Handloaded ammo for HD

[PeteF 1,044]

I have heard of a lot of stories where someone used handloaded ammo to defend themselves and were then grilled in court by persecuters.

 

Does anyone have any actual case histories where this happened?

 

The reason I ask is if this really is a problem, why do bullet manufacturers sell Hollow point bullets for handguns? Yes I know some people hunt with handguns but not enough to make it

producing the bullets profitable.

 

It seems like a really expensive option to load hps to shoot at paper.

[Old School 611]

I'm very interested to hear a response from the learned ones read as "know it alls".

 

As I've said before on this forum, my lawyer told me to shoot bad guys in the home with ball ammo in a handgun. Or, just use a shotgun for home defense.

The shotgun idea is my own.

[XDJohnTact 49]

I have heard the same thing! I don't think I would chance it myself. I have a couple hundred rounds of HP reloads in 9mm and .40S&W, not for HD but for when the zombies come :scared-eek: . I agree with Old School, you can't go wrong with the old 870!

[Old School 611]

I laugh every time these Home defense threads come up. Ever fire a weapon any weapon in the confines of a house? Very interesting!!! Kind of rattles your guts...LOL

[djg0770 481]

Ever fire a weapon any weapon in the confines of a house?

 

No, but I set off a primer on purpose as a teenager in the basement. :shock: Where's the smiley with his fingers stuck in his ears?

[Shane45 807]

If I recall I found a, 1, uno case where it was a problem. However, its NJ, the land of I'll sue. So why give any "ammo" to the prosecution over a $30 box of ammo?

[Old School 611]

If I recall I found a, 1, uno case where it was a problem. However, its NJ, the land of I'll sue. So why give any "ammo" to the prosecution over a $30 box of ammo?

 

Shane, correct me if I'm wrong, but after a shoot even a righteous won't the weapon and ammo be taken as evidence?

[matt6669 71]

If I recall I found a, 1, uno case where it was a problem. However, its NJ, the land of I'll sue. So why give any "ammo" to the prosecution over a $30 box of ammo?

 

Shane, correct me if I'm wrong, but after a shoot even a righteous won't the weapon and ammo be taken as evidence?

 

I believe so. And I will cry if my DW ever gets taken away. But things could be worse.

 

M

[GRIZ 3,369]

Let's start off by saying a good shoot is a good shoot no matter what you use to shoot with or the ammo. If you have armed terrorists ninjas knocking down your door, the entire incident is videotaped, and you have witnesses that back up your story there should be no problem in a criminal case. You won't see the inside of a criminal court. In a civil case (moreso in a state like NJ), the plantiff's attorney will use everything possible to make you look bad. Handloaded ammo is just one of these things.

 

Massad Ayoob has written on this and it is one point I have to agree with him on. Use factory loads in a SD gun. If there is some question about what happened this can verify your story. If you say the BG was attacking you with a baseball bat and he was six feet away and his froends say he was 50 feet away, gun shot residue can be duplicated if you are using factory ammo by the "boys from forensics". No doubt about the outcome of the tests. If you are using handloads and testing is done with what you say you had in the gun there is still an element of doubt. Is that what he really had in the gun?

 

To say it a little different than Shane45 did, you can prevent any of these problems for less than 5 minutes of a good lawyer's time. Why take a chance?

 

The weapon and ammo will be taken as eveidnce in a righteous shoot and you probably will have to fight to get it back in NJ. You still may lose it. Just don't use that Singer 1911 as a SD gun.

[Shane45 807]

I should have said plaintiff instead of prosecution. Griz has stated it far better than me. :oops: I indeed was only refering to the civil lawsuit side of the event.

[Ray Ray 3,566]

I laugh every time these Home defense threads come up. Ever fire a weapon any weapon in the confines of a house? Very interesting!!! Kind of rattles your guts...LOL

 

I have, and it's even louder in a car! Especially a Mossberg 500 pistol grip.

[lunker 274]

I believe so. And I will cry if my DW ever gets taken away. But things could be worse.

