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.40 S&W: 155 to 165-grain jacketed hollow-point (JHP) moving at 1,100 fps or faster. All of the major manufacturers make a load like this. The United States Border Patrol has conducted extensive testing with this load using both the Federal and Remington versions in the lab and on the street with great success.
.357 SIG: 125-grain hollow-point moving at 1,350 fps. The Speer Gold Dot and Federal JHP loads are the most proven in the field. Others are available, but I do not have any hard data on them.
.45 ACP: 200 230-grain JHP. The Federal 230-grain Hydra Shok hollow-point is the most proven. The Remington 230-grain Golden Sabre hollow-point and Speer 200/230-grain Gold Dot hollow-points have also worked very well.
These trends or formulas have proved successful over and over again. Please keep in mind they are not absolutes, but they are a good bet if your agency doesn’t have the facilities or funding to extensively test potential duty ammo. I’ve seen a number of agencies change ammunition because of a single incident, which is not a good idea if the ammo has been extensively tested.
Ammunition that fails to stop an adversary is usually due to poor shot placement and not poor ammo performance. Expansion is a means to an end and not the end result. A bullet that fails to expand as shown in the gun magazines will not result in an incapacitation failure as often as a fully expanded bullet that does not hit a vital area of the body. Remember: To be effective, handgun bullets must be placed on an adversary in a vital location, and no amount of expansion or bullet diameter will change this. The best thing any law enforcement firearms instructor can do to ensure the agency-approved gun and ammo incapacitates dangerous felons is train their personnel to hit vital areas of the body while bobbing and weaving, as in a real fight. This equates to training time and ammunition, and no super-duper, thermonuclear +P+, thunder-flash, wonder hollow-point will make up for this.
Dr. Vincent DiMaio, one of the nation s foremost experts on wound ballistics, says the secret to handgun stopping power remains where you shoot your opponent and how many times you shoot them. Makes sense to me. Hardware will never make up for sound training and accurate shooting.
Dave Spaulding is the 2010 Law Officer Trainer of the Year and Law Officer’s Firearms columnist. A 28-year law enforcement veteran who retired at the rank of lieutenant, he is the founder of Handgun Combatives. He has worked in corrections, communications, patrol, evidence collection, investigations, undercover operations, training and SWAT—and has authored more than 1,000 articles for various firearms and law enforcement periodicals. He’s also the author of the best-selling books Defensive Living and Handgun Combatives. Visit his web site at www.handguncombatives.com and like him on Facebook.
Now this is not the first time I have seen these numbers, but I have never understood why a 9mm 124-127 grain bullet must be at least 1200fps and a .357 Sig 125 grain bullet must be least 1350fps.
Dave, I always enjoy your pieces. You used this phrase which has become common, “majority of law enforcement officers are not gun people”.
I’ve had civilians and other police officers tell me this isn’t true and that it should be stated as, “MANY law enforcement officers are not gun people.” I do consider you to be the authority among those that have given me info on this topic.
I’ve talked to officers that really don’t know much about guns and some who really know a lot. Is there any hard data on whether the wording should include “many” or “majority”?
Thanks
Dave…
Thanks for the info. My Dad was expert target shooter and was the captain of the USAF pistol team, as well as an accomplished hunter b/4 his death in 1980. B/4 his death he gave me a stainless Ruger .357, a box of .357 hollow points, a box of .38 “wad cutters”, and a box of .38 hollow points. I don’t practice with it as often as I should, but when I do, the first 2 rapid shots are dead eyes.
At the time, my Dad told me that keeping the gun loaded with “wad cutters” was a good substitute for hollow points and a lot cheaper….explaining that the “wade cutter’ round would do a lot of damage and was not likely to leave an exit would or pass through walls.
I’m not an expert like my Dad, but I grew up shooting at coffee cans along side Daddy….so i know the basics. He also did all of his own reloading….hence… the wad cutters.
Since that time, I have bought a hammer-less .38 and keep it loaded with hollow points for self defense.
What are the current thoughts on “wad cutters” and can they be purchased?
Thanks for your help.
cjm