Hollow point ammunition – the choice for self defense

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

One debate about self defense is over. Hollowpoint ammunition in a defensive handgun has much better stopping power than full metal jacket or round-nose bullet.

The point is not to wound or kill the adversary, but to stop him in his way and make him cease attacking you. Stopping power (sometimes called “knock-down power”) refers to a particular bullet’s ability to incapacitate an attacker; the greater that ability, the less chance that your attacker will be able to continue shooting, stabbing, or beating you after you have shot him.

An Israel weapon expert told to I-HLS that Hollowpoint bullets in most cases  expand and stop in the human body which means that the  attacker absorbs much more of the bullet’s kinetic energy than if the bullet had merely gone through him.

i-HLS ISRAEL Homeland Security 

This kinetic energy shock incapacitates the attacker after one or two shots.

There is another advantage, especially if you have to use your gun in a crowded place. People that happen to be in the area are safer because hollowpoint bullets are less likely to exit the attacker’s body and go on to injure anyone else.

The ricochet danger is also much lower than that of ball ammunition, and hollowpoint bullets are less likely to penetrate walls or doors and strike uninvolved third parties. Furthermore, if your foe is incapacitated quickly he won’t be spraying wild bullets around, endangering uninvolved third parties.

“If you carry a handgun for self defense pay attention to what is in the magazine. That may save your life” the expert said.