Posted on 07/27/2012 8:39:45 AM PDT by stuartcr
Is there really an issue with using handloaded ammunition for self defense?
I wouldn't pick up a bag of reloads at a gun show and use them in my personal defense weapon.
It is often said to be a potential liability issue during the subsequent trial.
Yes there is Stuart. It is best to buy anything commercially made by a manufacturer. You can load within the spec but it is best that you use factory ammo so that you cannot get charged or blamed for going over the top by creating ultra-hot loads which can cause collateral damage. It keeps you on the right side of the law and liability.
FWIW and not an indictment of self-reloading, some manufacturers specifically state that use of “remanufactured or reloaded ammunition” in the firearm voids the warranty. Glock is one.
Loose lips sink ships! In this case your freedom!
How is anyone to know unless you tell them? All that is left is the casing, which is the same whether new or reloaded.
/johnny
I load my own. I’m trying to work up a good defensive load for my wife’s new Charter Arms On-duty.
I haven’t bought any in years. I’m looking for a good, light recoil defensive load for a .38 snubnose.
I can’t seem to find anything officially written about it.
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That's my two cents worth and that's probably overpriced. |
Yes, there is. As someone else pointed out it may affect the outcome of your inevitable day in court. You may be seen as eager to field test your home brewed sooper-dooper-hollow point-bad guy stopper. On the other hand if you load, liike I do, what the local police are using your ammo choice becomes a non-issue. My local police uses .40 caliber 165 grain Gold Dot JHPs. It is excellent ammo with a proven track record on the street and I have complete confidence in it’s functioning in my Glock G23.
I have reloaded before. My equipment was of the simple hand operated kind. Even being as careful as possible there was still variation between rounds. There were also the inevitable double charge and squib (no charge) loads. Factory ammo is also water proofed to a degree with a lacquer coating around the primer to casing joint. Ideally, if you’re loading self defense loads you are going to use unfired brass casings and state of the art JHP bullets. You can also apply the lacquer to the finished cartriedges yourself. Your ammo is still probably not as good as the best commmercial self defense ammo.
Reloading is a fun addition to your shooting hobby. It’s a great way to learn intimately what makes good ammo and what makes bad. It’s also a great way to get cheap practice and hunting ammo. Of course since you’re dealing with explosives and projectiles you have to be knowledgeable, careful, and precise when reloading.
Many manufacturers void the warranty on any gun used with reloads because quality control is unknown.
My advice is learn to reload if you want to but stick to factory ammo in your carry gun.
You going to lie under oath and tell them you were using Hornady or Federal or something? Then they come up with an expert that finds re-sizing marks on your brass or the bullet weight doesn’t match what you said.
You tell the truth that you were using handloads, then they imply that you were designing super-lethal rounds. Cop-killers they were. Regular ammo was not deadly enough for this johnny guy. Just stopping the threat would not be good enough for you.
At least this is the argument that I have heard.
Use cheap re-loads to practice at the range, use facotry shells to defend yourslef with.
Nope. No problemo so long as you load correctly and safely.
They can draw their own conclusions.
/johnny
Is it a state thing?
I have heard this BS for years and have yet to come up with a case to prove it.
So your on the range practicing a bad guy shows up and you have to shoot him with one of your handloads. Or you don't shoot because you have a handload in year gun
If one can't not take the proper care to produce good handloads then one shouldn't handload.
Depends on whether you HIT WHAT YOU’RE SHOOTIN’ AT!
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