The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Webleymkv · February 28, 2010, 04:46 PM

Have you contacted the DA's office, the police, or a lawyer? Those are the people I would be more inclined to ask.

As far as I know, there are no federal laws requiring hollowpoints for self-defense. The only federal law regarding types of self-defense ammo that I'm aware of is a ban on armor-piercing handgun ammunition. Local laws, on the other hand, may vary. For example, New Jersey has very stringent restrictions on the use of hollowpoint ammunition, Indiana bans FMJ ammo for hunting, and the NYPD was required to use FMJ ammo until fairly recently.

That being said, I can't really think of any good reason not to use JHP ammo for self-defense in you Cougar. The only circumstances that I reccomend the use of FMJ ammo are with small calibers like .22 Long Rifle, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP whose hollowpoint loadings don't reliably penetrate adequately, when local laws ban JHP, in a caliber that JHP ammo is not commonly available, or with a handgun that will not function reliably with JHP's.

February 28, 2010, 04:46 PM	#15
Webleymkv Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 10,446	Have you contacted the DA's office, the police, or a lawyer? Those are the people I would be more inclined to ask. As far as I know, there are no federal laws requiring hollowpoints for self-defense. The only federal law regarding types of self-defense ammo that I'm aware of is a ban on armor-piercing handgun ammunition. Local laws, on the other hand, may vary. For example, New Jersey has very stringent restrictions on the use of hollowpoint ammunition, Indiana bans FMJ ammo for hunting, and the NYPD was required to use FMJ ammo until fairly recently. That being said, I can't really think of any good reason not to use JHP ammo for self-defense in you Cougar. The only circumstances that I reccomend the use of FMJ ammo are with small calibers like .22 Long Rifle, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP whose hollowpoint loadings don't reliably penetrate adequately, when local laws ban JHP, in a caliber that JHP ammo is not commonly available, or with a handgun that will not function reliably with JHP's.