Quote:
|
This particular bit of lawyering has been now discredited and can no longer be used as evidents.
|
Could you explain how this has been discredited? One can discredit people or ideas, but arguments are very difficult to discredit. They may have no value in one case but they might in another. That's why judges will allow quite a few arguments that people normally wouldn't imagine would make it.
As for the OP, this subject will never be closed because the law is fluid. It can change from day to day, depending on facts, circumstances or whims of those involved. In a criminal or civil trial following a shooting, an investigating officer can be asked to provide details on the item of injury. If the attorney thinks that this information will inform (or bias) the jury, the questions will be asked. The questions will also be asked of you, since you have no right to remain silent in a civil trial, and you will have to testify in a criminal trial if you are asserting the affirmative defense of self-defense.
The issues with handloaded ammo are:
1. can you really make it more reliable than factories?
2. if using hollowpoints, do you fully understand the design so you understand the velocities required for the bullet to function properly? Are you chronographing regularly to insure you are matching those velocities?
3. are you saving all records of what components you used (including lot numbers) as well as saving rounds from each batch to serve as exemplars? Hopefully, if you did save actual rounds, you seal and certify the rounds to establish they were made long before you ever needed to use them as evidence. Factories retain this kind of information, because the ammunition they produce may end up in court, and they need to be able to explain its characteristics. If your ammunition leaves unusually low powder residue (in the eyes of a forensics examiner), your self-defense shooting might be interpreted as occurring further away than you indicated in your sworn report. They might believe you lied, and are deserving of further "attention."
4. Do you have a legitimate and rational reason for using handloads versus factory ammuntion, and can you articulate that reason?
Just so I don't seem to be one-sided, there is a way to counter most such issues. If you can demonstrate (through your testimony and based on your experience) that your ammunition is reliable, reasonably effective (in the case of hollowpoints, that may be semi-educated guess by showing that your round is moving within the designed working velocity of the design), accurate, and cheaper than factory, then your counterargument is that by using this ammuntion, you are able to practice more and become more accurate and experienced with your weapon. That experience ultimately helps make you safer with that weapon.
If you carry or have a weapon for self-defense, the "I did this because it makes me safer and more effective" is an argument that can made concerning weapon design, modifications, ammunition choice, training, or other matters. It also needs to be in the forefront of your mind before making these decisions. If you can't reasonably make the argument about a decision, reevaulate that decision.