Handloads for EDC?

Do you stoke your EDC handgun with handloads/reloads? Please explain your answer.

My answer: Even though I’m 100% confident that my handloads are as good or even better than factory cartridges, I still carry factory ammunition. Why “go asking for it?”

BTW, 99.99% of my practice/training ammunition is homemade.

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[quote=“Mike270, post:1, topic:77335, full:true”]
Do you stoke your EDC handgun with handloads/reloads? Please explain your answer.
@Mike270 >>> good question >>> I use factory amo for self defense even though I reload. I think most people use factory amo for self defense.
:us::us::us:

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Only factory.
I use ammo that has been tested and listed on FBI Ballistic Test Result… That way I’m hoping to avoid stupid questions from uneducated people (hopefully never happens)

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Make some exploding rounds for EDC. Then watch your life flushed down to toilet instead of the drain.

No.

Because if I have to defend myself, I don’t want to compound my Defense Attorney’s workload as he/she prepares my defense.

Stay safe out there.

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I use factory loads, with a bullet that is common to my local law enforcement (Gold Dots). If it’s good enough for LEO’s, it’s good enough for me, right?

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BUT, the local PD might have purchased its ammo from the lowest bidder! It might NOT be the best.

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I was using my rehearsed answer, if I ever had to answer the “Why did you use that ammunition?” question under oath.

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HST or Critical Defense for the EDC. Used for when your life may depend on it!

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I use factory. Mainly because I reload to the mid power scale. Not powder puffs, but not in the +p range. I feel safer not loading to either extreme of the loads, just as a precaution.

Not so sure it would be an issue in a self defense case, but as @Frank73 said, why give them something else to use against you if it really does not give you an advantage.

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There you have it.

I don’t download my practice ammo. I load the same bullet weight to the same muzzle velocity (by recipe, not chrono) as my street ammo, so that what I learn to expect is more or less what I will get.

I recently shot off a magazine of duty ammo which had developed a bit of setback, and found that they did push a little harder than my reloads. The difference did not affect my time or accuracy, so I would not expect to notice anything under the influence of adrenaline. I didn’t revisit my recipe when I switched from Critical Duty to HST, but maybe I just have a slower burning powder.

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First let me say this. I’ve shot thousands of reloaded shotgun shells, trap shooting can get really expensive if you buy new stuff every time. That said, for me, it’s out of the box Gold Dots for EDC. I can’t think of a good reason not to carry factory loads but I can think of some reasons not to carry reloads.

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Same, same. I carry factory, only practice with reloads. I have 100% confidence in my reloads as well, but I don’t buy premium SD bullets for reloading, so I’m sure the terminal performance of my reloads won’t measure up to Federal HST and Hornady Critical Defense. Plus, I don’t want to have to defend against any claims that my reloads are especially killy.

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Agreed. I agree with Massad Ayoub that factory ammo. is the most defensible in court if you are involved in a firearms defense incident. The prosecution cannot accuse you of using “Killer ammo” or “virtual atom bombs” if your weapon is loaded with factory ammo. Yes, I’m confident with my own ammo, I just don’t want to open a door that should remain closed. The other conundum is, of course, that fact. ammo. may become difficult to obtain, and worth its price in gold. It will take a great political effort to stop the onslaught from the left. I hope we will not become Australia , etc., but we’re close now. I can still remember when gunshop brass was dirt cheap and available by the bushel…(the new currency?).

Again, Thank you,

Ralph

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I carry factory loads because I heard lawyers will say your reloads was meant to kill not wound which I think is dumb.

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28 year deputy sheriff and detective in southern Kalifornistan, one of the most 2nd Amendment-hostile locations in the 50 states. Now retired. My resume includes multiple and serial murder cases and arrests, as well as hundreds of aggravated assault cases and arrests. In not ONE of those cases, to include several citizen-involved shootings of criminals, did the question of "Handload vs. reload EVER emerge. For the purposes of criminal law and prosecution, that question is irrelevant. I suppose it could have relevance in a civil proceeding (according to some gunwriters), but on the flip side of that question I have never known anyone to benefit from receiving a gunshot wound in any way.

I recommend factory ammo ONLY because it has sealed primer annulus and case mouth that prevent moisture and petrochemical solvents from fouling powder and priming. I use reloads of my own making that duplicate the ballistics of my carry ammo for practice and drills.

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Thanks for the insight.

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Even factory ammo can make a bad impression if it’s branded something like Nuclear Holocaust Skeletonizer

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RIP Ammo comes to mind. Yes, it stands for Radically Invasive Projectile, but, we all know what RIP means.

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Yeah, the Winchester Black Talon got some bad press from the compassion fascists/predator fan-base for those jagged little hooks that showed up in ad copy depictions of the expanded bullets. What to do? YES! Remove the black jacket finish, re-label the now-copper-colored jacketed bullet “Ranger SXT” (Supreme Expansion Talons) and get law enforcement to issue it as war shots. Problem resolved! It’s so nice that news orgs have such short attention spans and so little knowledge concerning firearms.