MCgunner, yes, everyone, I believe, is responsible for what their bullet does after it leaves the gun. No arguement there. Keep in mind, that also includes misses, so using that reasoning, one might be better off not even firing, from a legal standpoint.
Sure, your hunting round have gone through a deer, but that's what they are; hunting rounds. Comparing the penetration characteristics of a semi-wadcutter to those of a jacketed hollowpoint isn't exactly apples to apples. I am using controlled expansion rounds and the very popular Hydrashoks. They are designed from the get-go to be a differently performing round. Part of the reason that Black Talons are no longer available for the civilian market was the fact that the sharp edges made it difficult for ER doctors to remove the slugs without cutting themselves. The rounds didn't overpenetrate and stayed in the body.
The whole point of carrying a magnum is the power, but anything can over penetrate. Carrying SWC or FMJ in anything is a risk. Shoot someone in the neck with a 9mm FMJ and you're gonna get some overpenetration. But then again, that's a maybe, too. There was a soldier in Iraq who was shot in the face with a 9mm at close range, and his tooth saved him. He even charged and captured his assailant. Had it been a 158gr or 180gr .357, I think the story would have been different.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/teeth.asp
Recently, there has been the story of the civilian assisting an officer struggling with an assailant. The civi dumped several .45 acp rounds into the body of the perp, but did not even slow him down until he placed a round in his head.
There are different rounds for different applications, for different folks, etc, etc. If everyone went purely on statistics and nothing else, we'd all be carrying the same gun with the same round. Maybe even Glaser rounds! I'll trust you to carry what you are comfortable with, and I'll carry what I am comfortable will do the job I intend it to do.
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