The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Hollow Point versus Ball: does it really matter for self defense?

jmortimer · October 30, 2012, 12:09 PM

"Even if it only expands 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time, it's still as good as a non-expanding bullet and 30% of the time it's better."
This theory is wrong if you start out with a bigger/better meplat like an LBT design, or a wad cutter, or, a .45 caliber bullet over a smaller caliber. As they say, the .45 is "pre-expanded." Then the bigger/better meplat will be better "70% of the time." I suppose the best of all worlds would be a cast bullet with a soft nose and/or meplat/hollow point, as it will expand every time and is not necessarily velocity dependent. The hard part of the cast bullet will defeat most barriers and the soft part will expand reliably. As for liability and over-penetration, again, I will point out, there is more potential liability for a miss which is possible or probable in shoot-outs regardless of the bullet chosen. As for the "energy dump," that is important especially for two legged opponents, but not so much if you have a .45 caliber plus bullet and a large meplat. A decent meplat will cause more damage and create a more destructive wound channel than a round nose or a non-expanding hollowpoint, so no, the "hole" aka wound channel, will not be the same size.

October 30, 2012, 12:09 PM	#14
jmortimer Junior member Join Date: January 24, 2010 Location: South West Riverside County California Posts: 2,763	"Even if it only expands 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time, it's still as good as a non-expanding bullet and 30% of the time it's better." This theory is wrong if you start out with a bigger/better meplat like an LBT design, or a wad cutter, or, a .45 caliber bullet over a smaller caliber. As they say, the .45 is "pre-expanded." Then the bigger/better meplat will be better "70% of the time." I suppose the best of all worlds would be a cast bullet with a soft nose and/or meplat/hollow point, as it will expand every time and is not necessarily velocity dependent. The hard part of the cast bullet will defeat most barriers and the soft part will expand reliably. As for liability and over-penetration, again, I will point out, there is more potential liability for a miss which is possible or probable in shoot-outs regardless of the bullet chosen. As for the "energy dump," that is important especially for two legged opponents, but not so much if you have a .45 caliber plus bullet and a large meplat. A decent meplat will cause more damage and create a more destructive wound channel than a round nose or a non-expanding hollowpoint, so no, the "hole" aka wound channel, will not be the same size. Last edited by jmortimer; October 30, 2012 at 12:23 PM.