The myth/ truth of "WASTED ENERGY"

[BehindBlueI's]

How far does a hollow point go into tissue before fragmenting?

Most quality hollowpoints for hand guns don't fragment by design. They are designed to retain mass to be "barrier blind" and to ensure adequate penetration.

 

[EPeter213]

Most quality hollowpoints for hand guns don't fragment by design. They are designed to retain mass to be "barrier blind" and to ensure adequate penetration.

So, most modern hollow-points are designed to deform and flatten rather than fragment? (Asking for clarification, not refuting your statement)

 

[BehindBlueI's]

So, most modern hollow-points are designed to deform and flatten rather than fragment? (Asking for clarification, not refuting your statement)

Deform by expanding, yes. Not so much flattening, although there are some that flatten to cause expansion to get around feeding issues or NJ laws. They are specifically designed to not fragment, shed their jacket, etc.

There are marketing gimmicks out there that are designed to fragment, but the few times I've seen them used they have made messy, but shallow, wounds. I would not classify them as "quality".

 

[two70]

So, most modern hollow-points are designed to deform and flatten rather than fragment? (Asking for clarification, not refuting your statement)

The common term used to describe rifle bullet deformation in expanding bullets is "mushrooming" as the bullet is reminiscent of a toadstool(short stem, wide top) after expanding. Quality pistol bullets do the same basic thing, only to a lesser extent.