I choose to carry my own hand loads and accept the risks of doing so, because I believe they are infinitesimally small. I suggest everyone carry good hollow point ammo that functions reliably in their gun but it is none of my concern what anyone chooses.
^^^This is where I'm at. Unlike others here, I'm not going to belittle or chastise anyone for what they choose for their SD in their gun. That choice is as personal as choosing to carry in the first place. That choice in itself, will have much more impact on whether or not a jury finds you guilty of a bad shoot than any choice of ammo. Since the whole debate of whether or not to carry handloads started 30+ years ago, there has not been one case any of the nay-sayers can give, showing where handloads, by themselves made any....
any difference at all. Oh yeah, could happen, might happen, but it ain't happened, and and odds are, it never will. I know, JMHO, but isn't the same to be said about all of these opinions? Kinda like those folks that insist one needs a bigger caliber or more capacity for their SD weapon than that little LCP with only 6 rounds of FMJs.. Lookout tho, might make you a murderer.
From Pennsylvania Law, an Abiding Gun Owner Blog.
Other common misconceptions when calculating deadly force include:
- What caliber you use matters. [Point of fact it does not. The law does not require you use the lowest caliber firearm available to you in a given situation]
- The type of firearm used matters. [Point of fact it does not. The law does not require you use a handgun over a shotgun over a FNH SCAR 17s or your Barrett Model 82A1 battle rifle.]
- The number of shots used matters. The moment you reload your weapon, you can no longer claim self-defense. [Point of fact it does not. The law does not require you use only one projectile. As anyone who has had any tactical or self-defense training will tell you, you shoot to end the threat. The fact is even those who are highly trained and drilled will require more than one shot to end the threat. Shooting to end the threat does not mean murder, it means shooting to stop the perpetrator from continuing to complete one of the four specified acts allowed under Pennsylvania law, meaning death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.]
- The modifications to the firearm used matter. [Point of fact they does not. It makes no difference if you use your match grade Geissele or Timney trigger or your Glockworks modification. If you or some gunsmith modifies a trigger to make it a “hair trigger,” it doesn’t make self-defense any more or less available.]
- The type of load used in the gun matters. [Point of fact it does not. Whether you use Full Metal Jacketed ammo, hollow points, frangible ammo, Hornady Critical Defense® ammunition, Speer® Gold Dot® ammunition, 00 buckshot, slugs, high grain rifle rounds or hand-loads does not factor into the legal equation.]
- Whether you have a concealed carry permit matters. [Point of fact it does not. A Pennsylvania License to Carry a Firearm does not eliminate your ability to claim self-defense or mean that you have any “extra” rights to defend yourself.]
- It matters if you have received advanced tactical training or have military SF or operator training. [Point of fact it does not. Even if you are a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and teach combat tactics in the Reserves, whether deadly force is permissible depends upon the circumstances at the time you encounter your situation. You are still held to the same standard as the rest of us.]
In today's world there is no need to hand load SD ammo. The ammo company's have done A LOT or R&D before the market their ammo. There are some that are slightly better than others, but they are ALL good performers in the real world.
There is, as stated no need. While $2 a round boutique ammo may perform as well in my firearm as my $0.40 a round handloads, there is tho, a desire and a satisfaction from handloaded ammo. Lets say, you got careless and let a round escape the backstop while plinking at your local range. Will the charge change because you used handloads? Could be the prosecutor, will try and show how caress and reckless you are by using handloads?Could be......
Ain't gonna pursue this any longer, been debated enough. Wouldn't have even gone this far, but the nay-sayers had to start handing out their tin-foil hats.