- Joined
- Mar 15, 2019
- Messages
- 708
It isn't the prosecutor you have to worry about it is the shyster lawyer for the person shot or their estate who will make it look like you wanted to shoot someone so bad you created your own "special load" to do it with, even after you have been found not guilty in criminal case or charges were never filed. The levels of proof between criminal and civil cases are large. From "beyond a reasonable doubt" to "preponderance of evidence". Beyond a reasonable doubt is a very high bar and results in more guilty people walking than innocents being convicted by a huge margin. Preponderance of evidence is a very low bar indeed and allows jurors to subjectively determine your intent. And the shyster lawyer will use everything you have said or did in the past that he can find to make it look like you were looking to shoot someone. Even reloading your own ammo.
I am sure if I ever have to use a gun in defense of my self they will look at my past Facebook postings and forum postings and they will come across little gems like, "I don't use a handgun for home defense, I use a shotgun or a rifle because I want whoever I am having to shoot to have the greatest possibility of ceasing the actions which lead me to shoot them to stop. Shotguns and rifles are better than handguns at that. If I could I would use a howitzer for home defense, sure it is a pain to clear the house with it but if you have to shoot someone and make them stop, the howitzer is the way to go."
Add in there that buckshot and high velocity rifle ammunition is more likely to stop within a wall in a house than any handgun bullet and it adds a level of safety for those I don't intend to shoot being hit by rounds that hit walls instead. Handgun ammunition and defensive handgun ammunition specifically is often designed to be "barrier blind" and often create significant damage on the other side of walls.
As far as prosecution goes I don't think there has ever been a case that hinged on the ammo having been handloaded. Sure prosecutors will bring it up but it isn't likely to result in conviction unless other evidence also points to guilt. That whole beyond reasonable doubt thing, just because you spent hours crafting and creating "deadly ammunition" doesn't mean that the person really didn't need to be shot. They were still waving a knife, pointing a gun at you or pounding your head on the pavement.
And many states have applied immunity from civil cases to shootings which were determined to be justified. Meaning, if the prosecutor doesn't charge you or the trial ends with a not guilty finding, you can't be sued for your use of deadly force. You can however be sued for someone breaking into your home and slipping in the bath tub which lacked a bath mat. I mean, that is just so negligent of you.
To me the use of factory ammo for defense is about reliability. Factories produce very reliable ammunition. Of course there are the occasional rounds that don't go boom but they are truly the exception which is why they are so notable when they happen.
We have all seen pictures of a factory loaded case with a primer in upside down or the bullet not seated fully or too far but they are literally 1 in a million even in cheap FMJ range ammo. When you step up to defensive ammo the chances are even slimmer.
For "factory reloads" they just aren't produced to the same standards as factory new. Having .357 Sig cases in 40S&W ammo is a sure sign of that. The not so visible sign of it would be the primers they got cheap that were produced at some point in the past and lost in a corner of a warehouse for decades.
Many of the defensive loads also incorporate sealants on the bullets and primers meant to keep moisture out and that is lacking on hand loads and factory reloads.
