Who here has worried about "over-penetration" when selecting a Self Defense / Home Defense round? (this goes for pistol, shotgun, or rifle)
My view on ammo has always been more along the lines of what the ammo does to the target itself.
Bonded, HP, SP, FMJ, whatever... I simply care that it stops the threat, drops the game animal, hits the target... whatever the task.
In defensive ammo, stopping the threat is number 1 to the point that all else (except hitting the target in the first place) doesn't matter.
I know that "over-penetration" is a thing that a hell of a lot of people tend to worry about. I also know that "knowing your target, and what's behind it" is one of the biggies...
HOWEVER, if I ever get myself into a defensive situation, I'm talking about a situation where I'm scared because my life, or the lives of those I love are in danger to the point that I feel I need to use deadly force to stop the threat... I'm NOT gonna worry about "over-penetration".
Not one single bit.
Now, keep in mind that the only time I've ever shot at people was when I was deployed to war, but in that time, I don't recall ever being worried about "over-penetration" hitting civilians, or even my own guys. Maybe I was a bad soldier, but I was scared, and mad all at once. I just shot at the bad guys shooting at us. However, I lived through it. I never hit any of my own guys, nor they I.
A defensive situation here in the USA could be a completely different matter.
First off, it has a way less likely chance of it ever happening at all. Most of us will not have to use our weapons in defense. (Thank God)
Second, if it does, for me to worry about "over-penetration" that would mean some innocent person would have to be directly in line
with me...
and the bad guy...
at that exact second...
the round would have to pass through the bad guy...
any barriers between him, and the innocent person...
then hit that person.
That's a lot of things to stack up all at once. I ain't got time to worry about all that. I do feel for any innocents that may be affected, but any events that unfold as a result of me being attacked were set in motion by my attacker... who is then legally responsible for the outcome of him forcing me to defend myself.
I'd just be some guy who's scared that I'm in danger, mad I was attacked, and trying to figure out how to stay alive, and keep my own family alive...
My thoughts are quite simply that "over-penetration" is over thought.
I would be much more worried about SHOTS MISSED... Those are the dangerous ones.
Things happen fast. Bad guys don't stand still for you to shoot at. Plus they will be shooting at you, or attacking you in some way. Pretty good chance it could be dark when all this goes down too. You will surely have been surprised, and be reacting, rather than shooting calmly on a firing range. You will be angry, and scared, maybe even groggy from having just been awoken in the middle of the night.
You will miss more than you hit, and only the hits count. Remember the news stories of police officers who fire 21 rounds at a suspect, then the report says the suspect was hit twice? The real world is a messy, imperfect place.
I probably fired close to a thousand rounds on my last combat deployment... (over the course of a year) I only got 6 bad guys.
My thoughts are, Don't worry about "over-penetration" Just get the best ammo you can, and practice putting it where it needs to go.
What say INGO? You people freak out about the lawyer attached to each bullet?
If so, the ones that MISS are the most dangerous.
My view on ammo has always been more along the lines of what the ammo does to the target itself.
Bonded, HP, SP, FMJ, whatever... I simply care that it stops the threat, drops the game animal, hits the target... whatever the task.
In defensive ammo, stopping the threat is number 1 to the point that all else (except hitting the target in the first place) doesn't matter.
I know that "over-penetration" is a thing that a hell of a lot of people tend to worry about. I also know that "knowing your target, and what's behind it" is one of the biggies...
HOWEVER, if I ever get myself into a defensive situation, I'm talking about a situation where I'm scared because my life, or the lives of those I love are in danger to the point that I feel I need to use deadly force to stop the threat... I'm NOT gonna worry about "over-penetration".
Not one single bit.
Now, keep in mind that the only time I've ever shot at people was when I was deployed to war, but in that time, I don't recall ever being worried about "over-penetration" hitting civilians, or even my own guys. Maybe I was a bad soldier, but I was scared, and mad all at once. I just shot at the bad guys shooting at us. However, I lived through it. I never hit any of my own guys, nor they I.
A defensive situation here in the USA could be a completely different matter.
First off, it has a way less likely chance of it ever happening at all. Most of us will not have to use our weapons in defense. (Thank God)
Second, if it does, for me to worry about "over-penetration" that would mean some innocent person would have to be directly in line
with me...
and the bad guy...
at that exact second...
the round would have to pass through the bad guy...
any barriers between him, and the innocent person...
then hit that person.
That's a lot of things to stack up all at once. I ain't got time to worry about all that. I do feel for any innocents that may be affected, but any events that unfold as a result of me being attacked were set in motion by my attacker... who is then legally responsible for the outcome of him forcing me to defend myself.
I'd just be some guy who's scared that I'm in danger, mad I was attacked, and trying to figure out how to stay alive, and keep my own family alive...
My thoughts are quite simply that "over-penetration" is over thought.
I would be much more worried about SHOTS MISSED... Those are the dangerous ones.
Things happen fast. Bad guys don't stand still for you to shoot at. Plus they will be shooting at you, or attacking you in some way. Pretty good chance it could be dark when all this goes down too. You will surely have been surprised, and be reacting, rather than shooting calmly on a firing range. You will be angry, and scared, maybe even groggy from having just been awoken in the middle of the night.
You will miss more than you hit, and only the hits count. Remember the news stories of police officers who fire 21 rounds at a suspect, then the report says the suspect was hit twice? The real world is a messy, imperfect place.
I probably fired close to a thousand rounds on my last combat deployment... (over the course of a year) I only got 6 bad guys.
My thoughts are, Don't worry about "over-penetration" Just get the best ammo you can, and practice putting it where it needs to go.
What say INGO? You people freak out about the lawyer attached to each bullet?
If so, the ones that MISS are the most dangerous.