 

M

 

Getting a little ahead of yourself?

[XDJohnTact 49]

A little off topic but speaks to shooting off a gun in the house.

 

When I lived up north, my next door neighbor had her husbands service revolver and kept it by her bed. One evening, I heard a "bang", I looked out and didn't see anything. A few minutes later we heard another bang? Again, I went to the door and looked around and didn't see anything wrong. After a few minutes, I hear my neighbor at my front door calling me. I went to the door to find her holding the revolver in both hands, and it was cocked and loaded (and NOT pointing at me). I carefully pinched off the hammer and took the gun away from her.

 

She said she thought she heard something and went and got the gun, before she knew what happened, she had cocked the gun and forgot how to uncock it so she shot her bed. Somehow, she cocked it again and shot the bed a second time.

 

I unloaded the gun for her, and she said she was going to take it to the police department and that they would clean it for her and give it back to her. (My wife was hoping they would just keep it, she was 80 years old and should not be handling any gun). To our surprise, she got it back from them a few days later.

 

It was amazing how we were able to hear it so clearly in our house with the doors and windows closed. BTW, it was a .38 service revolver that her late husband used when he was a prison guard at Rahway Prison.

[Freedom-First 2]

I have heard that one of the reasons not to use hand loaded SD ammo is because of the argument that you specifically created something with the intent to kill. Extra lethal, as in pre-meditated.

 

Soooooooo... Mr. Griz... isn't it true that you MADE these deadly bullets yourself... AH Ha.. So then.. you were just WAITING and Planning all along; LOOKING for someone you judged to be a BAD GUY, so you could USE your deadly home made bullets weren't you.. :doh:

[GRIZ 3,369]

I have heard that one of the reasons not to use hand loaded SD ammo is because of the argument that you specifically created something with the intent to kill. Extra lethal, as in pre-meditated.

 

Soooooooo... Mr. Griz... isn't it true that you MADE these deadly bullets yourself... AH Ha.. So then.. you were just WAITING and Planning all along; LOOKING for someone you judged to be a BAD GUY, so you could USE your deadly home made bullets weren't you..

 

 

Whether or not you use handloaded ammo for SD this is one of the common arguments that come up. It also illustrates that if you should find yourself in the position of having to respond to the question posed by Freedom First, you have a good criminal defense lawyer who can put the "extra lethal ammo" question to rest. Avoid having to respond to this by using factory ammo.

 

The fewer questions available to the prosecutor or plantiff's attorney the better it is for you.

[NJ609 22]

The weapon and ammo will be taken as evidence in a righteous shoot and you probably will have to fight to get it back in NJ. You still may lose it. Just don't use that Singer 1911 as a SD gun.

 

I love my HD shotgun but it wouldn't cost me very much to rebuild it from nothing. Which is actually one of the reasons I bought it.

 

So.... choose wisely I guess?

[Freedom-First 2]

Whether or not you use handloaded ammo for SD this is one of the common arguments that come up. It also illustrates that if you should find yourself in the position of having to respond to the question posed by Freedom First, you have a good criminal defense lawyer who can put the "extra lethal ammo" question to rest. Avoid having to respond to this by using factory ammo.

 

The fewer questions available to the prosecutor or plantiff's attorney the better it is for you.

 

Agree wholeheartedly! Better yet, buy factory ammo that says for "Self Defense"

[Celraysoda 7]

Very true. I have heard from a few of my Mother's work colleagues that they would definitely use that to their advantage that you made "Killer Bullets" if the family decided to sue you, and they had the right attorney. They would throw that into the faces of the jury instead of the fact that he/she broke into your home and attempted to assault you and you defended yourself.

 

Not even worth it IMO.

 

I will see my Mother on Sunday. I will ask her if she can find an actual case like this in Jersey and update the post.

[Shane45 807]

In fact to help further insulate from those accusations, I have advised in the past to those asking that if their HD weapon is the same caliber as their local PD, find out the duty ammo and use the same. I think it could possibly help the defensible position if the topic of ammo type reared its head.