Reloads for self defense?

With the skyrocketing cost of self defense ammo, I’m starting to re-think the issue of using reloads for carry ammo. The traditional mindset has always been that this is a no-no. Many years ago I had a long conversation with Massad Ayoob on this subject and he convinced me that it just wasn’t worth it to use reloads for a self defense scenario. His logic was that if you did happen to shoot someone, you did not want some prosecutor saying something like this: “Your honor, this crazed individual was not happy using standard, commercial ammo – no he had to concoct his own very own brand of super duper killing ammo”.

So I understand the argument, but does it really hold water? What if I carefully construct ammo that duplicates commercial ammo as best I can? My current favorite self defense ammo for the 9MM is the Cor-bon DPX with the Barnes all copper bullet. It penetrates deeply, expands reliably and defeats barriers better than anything else. The bad news is that it runs $35 to $40 per 20 round box – if you can find it. My cost to reload it is about $16 per box. I have developed a reload using this bullet that essentially duplicates the ballistics of the commercial load.

So my argument in court would be: “Your honor, because of the high cost of commercial ammo and the poor availability I chose to duplicate this load on my own. I would be happy to submit these reloads to whatever testing you deem appropriate to substantiate this claim”.

So what do you think? Am I being naïve and perhaps too logical, or am I on to something here?

One in the chamber

For some unknown reason I have had a fair number of students in recent classes that are deathly afraid of carrying a gun with one in the chamber. Typically what they tell me is that they have heard too many horror stories about accidental discharges and are willing to sacrifice some speed for security.

On one hand I kind of have to applaud them for their devotion to safety. On the other hand, this philosophy just might get them killed. About 60% of law enforcement shootings are done with one hand. This is because the officer is either doing something important with his other hand or he does not feel that he has enough time to get his support hand in the proper position. Do you think he might have enough time to rack the slide first?

I believe that if you carry a gun for protection that it ought to be carried with a live round in the chamber. If you somehow feel uncomfortable with this then I would recommend the following drill.

Unload your gun, check it twice, rack the slide or cock the hammer and holster it. Draw the gun and pull the trigger. Cock and holster. Repeat as many times as it takes for you to feel comfortable drawing and re-holstering a "loaded" gun without inadvertently pulling the trigger. It may take awhile, but increasing your confidence is what the drill is all about.