I’d like to think they read this post, but for whatever reason they repeated the XTP test with the 9×18 Hornady XTP ammo:
Looks like, as I predicted the XTP bullet performed identically to the initial test, even with the variables of the smaller gun, and lack of fabric penetration removed.
The modern hollow points made by the big American gun makers work and work well. As a handloader I only carry factory ammo for defensive uses, and save the home-rolled stuff for practice. I could g33k out and load my carry cartridges one-at-a-time on a single-stage press, and weigh each charge and mic each finished cartridge, and I still don’t think I could compete with the quality control of the big ammo makers, and I CERTAINLY can’t compete with their terminal ballistics testing where the load and bullet are tailored for optimal performance.
I am not very concerned about my loads landing me in trouble in court…I AM concerned about my loads just not being as good as the factory products.
My life is worth the extra cost!
Exellent point, carrying manufactured self defense loads is SMART!
That Hornady what I use in my CZ-82 for carry. Good stuff.
One point to ponder: do you regularly practice with what you carry? Or do you primarily use your home-rolled stuff for practice?
I teach NRA classes at Airfield Shooting Club in Suffolk, VA. One of my co-instructors is a Virginia attorney.
His primary point is that, especially if you miss and an errant round hits a bystander, failing to practice regularly with your carry ammo could place you in jeopardy in a civil suit. He says that this would be his first line of inquiry if someone employed him to sue you for wrongful death or injury in such a situation. He’s pretty sure that he could convince a jury that, in light of the fact that different ammo has different characteristics, including point of aim, from the same gun, it is negligent of someone who carries a gun not to practice regularly with the ammo that is actually carried.
There are lots of people out there who don’t. They buy cheap Winchester white box or something like that for practice and save the good stuff just for carrying.
His point isn’t that you shouldn’t try to keep costs down by using cheap ammo during practice, but that you should also practice regularly with what you carry.
I’ve taken his advice to heart. Every time I go to the range, I shoot my carry magazines empty at some point during my practice and then reload them with fresh ammo. This ensures that the ammo stays “fresh” and isn’t in the gun for long periods of time, exercises and tests my carry magazines, gets rid of any ammo that may have some bullet setback from being loaded and unloaded repeatedly, and refreshes my familiarity with the ammo I carry, as well as enabling me to testify (should the need arise) that I practice with the ammo that I carry every time I go to the range.
Just something to keep in mind that I’d never really thought about until I started teaching pistol classes with a lawyer.