utilizing your own reloads for home defense?

[upjeeper]

Does anyone here use their own reloads for home defense? rifle, pistol or shotgun?
I’m not an LEO, just a guy who likes his own projects, but I’ve read articles from LEOs and other experienced people who say that under no circumstances should private reloads be used for home defense.
Thinking about picking up some TAP rounds or buckshot for my casa, but just curious what you guys use.

 

[TIMC]

I do but I think a lot should depend on where you live before you make that decision. I am in South Texas and around here they only care about if it was a justifiable shoot not what you used.

 

[nitetrane98]

I don't let lawyers run my life so the civil liability portion is moot to me.
If you think you can equal or improve on the quality of factory ammo then I see no reason not to use reloads. If you can't, what's the point?
In the final analysis, other than the primer, the reloader has the unique ability to inspect every facet of the construction of his round. You can absolutely be sure that there is a flash hole, powder and that case dimensions are correct in your handloads.
Factory ammo has failed to go bang just like reloads have. In the old days when it was not prohibited I carried reloads in my duty .357 magnum. I had worked up a 125 gr JHP load that was superior in every way to factory. It took the better part of a day to reload a box.

 

[rcmodel]

You betcha.

As nitetrane98 noted, I have had more duds with factory ammo over the years then with my reloads.
Matter of fact, my reload dud count still stands at zero after 45 years of reloading.

At least I know my reloaded case has a flash-hole & powder in it.

rc

 

[Mark K. C.]

I will only use my reloads for practice for the simple reason that I have read the nightmere storys from writers such as Massab Ayoob (sp.) trying to get your reload data into evidence should the situation come up. GSR will be different from factory loads versus reloads that a lawer can put you at a different posistion than you really were in a self defence action.

 

[freakshow10mm]

There is nothing wrong with handloads and I do not understand why there is controversy over the issue with gun writers. I carry my handloads. My handloads are in my carry gun and my rifle.

 

[_N4Z_]

I use my handloads for my .357 and .38 HD tools.

 

[FlyinBryan]

good grief!!!!!

what is wrong with you people?????

havent you heard??????you should never use reloads in a self defence weapon.



yes, i exclusively use my handloads in my lightweight commander.

 

[rcmodel]

I haven't seen any of the old gun writers harping on it except Aboob.

Some of the new gun writers are just parroting what he said.

Anyway, in a justified CCW shooting, or home defense situation, I can't see the difference between a Model 12 quail gun and trap reloads, or a Chiefs Special & JHP reloads.

If you have the right to shoot at all, what difference could it make what you do it with?

Around here, it seems it's all settled one way or the other by the police report and the district attorney within a couple of days.

rc

 

[The Bushmaster]

Reloads for two home defense weapons and I carry my reloads for my Kimber .45 ACP. Answer? YES...

 

[PaulTX]

I've carried Corbon custom defensive rounds and my own reloads using JHP. I feel comfortable with both. It was bad enough when Corbon was 50 cents a round and now it's up around a dollar. I don't think I'll be buying any more custom stuff.

Paul

 

[Steel Talon]

can anyone site any cases that involved the firearm owner being found liable etc. For using handloads to defend self others?

I've never found any such case but my search knowledge is limited in this venue
ST~

 

[moosehunt]

Well, I don't think we have quite gotten to the point of home defense yet, but if we do (and I think it's a possibility), I will be using reloads. Like Mr. Model said, I want to be sure that they go bang--my reloads will. I have less confidense in factory, though certainly I realize that there are very few factory duds, but more than in my reloads. So if it comes to home defense (I doubt that we'll be communicating on these little chat rooms then), I'll be using reloads. At that point, I don't think there will be much concern about someone saying you should or shouldn't be using reloads. You'll be using what you have!

 

[CSA 357]

SURE I USE MY RELOADS! I HAVE MORE FAITH IN MY LOADS THAN SOME THAT CAME FROM SOMEONE AT THE FACTORY, IM NOT PERFECT, I DID HAVE A SQUIB LOAD ONE TIME, BUT I THINK OUT OF ALL THE AMMO I HAVE LOADED ONE IS NOT BAD, I THINK IT EVEN DID ME GOOD, I LOOK EVEN HARDER NOW TO BE SURE THERE IS POWDER IN THE CASE, I HAVE SEEN FACTORY LOADS WITH THE PRIMER IN BACKWARDS, I HAD SOME 357 FACTORY AMMO ONE TIME THAT WOULD BACK THE PRIMERS OUTAND FLATTEN THEM, TOOK THEM BACK WHERE I BOUGHT THEM, CSA

 

[Steve C]

For my revolvers, mostly reloads or handloads but snubs loaded with 125gr Nyclads.

For semi auto's I load factory ammo, mostly police ammo since most of the best bullets (XTP's, HST's, etc) are not available to handloaders and I deffer to the better equipped factories for safe loads in 9mm +P+.

 

[depoloni]

I'm not defending things one way or the other, but trying to post up some (I believe to be) sensible, factual information I was told by my CPL instructor:

The main reason you do NOT carry handloads in your gun is not reliability, and it's got nothing to do with the "rightness" of a justifiable self-defense shooting.

The main reason is forensics. If you're carrying handloads in your 9mm, and you get attacked and kill a guy in justifiable self defense, you should be exonerated of any wrongdoing if it was justified. Shootings, even justifiable ones, don't happen according to a script though and in many places (including here in MI) you have an obligation first to flee/etc to avoid a shooting as anything but a LAST resort. So it matters whether a guy was 6 feet from you or 40 feet from you in many instances. It matters if he was facing you or shot in the back. So on and so forth. The guy you shot's family, whether he was a %&*#&* or not, is going to be out for blood in many cases.

