dancitizen
member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2015
- Messages
- 62
.32 ACP, .380 ACP, 9x18 (To a much lesser extent .25 auto)
These cartridges have been used by police and for self defense over many decades in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, actually... pretty much everywhere but the USA.
In their FMj loadings, out of small to mid sized pistols, these cartridges have performed their role well.
In the USA there are to converging trends, high performance projectiles, and a proliferation of subcompact pistols with very short barrels. These short barrels can cost a lot of precious velocity and detract from expansion.
I remember talking to an retired Spanish police officer about this many years back and he felt strongly that making sure there was both an entrance and an exit wound was more important than expansion and a slightly larger wound tract. He was a staunch supporter of .32 acp calling it a "proven man stopper"
So what do you all think?
- Is it better to go for the better feeding and deeper penetration of the FMJ?
- Do you feel the modern hollowpoints have reliable expansion and are worth the reduced penetration?
- Do the new "short barrel" rounds perform as promised?
These cartridges have been used by police and for self defense over many decades in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, actually... pretty much everywhere but the USA.
In their FMj loadings, out of small to mid sized pistols, these cartridges have performed their role well.
In the USA there are to converging trends, high performance projectiles, and a proliferation of subcompact pistols with very short barrels. These short barrels can cost a lot of precious velocity and detract from expansion.
I remember talking to an retired Spanish police officer about this many years back and he felt strongly that making sure there was both an entrance and an exit wound was more important than expansion and a slightly larger wound tract. He was a staunch supporter of .32 acp calling it a "proven man stopper"
So what do you all think?
- Is it better to go for the better feeding and deeper penetration of the FMJ?
- Do you feel the modern hollowpoints have reliable expansion and are worth the reduced penetration?
- Do the new "short barrel" rounds perform as promised?