Home on the Range Advice of the Day

If you're going to have just one bullet.

Make it hollow point.

We start with jacketed lead. If your bullet has "high velocity application" written all over it, it often has a lead core that is jacketed (plated) with copper alloys, cupronickel, gilding metal or steel. This ultra thin layer of harder metal protects the softer lead core as the bullet passes through the barrel and during flight, keeping your little delivery intact. Full metal jacket bullets have the front and sides of the bullet completely encased in the harder metal jacket. Some bullet jackets do not extend to the front of the bullet to aid in expansion and increase lethality. These are called hollow point bullets .

This hollowed out shape (a pit) in the tip of the hollow point can be quite large, sometimes dominating the volume of the bullet and causing extreme expansion or fragmentation on impact. The purpose of this design in general is to cause the bullet to expand upon entering a target in order to disrupt more tissue as it travels through the target, while decreasing and controlling penetration and the possibility of ricochet (to avoid collateral damage of the innocent or structures that do not need holes in them).

If a bullet travels through a target some of its kinetic energy is lost. The hollow point bullet has two interrelated purposes: to increase its size once within the target, to maximise tissue damage and blood loss or shock, and by remaining in the target to expend all of its kinetic energy IN the target.

When a hollow-point bullet strikes a soft target, the pressure created in the pit forces the material (usually lead) around the inside edge to expand outwards, increasing the axial diameter of the projectile as it passes through. This process is commonly referred to as mushrooming, because the resultant shape typically resembles a mushroom, with a rounded nose on top of a cylindrical base.

As your doctor would say "you're going to feel a little pinch". hehehehe

The greater frontal surface area of the expanded bullet limits its depth of penetration into the target, and causes more extensive tissue damage along the wound path. I believe it is for this reason, that most hollow points, especially those intended for use at high velocity in centerfire rifles, are "jacketed". This simply means a portion of the lead-cored bullet is wrapped in a thin layer of harder metal, such as copper or mild steel. This increases bullet strength and prevents fouling the barrel with lead stripped from the bullet. In controlled expansion bullets, the jacket and other internal design characteristics help to prevent the bullet from breaking apart; a fragmented bullet not penetrating as far.

There IS a difference between a true exploding bullet and a projectile designed to fragment on impact and if often causes some confusion. In an exploding round, (and no, not a grenade with a fuse or a cannon round), it is designed to explode upon hitting a hard surface, preferably the bone of the intended target. these bullets are composed of a casing containing a small amount of low explosive powder charge, which on striking, forces the end projective element out at high speeds.

The frangible round, such as the Glaser Safety Slug, is designed to disintegrate into tiny particles upon impact to minimize the shoot-through danger behind the intended target.

Those in the military, law enforcement or who just watch too much TV, know of the Armor piercing round, designs where the core material is a very hard, high-density metal such as tungsten, tungsten carbide, depleted uranium, or steel. A pointed tip is often used, though a flat tip on the penetrator portion can be more effective.

The end result of all types of rounds, however, is stopping power. Good guy, versus Bad Guy, you do the math.

Your basic projective type bullet causes soft tissue damage through crushing, this in turn creating a temporary cavity that contains hot gases. If you were to put on your CSI or coroner hat, you'd see that the the tissue is compressed radially from the center of the cavity and resulting in tears to structures (such as solid abdominal viscera), the extent of which is dependant on its elastic properties. The recoil of the tissues, together with the dissipation of the gases, causes the soft tissue to collapse inwards on itself, the resultant defect being a permanent cavity (ahem, large hole)
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Expansion, or hollow point, bullets are designed to deform upon impact because of a collapsible space within the projectile tip. The result is that a single projectile will inflict greater overall damage to a target than a projectile alone, allowing an increased transfer of kinetic energy compared with a standard bullet. Although, as we said, there's a decreased chance of ricochet, some of the older ammunition failed to expand on impact as a result of pieces of clothing obstructing the cavity.

Prefragmented, or frangible, bullets are composed of a prescored outer jacket with a plastic round nose containing compressed lead shot within. The result is a controlled explosion on impact producing increased damage and less clothing related problems. The tips, however, possess no explosive charge.

Now you're saying "OK, now I know more about ballistics than the folks on CSI Miami (actually, the average Smurf knows more about ballistics than the folks on CSI Miami). But my point is this. If you carry for self defense, you are not shooting to deter, you are shooting to STOP. You need to have the skills, and you need to have the proper ammunition.

Above is an example of some pistol rounds, from left to right.

A. Is it in yet?
D. Fac ut gaudeam
E. Take no prisoners

I've heard the argument "Oh, I can use a smaller round, it will deter them", or "I'll just shoot them in the arm or the leg so I don't kill them".

Wrong

I've written of these points before and they can not be stated enough times.

Shooting someone with the intent to only wound, such as shooting someone in the arm is still using lethal force in the eyes of the law, and under which you MUST be in immediate danger of grave bodily injury or death. If you are not, then you are not allowed by the law to shoot them at all.

The truth is, when someone is shot, it's not like TV where they get flung across the room, crumple up in a little dead heap on there floor. There are exceptions. A head shot will drop them pronto, but most shots aren't head shots. Even after a shot to the heart a person MAY have 10-15 seconds of willful control That's 10-15 seconds in which they will do all they can to kill you. Coroner reports will show you that perps often continue an attack even after multiple wounds, any of them in and of themselves, lethal.

