Massas Ayoob and the rest of the above listed writers elsewhere mentioned in this post do have some overpenetration stories logged with the .380ACP.
Granted, this is less likely a problem with the lighter bullets or most of the loads, but it has happened.
Combat Handguns and American Handgunner are two of the primary sources on this from years past. Yes it's been a while since the last such story, but there are heavy bullet weights,few they may be, and yes it does have to be considered. Some that is. Not as much as say, with a .38 Special or 9x19, but it can happen.
I may be splitting hairs here, but since it can happen,rare as it is, thought it wise to include that.
Most of what has been written about terminal ballistics and outside ballistics can be hashed and rehashed endlessly. Most of us have only a somewhat basic knowledge of ballistics and wounding ability what works is being endlessly debated. There's a lot to know that even the forensic scientists admit that isn't understood yet. Maybe never will be.
What they do know is that JHPs do cause larger area wounds under most circumstances, have a better chance of penetrating bone or skulls without ricocheting, and with the newer stick together weight retention generations of bullets that do penetrate better than ones of old, there are good reasons to go with JHPs.
I'd like for those out there to point out to verfiable data where a JHP in.380 ACP didn't penetrate sufficiently enough on a torso hit to stop an aggressor.
It's just something to learn about if there is a credible source or sources.
Gelatin tests and other penetration tests in media are interesting exercises to see how the bullets behave. They however are not totally indicative of how that bullet performance and terminal ballistics will happen when shot into flesh and a live actual living body. Nor will it show how the person shot will react when shot.
These are all case by case basis based.
For instance, why does a blow from a blunt, heavy object in the right spot drop a person to the ground and person hit stops functioning for a while, yet no actual irreparable damage or damage to the body? Yet a person can be shot once or numerous times and little or no reaction takes place.
There's alot to take into consideration and many mysteries to be found out on all this.
Point is that JHPs will effect what flesh and organs they will hit more dynamically than and create more area disrupted under most circumstances than FMJ.
That the scientists and post mortems on the shot victims show. So do the witness accounts.
The more disruption of organs, tissues, and blood vessels, the quicker the body under most circumstances shuts down.
Penetratrating FMJs do not do that as well as most JHPs do. That's been documented by the patholigists,terminal forensic specialists, and observations from post mortem autopsies. These autopsies were witnessed by the police instructors or the reports obtained with photo evidence to back results up.
Problem with all this is that what happens in the real world is not definitive, but results over time to bear some data we can all use. That's to catalog what worked and what didn't and the to our best ability the whys,where's and hows of what took place.
There is more current data to show that JHPs work better under most circumstances over FMJ. There are cases where penetration is a key and cannot be dismissed easily. It's where you hit them rather than what is also a factor that cannot be ignored.
Chances are that this discussion about penetration versus wounding effects will go on for a long time to come. Too many unknowns and variables.
Since newer generations of JHPs ( Gold Dots, Hydra-shoks,XTP,Golden Saber) penetrate further than the older ones and expand more dynamically,again, under most circumstances, using a JHP over FMJ seems to be a good idea.
No one has ever presented hard verifiable data that show that deep penetration and why in physical terms that it more important than other factors. It is an important factor none the less. Just one of many factors.
There are many thoroughly documented cases where we multiple hits to the torso with FMJ have failed miserably. More so than with JHPs.
Here's another gee whiz info thing to throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings. Remington's traditional older rounds were given a more rounded ogive for better feeding purposes in the many brands of pistols.
This it does well. However dynamic expansion is retarded as compared to other JHPs yet the Remington loads have gotten the job done for a number of police departments. Go figure, huh?
Then there are times JHP noses have filled up material passing through heavy clothing and became ball ammo in performance.
If winter time or heavy clothing is the norm for that particular time of year, then a hardball round is very well a good pick. That's all ready been stated above by others I do believe.
So rather than this become a Morgue Monsters versus the Jello Junkies debate, there are good reasons for the picks you folks have made. Under most circumstances.
