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Questions on defense v. over penetration

Years upon years ago I was at Sig School with Bank (Banks?) Miller who was head gun guy at. . . . DEA, I think.

He said he carried 9mm ball ammo. Overpenetration was not an issue. 18 or so years later, I'm still not so sure. I wanna say 9mm ball was penetration of 14-16" which means into the BG, out of the BG and enough force to do damage to anyone/thing behind them.
Sounds like ā€œgood enough for the troopsā€ mind set run wild in the civ world where uhhh the backstop matters and you are fully accountable
 
You should look up how and why it's made.

Cliffs: it's a damn good representation and the best thing we have for testing.
I'm plenty familiar with it. It's so 1990s. If you want to see
There is a reason that the widely used FBI protocal for ammunition testing uses ballistic gel. No, it isn't a human body, but we can't test ammunition on human subjects.
This I would believe in if they apply an additional 4" layer of fat.

 
Any round that can't penetrate a few sheets of drywall is kind of useless for home defense because it won't reach an attacker's vitals either. This is just like the folks loading birdshot for HD - terrible idea imho.

If wall penetration is a major concern, the best answer is to ditch the handgun and shotgun altogether and get an AR.
Have you seen what birdshot does at close range?

What do you mean "Get an AR" if penetration is a concern. The article on Jose Guerrera mentioned that 55gr. FMJ went through the front of his house and lodged in the back cinderblock wall.
Ballistic gel penetration does not correlate to live bodies though.
Nah, you need Paul Harrell's "Meat Target"! [rofl]
There is a reason that the widely used FBI protocal for ammunition testing uses ballistic gel. No, it isn't a human body, but we can't test ammunition on human subjects.
Says who? Just call yourself Al Capone on February 14th.
This I would believe in if they apply an additional 4" layer of fat.
Hey, I represent that remark!
 
Anything that is worth using for SD will potentially overpenetrate. It's literally that simple. The amount of overthinking people do about this is f****** maddening to the point where it makes my face melt a little bit every time I hear it. People who get hung up on this are basically just punching themselves in the dick in the long game.


View: https://youtu.be/OANob2HpS4o?t=7
 
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Anything that is worth using for SD will potentially overpenetrate. It's literally that simple. The amount of overthinking people do about this is f****** maddening to the point where it makes my face melt a little bit every time I hear it. People who get hung up on this are basically just punching themselves in the dick in the long game.


View: https://youtu.be/OANob2HpS4o?t=7

Penetration discussion will go on for infinity, it even shows has more longevity than snow tires.
 
223/556 fragments and tumbles after impact. It demonstrably goes through fewer walls than shotgun or pistol ammo.
 
Not worried at all about over penetration, and not worried about the neighbors because they are far enough away.
My house is 40' long and 30' wide. Any shooting will almost definitely be inside 25 feet. I'm pretty confident in my ability at that range, and I wouldn't pull the trigger if I wasn't.
45 JHP through a meat popsicle and two layers of sheet rock will have very little energy left.
The most effective counter measure to over penetration, is to make sure the projectile passes through a bad guy before it encounters walls, doors or windows.
 
People who get hung up on this are basically just punching themselves in the dick in the long game.

I was trying to search for the words to respond to OP but then realized this is what I wanted to say! Most people will be chitinā€™ a brick during a home invasion and all those plans will go way different. Know your gun. Know your target. Use good ammo. And leave it at that.
 
Thatā€™s bad info. 9mm round nose FMJ will penetrate about 24ā€ of ballistic gel. That is far more than is considered acceptable. Surprisingly, flat nosed 9mm TMJ penetrates even more.


View: https://youtu.be/7a6uCLdUOQI?si=P-jvmtQb7_9hG-iH


I took classes with Bank Miller at Sig but he is flat out wrong on this.

Just pick one of your favorite jhp from here Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition - Ballistic Testing Data


Oh I'm not saying I agree.

His issue was that with clothed individuals, a JHP may not penetrate enough to get the job done. And over penetration, in his expert opinion, was not a huge factor.

I've never carried ball ammo in a carry gun. Ever. I'll take a 2" hole 1.5x wider than the caliber versus a 20" hole the same width as the caliber every time.
 
Oh I'm not saying I agree.

His issue was that with clothed individuals, a JHP may not penetrate enough to get the job done. And over penetration, in his expert opinion, was not a huge factor.

I've never carried ball ammo in a carry gun. Ever. I'll take a 2" hole 1.5x wider than the caliber versus a 20" hole the same width as the caliber every time.
Maybe that made sense 20 years ago, but JHP design has improved greatly. And the FBI protocol tests include layers of clothing in front of the gel.
 
I don't think JHP tech has come THAT far in 20 years. He was the only one that had that opinion in my class. I think even the "junior" instructor - gosh, teh rifle guy. . . . . older. . . . . he quietly did not agree.
 
I don't think JHP tech has come THAT far in 20 years. He was the only one that had that opinion in my class. I think even the "junior" instructor - gosh, teh rifle guy. . . . . older. . . . . he quietly did not agree.
I think it has. There has been a big improvement from Hydrashok to HST.
 
Do they still make those Glazer safety slugs? Were those just a gimmick? I knew a guy many years ago that carried them in his 10mm, but he was kind of a tool so I will let the experts weigh in.

I do recall they were designed to fragment when they hit something hard so as not to go through walls or whatever.
 
If youā€™re beneath the nuclear reactor cooling system, better switch to flamethrowers only. Otherwise, JHP.

Security personnel in areas with critical equipment often use frangible ammunition, not to prevent accidental killing of others by over penetration or ricocheting bullets, but to not shoot up the critical equipment.
 
Buy a couple cases of CCI 22LR Stingers. Practice a LOT. Wear GoPro and shoot perps in nads. Make bank on YouTube.

Jokes aside, it's good that this discussion comes up every blue moon. Hadn't heard a good recommendation for 00 buckshot.
[thumbsup]
 
The problem these days is finding Federal Flightcontrol.
For inside the house, I don't see any benefit. Outside all bets are off and just maybe use slugs

 
223/556 fragments and tumbles after impact. It demonstrably goes through fewer walls than shotgun or pistol ammo.
True, but still shown to go through 4 layers of drywall, so 2 home walls, basically, at least.


Good ol' Box o' Truth back up on forum - rather than blog - software.
 
Just picked up a Mossberg 590A1 - same scenario as OP (at home, any aggressor would have to come up from the ground floor, and everyone sleeps upstairs) - use slug, buckshot (000, 00, 4) or bird shot?
Load in sequence from the perceived least lethal to the perceived most lethal and keep pumping and pulling till the job is done. Sure, Itā€™ll be messy. But the information will be valuable.

Kind of like ā€˜how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?ā€™ā€¦
 
If your only concern is over penetration, might I suggest .25?

You almost certainly won't stop your target with grandmas ole purse-shooter, however.

Knowing your target and what lies beyond it, is probably a better option, IMHO.
 
#6 shot for 2, 00 buck for 2, 300 gr Rifled Slug for 2. If they get past that the 45 for backup
If the need is for more than 2. Don't worry about over penetration,
Your fighting for your life .......
 
#6 shot for 2, 00 buck for 2, 300 gr Rifled Slug for 2. If they get past that the 45 for backup
If the need is for more than 2. Don't worry about over penetration,
Your fighting for your life .......
For entertainment purposes start with rock salt. That shit must hurt
 
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