You may drop someone with one well placed shot, even with a small caliber, but it is not as likely as TV would have you believe. The body has stores of oxygen it can use, in a fight or flight situation, for sometimes some surprising seconds, before the brain shuts down.

What about a pelvic girdle shot? Old schoolers like the late Jim Cirillo and Massad Ayoob have talked about it for years. It's not as easy or as instinctual as going for center mass, but a hit on the pelvic ring anywhere will usually fracture the bone in two places. Without that structure, the tactical tango is out, you shouldn't even be able to walk. But although there are significant neural and vascular structures in the pelvis, they are not prone to damage from cavitation. Certainly a direct hit to the femoral artery will kill, and quickly, but the aorta is bigger than the femoral and more prone to cavitation injury. You can hit the pelvic girdle and with some ammo just leave a nice round little hole, or they can go down but still have a good shooting arm. Remember, like any shot, it's a tool in the tool box.

What you do need to remember, with the exception of a brain shot, most shots with most ammos do not kill right away. Man, like any other animal, expiring from lack of oxygen to the brain. You've got to achieve basic circulatory collapse, either complete failure of the heart that stops the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain or bleeding out. Secondly, the lungs can fill with blood or the airways are disrupted to the point that they cannot support the flow of air through them. When oxygen stores in the blood cease being replenished and your O2 stores are gone, the brain shuts down. That can take seconds.

It's about blood loss folks. That takes serious damage. The body can pretty much operate until about 20% of the blood supply is drained. Shots with tiny ammo, unless exceedingly well placed, or shots to the arms or legs are not going to stop some folks. You've heard the quote "if someone ever shoots me with .25 auto and I find out about it I'm going to kick their ass? It's true, some people not even knowing they HAD been shot with the adrenalin going.

There's really only one type of shot that is guaranteed to take someone down in 1 to 2 seconds from the shot being fired and that is one that will instantly scramble the "circuitry" of the human body. A nerve must be struck by the bullet or the shockwave produced by the bullet passing through the tissue that contains the nerve. That will agitate that nerve, big or small, enough for it to go haywire. When it does, it sounds out a large amount of electrical energy from all the nerves involved, that head on up to the brain and simply overload its capacity to respond. It's the blue screen of death in the brain. You might see a twitch, as nerve signals also shoot downstream from the area of the damage to the periphery of the body where an exaggerated response of the normal operation of that nerve occurs. But they are way past ever hurting someone again.

Nerve disruption that will take the body down like that is in the brain or the spinal cord, NOT the heart. Do you try some head shots at the range on your non threatening, non moving target? Then you know how hard it can be to hit. Pistols can be ineffective when they do not find a thin part of the skull to pass through, often bouncing off. An ocular window hit will usually get in, but the human head bobs a whole lot more than Mr. Stationary target, making that window that much smaller.

Now add in movement and adrenalin, and getting a shot that is not only well placed. but will penetrate, is easier said than done. The spine isn't that easy to hit either, it's not that large (and in some politicians, non existent) and the shot needs to be placed at a point about level with the tip of the sternum, around T11, to be instantly stopping. And since you have the rest of the body in the way, the spine isn't really an option. You can NOT shoot someone in the back if at that point they are no danger to you and yours. Period.

This is why I'm not going to carry some cute little .22 or .380 with plinking ammo if I have a choice. I'm going to carry something with some stopping power. For me, shooting to kill when threatened with great bodily harm or death IS my psychological default.

If I only have time for one shot and it MUST count, I AM going for the heart and the major arteries just above it. I'm going for the head as well. I'm going to use calibers with lots of shockwave. I'm not going to "wound" the criminal, with the resultant possibility of bone and nerve and muscle damage, wherein attorneys can play the argument of ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ and pursue punitive damages for destroying the capacity of your ‘victim’ to earn wages and so on. You don’t try to just wound people intent on raping and/or killing you with a gun. If you buy a gun for self defense, saying "I can't defend myself with lethal force", do NOT buy one.

Then before you carry, practice. Practice with the rounds you intend to use.One thing to remember with Hollow Points: Many older pistols, 1911's in particular, have feed ramps designed for rounded FMJ bullets and they may not chamber some hollow-points reliably. If you're going to carry hollow-points, you need to test fire a number of rounds, making sure that your pistol chambers and fires them reliably. That saves you from getting a "click" when you really need a "bang!"

I've said it before. Shoot until they catch fire or melt but once they are stopped, you stop, and if they run away, you stop. Whether your life was in immediate and grave danger, if there's a bullet in the back or buttocks of the criminal YOU are now the criminal in the eyes of the court until you prove otherwise.

So, when a non shooter or new shooter says to you that they would just "shoot to wound", have a little discussion with them about legal dynamics, human physiology, tactics and ballistics.

Then explain to them what happens if they meet up with evil, and they are not prepared, for then, they will have lost something. For, if they live, and the monster only harms them in ways that sear the soul, they will be looking back, to that parking lot at the bank or dark street or grocery, back to the untainted time and smell and taste of when they HAD that choice, of where they walked and what people they let into their space, when the denial process won out over the actuality of human nature. Back before they were a victim.

(1) FBI "Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness" , public doc