Are hollow points necessary in certain calibers?

[Leader]

They don't expand. They don't dump energy. They over penetrate. They are designed to punch pretty holes in paper.

But will they KILL?

Out of 100 people shot with one, how many are going to keep doing whatever you shot them for?

[RifleGuy]

You do know there is a lot of actual lab testing by some pretty smart people with very repeatable tests so show what are, and are not, good carry rounds, right?

Wadcutters are NEVER on the recommended list, for good reason.

The Keith bullet, designed by Elmer Keith, is still one of the best rounds around for stopping big animals (deer, bear, hoomans) in their tracks. The bullet, a wadcutter design, punches a nice, big hole that lets a lot of hydraulic fluid out, and smashes supporting structures (bones) effectively.

Is a wadcutter my first choice for defense? Absolutely not. Would I feel under-protected if I had to use them? Not at all. Ball ammo in 9mm and .45 has stopped many a fight over the years, so too the lowly and forgotten .38 Special. Many trainers back in the day recommended wadcutters in the .38 because they did cut a more efficient leak path than ball ammo.

I still hunt with a Kieth-style bullet in either .357 Magnum, or .44 Magnum. No complaints yet regarding lethality. Punch through a shoulder and they tend to drop within a couple steps. :shrug:

[Ol` Joe]

Wadcutter with their flat full diameter nose cut a big permanent cavity in flesh and transmit shock well ( what does an expanded Hp have?). If you look at bullets designed for dangerous game like elephant or Cape buffalo they have a wide flat nose intended to transmit maximum shock while allowing very deep penetration. The draw back with wadcutter is being soft lead poorly lubed cylinders they don’t penetrate well and not able to be driven to the velocity jacketed bullets can be. Semi wadcutter like the Kieth, cast hard and with effective grease grooves full of lube can be driven quite fast and still retain the wide nose sharp shoulder characteristics and do penetrate very well, possibly to well for a lot of self defense situations.

[Draken]

The Keith bullet, designed by Elmer Keith, is still one of the best rounds around for stopping big animals (deer, bear, hoomans) in their tracks. The bullet, a wadcutter design, punches a nice, big hole that lets a lot of hydraulic fluid out, and smashes supporting structures (bones) effectively.

Is a wadcutter my first choice for defense? Absolutely not. Would I feel under-protected if I had to use them? Not at all. Ball ammo in 9mm and .45 has stopped many a fight over the years, so too the lowly and forgotten .38 Special. Many trainers back in the day recommended wadcutters in the .38 because they did cut a more efficient leak path than ball ammo.

I still hunt with a Kieth-style bullet in either .357 Magnum, or .44 Magnum. No complaints yet regarding lethality. Punch through a shoulder and they tend to drop within a couple steps. :shrug:

Hardcast lead is still good for large dangerous game, and is the preferred handgun round because it may have to punch though heavy bone and a lot more tissues to get to something vital. This is not the case with 2 legged preditors.

Will it work? Maybe.
Could it go through the human body? More than likely.
Is it more likely to cause collateral damage than a well built hollow point? Yes.

If it were the only thing I had, I would use it. But there is a lot of research that shows it's no where near the best choice for carry ammo.

And as to the FMJ argument, yes, they have worked, but there is a reason the Army is changing over to hollow points for duty carry, because they are more effective.