Self Defense Ammo do's and don'ts

[CCWKen]

Texas' Open Carry is going into effect January 1st. I've been telling everyone I know that carries not to do it for the same reason the gun dealer says. If something starts going down in a public place, I don't want to be the first target when some doper or radical sees my weapon. It's the carrier's choice but I'm not. And I don't want to be standing next to someone that is. The only thing I don't like about the new law is the wording has been changed to allow ONE carry weapon. (Or it was in an early version I read.) That wasn't the case before and many I know carried a smaller backup in a pocket, boot or ankle holster.

When I first took the CCL class back in 2001 it was drilled into our heads to use terms like "Defense" and "Stop Injury" when explaining what happened. You never want to use terms like "wound" or "kill" when describing your actions. And as already mentioned, don't use ammo that is not designed for defense. In Texas, once the criteria for deadly force has been met you have no duty to retreat. Your duty becomes a defensive action to stop serious bodily injury or death. However, Texas also has provisions for personal property and criminal mischief at night.

 

[Texas Dawg]

I will not open carry even thought the law will be in affect on January 1. I will still carry concealed. I am happy that with the new open carry because it will remove the problem with the old law when you had to be careful NOT to expose the weapon. It was always a concern that you would raise you arms to get something and it would be exposed putting you in violation of the law. Hopefully that is now a thing of the past.

 

[ultrarunner]

I guess those that do reloading are left out?

 

[Garandman]

There are trigger jobs for competition guns with very low trigger pulls. These are not considered safe for carry use. Most gunsmiths will not reduce the trigger pull on a carry gun to less than around 4.5 lbs. Manufacturers like Sig Sauer have services to do this. The shop owner opinion is unusual and they are not attorneys.

The usual advice when selecting self defense ammo is to find out what the local PD uses and use that.

The Army announced that their next generation handgun will possibly use hollow points, based on FBI data. We are not signatories to any treaty that prohibits this, and most police forces worldwide use expanding bullets. We do conduct legal reviews of rounds. SOCCOM has been using non-FMJ already in rifles and pistols.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/mili...gun-system-solicitation-hollowpoint/29886907/

The Army is usually the lead agency for sidearm purchases as it doesn't make sense to conduct four or five tests and divide up the purchases. There are many special purchase handguns bought in smaller quantities by the services for specialized needs. For example, Army CID use SIGs as a full-size M9 is too big for undercover use. Army aviators used to be issued "Airweight" revolvers. Etc.

 

[Wagtail]

Had an interesting conversation today. Went to a local gun shop looking for a 'cheap' used 38 or 9mm to pop snakes or rats while on my tractor. (See hear now, this is about tractors).

So... did you get a new pistol? :laughing:

 

[Bird]

I will not open carry even thought the law will be in affect on January 1. I will still carry concealed. I am happy that with the new open carry because it will remove the problem with the old law when you had to be careful NOT to expose the weapon. It was always a concern that you would raise you arms to get something and it would be exposed putting you in violation of the law. Hopefully that is now a thing of the past.

My thoughts as well.

 

[paulharvey]

Another Hornady critical defense user here also. The only thing in your entire post that was questionable in my mind was the military switching to hollowpoint ammo. I understand some is used, but as far as I know it is still against treaty.

Everything else sounds spot on to me, including the FBI switching back to 9mm for the reasons given. Go back to that gun shop, she knows what she is talking about.

The US did not sign the Hauge Accord, that banned expanding ammo.

 

[k0ua]

I guess those that do reloading are left out?

Not at all. You still need to reload for practice ammo.. You don't shoot very many of your defense loads, just enough to make sure your firearm is totally reliable with the load. You need to reload so that you may shoot thousands of practice rounds so that you become competent with that particular firearm. The watch word is practice, practice, practice.:thumbsup:

 

[davesl708]

Texas' Open Carry is going into effect January 1st. I've been telling everyone I know that carries not to do it for the same reason the gun dealer says. If something starts going down in a public place, I don't want to be the first target when some doper or radical sees my weapon. It's the carrier's choice but I'm not. And I don't want to be standing next to someone that is. The only thing I don't like about the new law is the wording has been changed to allow ONE carry weapon. (Or it was in an early version I read.) That wasn't the case before and many I know carried a smaller backup in a pocket, boot or ankle holster.

When I first took the CCL class back in 2001 it was drilled into our heads to use terms like "Defense" and "Stop Injury" when explaining what happened. You never want to use terms like "wound" or "kill" when describing your actions. And as already mentioned, don't use ammo that is not designed for defense. In Texas, once the criteria for deadly force has been met you have no duty to retreat. Your duty becomes a defensive action to stop serious bodily injury or death. However, Texas also has provisions for personal property and criminal mischief at night.

Kansas has always had open carry except in cities that banned it. Now the state has allowed open carry everywhere in public. You can carry concealed without a license. It has not been a big deal. Very few carry open in towns.

I think a lot of the media hype about people carrying guns has been just hype. If guns were causing people to go nuts and start shooting when they get mad we would have gun fire all day long. Not many are willing to start a fight when you don't know who is armed.

 

[4570Man]

I guess those that do reloading are left out?

I reload, but I don't carry reloads.