With FACTORY ammo, you have the forensic benefit of a selection of ammo from a certain lot number. More of that ammo can be purchased by investigators and tested - for things like how far a given load's powder spreads (determines distance in close-range situations) for powder residue on the parties involved. Investigators cannot take "your handloads" and say with any provable certainty that at 5 feet this load leaves this much GSR, or stippling around a wound, etc. They're taking your word for what was in the actual rounds fired.

And all that is to say nothing about the shooter being wrong, right, or whatever - factory ammo just furthers the ability for forensic proof to be had because it's reliably re-produceable.

Do I carry factory ammo? You bet. Do I think that shooting someone with handloads in justifiable self-defense "WILL" get you in trouble? Not necessarily - I'd hope not.

But when stuff hits the fan and people are throwing mud against the wall to see what sticks, I'd like to keep my wall as greasy as possible! The way I see it, IF there is ANY chance I'll have some additional forensic advantage in order to prove a good shooting by carrying factory, I'm doing it. I would never dog someone else for carrying handloads so don't misread me - but I do think they're at a legal disadvantage to someone who does, regardless of how small that disadvantage is.

Just my 4 cents.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

Reloads give me a better shot placement so I use them more wanna hit what I need to especially in an HD situation

 

[moosehunt]

I maintain that if it ever comes to home defense in this country, forensic factors aren't going to be a factor, so why worry about it? At that point--should it occur--it's each for himself and whoever you may have teamed up with. If we get to a home defense situation, that basically says laws and legalities are gone anyway! We'll be shooting anything we can get (preferably reloads, in my opinion, because I trust them more).

 

[depoloni]

Apologies actually - I got all wrapped up about carrying more than really catching the home defense focus. My fault, did read that but got off while thinking about it I guess.

That being said, my guns kept loaded at home still have factory ammo in them, but that's because they're just my carry guns taken off when I get there. The wife has the shottys in two places, but that's loaded with factory because I don't load scatterguns.

 

[Nickjc]

I maintain that if it ever comes to home defense in this country, forensic factors aren't going to be a factor, so why worry about it? At that point--should it occur--it's each for himself and whoever you may have teamed up with. If we get to a home defense situation, that basically says laws and legalities are gone anyway! We'll be shooting anything we can get (preferably reloads, in my opinion, because I trust them more).

Are you talking general nationwide SHTF....or the singular home invasion?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I don't agree with Ayoob on a lot of things and he seems really against reloads/handloads for SD for legal purposes and for reliability purposes. While I think his legal spiel is overblown, I think he is spot on with the reliability issue. That isn't to say that you guys can't make reliable reloads or that factory ammo is always 100% perfect, but for most general weekend reloaders, factory ammo would be a more reliable way to go.

Personally, I think that you if have reloads that are what you consider your actual best choice for self defense (reliability, consistency, function, and performance), then that is your best choice. After all, it helps to be alive after the fight to end up in court, right? If you can't unequivocally say that your reloads are better than qualify defensive rounds in those areas, from your gun, then you really should consider going with the quality factory defensive ammo. Spend the few extra bucks on the good ammo. You are worth it.

 

[freakshow10mm]

in many places (including here in MI) you have an obligation first to flee/etc to avoid a shooting as anything but a LAST resort.

Negative. There is no duty to retreat in Michigan. This includes in your home or in public where you have a legal right to be.

 

[Kleanbore]

This has come up before. There are two aspects.

One is the possibility that in a the case of a shooting that might in an way be questionable (from the point of view of the court, not that of the shooter), the ammunition choice--and that's not at all just about hand loads--might be used by the prosecution to try to establish that the shooter's state of mind may have predisposed him to shoot when it may not have been absolutely necessary. If the case is cut and dried, it won't matter. Depends on the other evidence. Evidence, not the shooter's side of the story.

The other has to do with the admissibility of forensic evidence, particularly as it has to do with gunshot residue. Take a case in which a shooter claims he was under attack in a parking lot and had to fire at close range. If there is no corroborating evidence, and particularly if some witnesses dispute his claim, a lack of gunshot residue on the deceased may work against the shooter. If the defense can show that the loads in question would not have left GSR even at close range, that could be helpful.

Had factory loads been used, with documented lot acceptance testing and QC records and most importantly, with independent third party testimony about the ammunition, comparative testing might be able to prove the point. Without extensive third-party documentation the defense's scientific forensic evidence may well not be admitted.

Is that likely to be important with today's fast-burning powders? I don't know. Is it likely to matter in a home defense scenario? Less likely, I think.

Personally, I prefer using high-quality factory ammo. Probably somewhat more reliable in that the primers have not been touched, and it takes away one risk, however slight, from what will promise to be one most awful ordeal after a shooting. Why take the chance?

 

[Sport45]

I don't reload for shotgun, so only factory stuff for me!

 

[D. Manley]

I happen to choose factory ammunition for defensive purposes but should someone choose to do otherwise, I see no real problem with it. I don't subscribe to the "legal" type arguments made by some notable authorities some of which, I admire but IMHO, it's either a good shoot or, it's not.

I choose factory LE defensive rounds for a couple of reasons primarily focused on performance factors. Though some of the reliable performers are available as individual components, many of the absolute best are not. Additionally, the performance levels of top-notch defensive loads is at the extreme upper end and hand loading to the same levels though doable, is not without risks.

Now, should my chosen fodder no longer be available -and- I needed defensive ammunition, I'd load 'em in a heartbeat. This is one instance where I would opt for new brass although, that one's a little hard to swallow.....