Posted on 07/31/2013 12:45:30 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
So I know a guy who knows a guy who owns a Walther PPK. He's asking whether to load FMJ or JHP, purely for self-defense. It's not his primary weapon . . . he just wants to know what to keep in the magazines.
Of concern is, will the little .380 HP even expand at the meager velocity it gets up to? More than a few 9mm rounds do not reliably expand apparently, and they are driven a lot faster.
Yes, the Rush thread, from a few months ago. That’s the 2004 x-ray from a past back injury. Dr freaked-out when he saw the bullet, wanted to call PD and get me to hospital. It was a 1974 robbery/shooting.
Therefore I say load for penetration, as much as you can get. I carry Fiocchi ball in mine. If you're going to poke holes in the bad guy, poke them as deeply as possible and out the other side if you can.
OUCH
.32 ACP seems like a bit of overkill for self defense. You might want to consider switching to .25 ACP, or even .22 LR to avoid the recoil.
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Walking out of a restaurant in West Palm Bch, with my finance, in 1974, and being robbed/shot in the parking lot. I was facing shooter and when I saw flash, turned sideways and it hit me in left hip.
Hospital trauma ctr doc said that saved my life, as small cal bullets tumble inside and would have ripped my guts to shreds, and I’d have bled-out in the pkg lot.
They didn’t have arthroscopic surgery back in 1974, and decided to leave it in, since it missed all organs/bones/nerves/arteries/veins. Wound sealed itself; didn’t even bleed. Just a big red lump, half-size of a grapefruit, with a black dot in center.
Still carry it, with no problems.
Only time I’d consider FMJ over JHP in a caliber that small is if it’s wintertime and you expect the shootee to be wearing heavy clothing. Otherwise, go with hollows - but practice with them first to avoid failures to feed and the like.
JHP with a the polymer tips. Critical Defense is the hot brand to get for short barrels and Critical Duty for 4+ inch barrels.
The polymer tip lets it pass thru mild resistance before expansion. That is especially useful for smaller rounds going through heavy fabric like coats.
I wonder if Glaser wouldn’t be good.
Help me out here, I can’t look it up right now: is the Hornady Critical Defense the same as the Hornady XTP? I can’t remember.
Actually, it didn’t even hurt until hours later, since EMTs missed it completely when examining me. Just ached. Didn’t bleed; wound sealed itself, but left a red half-grapefruit-size mound with black dot in center (hematoma). I did have quite a few drinks before and afterward...
.22 LR? or a .25 ACP is pretty light weight stuff.
It may not be fun to shoot but it works much better.
For fun get a 6” revolver and shoot .38.
You forgot the sarcasm tag....
Though I think that more people are killed with .22LR than any other caliber.
I guess you can count your blessings that the perp had a .32 instead of one of the bigger calibers. Glad your ok now.
For defense a .38 5 shot hammerless snubby is perfect. Practically zero maintenance. It’s not a fun gun to shoot on weekends.
For that get a Glock or a 6” .357 and shoot .38’s for practice. I have all of the above and the snubby is just what it is concealable.
Critical Defense is for 1” - 2” barrels. Critical Duty is for Compact and bigger.
I have some 230gr Glaser Pow-R-Ball Ammo for both my Kimber 1911 .45cal ACPs. Kimbers eat any ammo, and Cor-Bon 230gr HPs do just fine.
http://www.corbon.com/pow-rball/general/pow-r-ball
Saturday Night Special; glad it was a small cal, and I spun sideways to take it in the hip instead of in the gut.
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