gamestalker
member
I personally carry a good expanding high velocity H.P for my S.D. round. And since I hand load I make it a maximum high velocity round. But I also realize the risk of a through and through penetration finding an innocent bystander before stopping.
This topic is no doubt a very controversial one and for obvious reasons, and with good arguement. For me, I don't want to find myself needing the penetration or the necessary stopping power against a 300 lb. intruder that could possibly shake off a low velocity round and may have to penetrate layer's of heavy clothing as well. And in todays world of drug crazed perpetrators being on the prowl, I prefer to not find myself being chased down by some crack head fueled perp that wasn't stopped by the limited performance of a reduced velocity round. This is no doubt a catch 2+2 as both sides of the issue are with good merit.
Some what unrelated, but still pertinent regarding stopping power is an incident I was exposed to first hand. In Flaggstaff, Az. in 1990 a bad guy came into the convenience store I was employed part time at. My neighbor who was as well employed there, was working my shift instead of me because I was hunting antelope. So in the early evening hours her husband was with her doing some maintenance and he was a very large framed man. A perp came in and shot him in the back of the head with a .357 mag. revolver, and because the ammunition this BG was using was a low velocity grade, the round simply bounced off leaving only a bleeding scalp wound. Thank God the BG didn't know what he put in his gun. But during his crime spree that began in California and ended in Northern Arizona, he did shoot and kill several other innocent store clerks.
This is just one example of why I think I need the good stuff in my side arm, in my opinion. What if the circumstances were reversed and the BG was unable to be stopped?
This topic is no doubt a very controversial one and for obvious reasons, and with good arguement. For me, I don't want to find myself needing the penetration or the necessary stopping power against a 300 lb. intruder that could possibly shake off a low velocity round and may have to penetrate layer's of heavy clothing as well. And in todays world of drug crazed perpetrators being on the prowl, I prefer to not find myself being chased down by some crack head fueled perp that wasn't stopped by the limited performance of a reduced velocity round. This is no doubt a catch 2+2 as both sides of the issue are with good merit.
Some what unrelated, but still pertinent regarding stopping power is an incident I was exposed to first hand. In Flaggstaff, Az. in 1990 a bad guy came into the convenience store I was employed part time at. My neighbor who was as well employed there, was working my shift instead of me because I was hunting antelope. So in the early evening hours her husband was with her doing some maintenance and he was a very large framed man. A perp came in and shot him in the back of the head with a .357 mag. revolver, and because the ammunition this BG was using was a low velocity grade, the round simply bounced off leaving only a bleeding scalp wound. Thank God the BG didn't know what he put in his gun. But during his crime spree that began in California and ended in Northern Arizona, he did shoot and kill several other innocent store clerks.
This is just one example of why I think I need the good stuff in my side arm, in my opinion. What if the circumstances were reversed and the BG was unable to be stopped?
