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9mm Hollow Point for Home Defense in NJ

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I have tried to get a definitive answer on is it legal or not. I thought using hollow point rounds for home defense was perfectly legal if I had my permit and paperwork and I was not committing a crime. Yesterday I was informed at a local gun shop that it was illegal and I would be arrested if I shot someone in NJ with a JHP round. I am very confused now and I am not sure what to do. I have a bunch of this ammo and wondering if I should sell it and buy target ammo now for defense? That seems silly.

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I've never received an answer that I trusted. Logic would indicate that if your use of your firearm was completely legal then there could be no charge for use of hollowpoint ammunition, but if your use was illegal in any way then a charge of unlawful possession/use of hollowpoint ammo could be tacked on. However, logic doesn't always prevail in the courtroom.

 

I'm not aware of any prior cases that have gone either way with hollowpoint ammo, either it was used without being charged, or used with being charged.

 

Personally, I load my HD firearms with Hornady Critical defense which has a reasonable argument that it is not hollowpoint ammo.

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N.J.S.A 2C:39-3f(1) limits the possession of hollow nose ammunition. However, there is a general exception that allows for the purchase of this ammunition but restricts the possession of it to specified locations. This exception provides that:

(2) Nothing is sub section f (1) shall be construed to prevent a person from keeping such ammunition at his dwelling, premises or other land owned or possessed by him, or from carrying such ammunition from the place of purchase to said dwelling or land . . . [
N.J.S.A
26:39-3g (2)].

Thus a person may purchase this ammunition and keep it within the confines of his property. Sub section f (1) further exempts from the prohibited possession of hollow nose ammunition "persons engaged in activities pursuant to
N.J.S.A
2C:39-6f. . . ."

N.J.S.A
26:39-3f. (1).

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If you shoot someone with Hps you will be arrested.

If you shoot someone with fmj you will be arrested.

If you smack someone with a cast iron frying pan you will be arrested.

 

Its all in the usage. Use it in SD you will probably be fine.

But in reality better judged by 12 than carried by 6.

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Federal Guard Dog (use to be EFMJ) was supposed be a workaround for the HP law.

 

 

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/handgun.aspx?id=936

 

 

 

But like it was said before, with no test cases, the jury is still out.

Various reports on how well , or not well it performs/penetrates versus HP.

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I have tried to get a definitive answer on is it legal or not. I thought using hollow point rounds for home defense was perfectly legal if I had my permit and paperwork and I was not committing a crime. Yesterday I was informed at a local gun shop that it was illegal and I would be arrested if I shot someone in NJ with a JHP round. I am very confused now and I am not sure what to do. I have a bunch of this ammo and wondering if I should sell it and buy target ammo now for defense? That seems silly.

 

#1. Please tell us which gun shop.

 

#2. I use Hornady Critical Defense just because I like the little polymer rubber ball that helps with feeding and yes, I'd rather use ammo that says "Critical Defense" than "Black Talon Teflon-coated Flesh-Ripper." God forbid I ever do get into a shooting and some prosecutor wants to make a name for himself, at least I'll have that going for me.

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#1. Please tell us which gun shop.

 

#2. I use Hornady Critical Defense just because I like the little polymer rubber ball that helps with feeding and yes, I'd rather use ammo that says "Critical Defense" than "Black Talon Teflon-coated Flesh-Ripper*." God forbid I ever do get into a shooting and some prosecutor wants to make a name for himself, at least I'll have that going for me.

 

* Now with 200% more explosive killing power than the leading brand

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I would call your local PD and ask what HP's they use and buy em and use em so no excuses if anything happens

 

I did that when I picked up my purchase permits last year. The chief's words were, "We carry Hydra-shoks, but you can't have them; they are illegal." :facepalm: I politely corrected him and he did agree that it was legal to have them in your home and to use them for self defense there too.

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#1. Please tell us which gun shop.

 

#2. I use Hornady Critical Defense just because I like the little polymer rubber ball that helps with feeding and yes, I'd rather use ammo that says "Critical Defense" than "Black Talon Teflon-coated Flesh-Ripper." God forbid I ever do get into a shooting and some prosecutor wants to make a name for himself, at least I'll have that going for me.

 

if it has the ball in the tip, they are not considered hollow points :)

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I actually asked a similar question to a Gun Shop. It was explained to me that it was legal, however simply the word hollow-point going off on the police radios may bring a negative response because of the stigma behind them in NJ. I was also recommended to use Federal Guard Dog as well.

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I actually asked a similar question to a Gun Shop. It was explained to me that it was legal, however simply the word hollow-point going off on the police radios may bring a negative response because of the stigma behind them in NJ. I was also recommended to use Federal Guard Dog as well.
Assuming there would ever be a situation where the kind of bullet was mentioned by dispatch, do you really think it would make a difference in police response?

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I actually asked a similar question to a Gun Shop. It was explained to me that it was legal, however simply the word hollow-point going off on the police radios may bring a negative response because of the stigma behind them in NJ. I was also recommended to use Federal Guard Dog as well.

 

How would the police call know it was hollow point bullets until they got the perp. Unless you say on the 911 call I just shot a guy with hollow points

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Assuming there would ever be a situation where the kind of bullet was mentioned by dispatch, do you really think it would make a difference in police response?

