carrying your Reloads

People will argue about it forever on THR.

No suprise this thread was resurrected from the dead...

 

[HankB]

twolf:

Modifying the trigger to lighten the pull is a modification that several states do not allow.

So civilian gunsmithing is prohibited in some states?

WHICH states? Specifically?

I know some police departments prohibit all modifications to sidearms issued to their officers, but I'd really like to see a citation for a law that explicity prohibits and explicity criminalizes trigger modifications for civilian.

As far as ammo choice is concerned, they can try to make an issue of ANYTHING.

Use a handload - you cooked up super deadly killer ammo.

Use what the cops use - you're a cop wannabe.

Use FMJ - you're a military wannabe.

Use hollowpoint commercial - and you're using ammo banned by the Geneva Convention or Hague Accords.

Use promotional ammo from Wal Mart - you want to kill people on the cheap.

Use premium ammo from a gunshop - you want exotic killer ammo.

Use a softpoint - that's hunting ammo, except you were hunting PEOPLE!

etc. etc.

 

[foggybottomboys]

What do you see when you look at a round of factory ammunition. Most likely it's the bullet, case, and primer. Can you tell if the case has a flash hole? Nope. Can you tell how much powder is in it? Nope. Can you tell if the primer has all of it's components? Nope again. I don't have a problem carrying my reloads for self defense because I know each component that went into the round, and I also know the person that assembled it. I also maintain loading manual information, and the chrono slips. And, I've been loading longer than the people I work with have been alive! All of this boils down to is personal preference and attention to detail.