 

I don't think it would be mentioned in a police dispatch. Certainly in a report, . But not a dispatch.

 

I think the genuine fear is that God forbid you get into a shooting and you do everything right but one little thing. Maybe you shot the guy twice in the chest and as you were shooting he turned to run and you hit him in the back (because you keep shooting until the target is no longer a threat, right?)

 

Or let's say the springs in your gun are a little worn, and when the police confiscate the gun for testing, they find that they can put 16 bullets in the magazine if they push really hard.

 

The real gist behind hollow points is that they are only illegal during the commission of a crime. Like I said. All you need is a prosecutor who wants to make a name for himself... better to go with the Guard Dog or Critical Defense or Pow-r-ball. I like ammunition that says "Defense" on the packaging. It's one less think to worry about.

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How would the police call know it was hollow point bullets until they got the perp. Unless you say on the 911 call I just shot a guy with hollow points

 

I would imagine the problems will come later on down the line after the police already responded. For some reason the officer might want to examine the bullets of the gun. Or Mostly may stem from when the prosecutor's office gets involved. I've seen first hand on an incident where someone was attacked, and another group of people saw the incident and beat down the attacker to defend the other person. When a prosecutor got to the scene he wanted to know who stopped the original attack and charge them with assault as well.

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I don't think it would be mentioned in a police dispatch. Certainly in a report, . But not a dispatch.

 

I think the genuine fear is that God forbid you get into a shooting and you do everything right but one little thing. Maybe you shot the guy twice in the chest and as you were shooting he turned to run and you hit him in the back (because you keep shooting until the target is no longer a threat, right?)

 

Or let's say the springs in your gun are a little worn, and when the police confiscate the gun for testing, they find that they can put 16 bullets in the magazine if they push really hard.

 

The real gist behind hollow points is that they are only illegal during the commission of a crime. Like I said. All you need is a prosecutor who wants to make a name for himself... better to go with the Guard Dog or Critical Defense or Pow-r-ball. I like ammunition that says "Defense" on the packaging. It's one less think to worry about.

I was responding to The Clerk.

 

I follow the logic of your argument, but I really don't think any of that stuff would matter in the context of a legitimate use of self defense.

 

I would imagine the problems will come later on down the line after the police already responded. For some reason the officer might want to examine the bullets of the gun. Or Mostly may stem from when the prosecutor's office gets involved. I've seen first hand on an incident where someone was attacked, and another group of people saw the incident and beat down the attacker to defend the other person. When a prosecutor got to the scene he wanted to know who stopped the original attack and charge them with assault as well.

 

I was responding to the weird justification that you received at the gun shop.

 

The responding and investigating officers will certainly see and take note of everything at the scene of any homicide, including the gun and bullets. I just don't think the name of a bullet will matter in a legitimate use of self defense. The bottom line is guns and bullets can kill someone, regardless of what they are called. If someone really wanted to, he or she could come up with a reason why each brand of bullet demonstrates that you're an unreasonable, ruthless killer. It's just not something I'm ever going to worry about. I worry about quality and price.

 

I obviously can't speak to the situation that you saw first hand, but every situation is different. If the prosecutor was looking to charge people, I suspect that he believed that the use of force was unlawful.

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I was responding to the weird justification that you received at the gun shop.

 

The responding and investigating officers will certainly see and take note of everything at the scene of any homicide, including the gun and bullets. I just don't think the name of a bullet will matter in a legitimate use of self defense. The bottom line is guns and bullets can kill someone, regardless of what they are called. If someone really wanted to, he or she could come up with a reason why each brand of bullet demonstrates that you're an unreasonable, ruthless killer. It's just not something I'm ever going to worry about. I worry about quality and price.

 

I obviously can't speak to the situation that you saw first hand, but every situation is different. If the prosecutor was looking to charge people, I suspect that he believed that the use of force was unlawful.

 

I suppose I could agree that it is strange to give that as justification but given that it is NJ, I suppose they just wanted their customers to just err on the side caution to avoid as many nonsense charges as possible.

 

And regarding that incident, The original attacker had used a brick to beat down the person. The other group defending him use pure physical force. The original responding officers refused to identify the group that defended the beaten down man because they thought it was absurd that a prosecutor would seek to charge people that saved someone from potentially getting beaten to death.

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Can you use them at the range? I bought a bunch at prices just north of target ammo a few months back. I want to make sure all of my firearms function with JHPs at the range before I potential try t odefend myself with them.

 

Yes,,, and everyone whould shoot whatever ammo they plane to use for SH/HD, thay way you know if your gun likes it and how it shoots.

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Read the NJ statute it restricts hollow point AND 'dum dum' ammunition. Basically anything that expands can be considered dum dum ammunition. That is why I stick to FMJ or regular flat or round nosed lead for revolvers. In essence NJ enacted the geneva convention on ammo in this state for ordinary citizens. If you use anything expanding you are going to get flack for it during your arraignment, trial, and in the media. The public and the jury doesn't care if it is legal or not, all most people in the jury pool know is what they learned watching Lethal Weapon which is that it is naughty stuff and isn't it illegal or something?

 

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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