Here is a picture to compare the two:
I shoot mostly FMJ rounds because they are cheaper. But sometimes the blasting ammo available is some form of jacketed hollow points and is as cheap as 'ball' ammo. They aren't price-premium variety like Federal Hydro-Shok, but they are hollow points. So I've shot hundreds of JHP rounds and thousands of FMJ rounds.
I've never had a feed problem with JHP that wasn't definitely attributed to the shooter. I did have one freakish eject stoppage malf that somehow jammed the spent casing in halfway out of the breech. That was with the .40, with FMJ.
I've never had the JHP rounds jam in feeding the Colt Pockethammerless, the Sig P229, or the 1911, because it was a hollow point round. One old gun, one modern gun, one old style but revamped modern feed ramp that differs from the old design. (I've even shot a wierd kind of truncated cone round in the 1911... no problems)
Perhaps 500 rounds or so is not a sufficiently large data set to get a good statistic.
Note I am not testing hollow points from the 70's or before. Every Jacketed Hollow Point round I've fired has been new factory manufacture. I understand that finding a box of older hollow point ammo might be a totally different, and perhaps frustrating, experience.
How often are your practice JHP rounds failing to feed in YOUR carry semi-auto?
Presuming identical failure rates ans eight between JHP and FMJ, is there any reason to carry FMJ for civilian CCW self-defense?
14 comments:
The difference in feed reliability is greatly exaggerated.
A lot of old guys remember getting '80s-era Speers and SuperVels hung on the un-throated feedways of their Series 70 Government Models, and thus has the matter become taken as gospel: "Hollowpoints make your gun jam!"
I pretty much shoot hollowpoints exclusively out of my pistols because I reload for them. The price difference between ball projectiles and JHPs is negligible or non-existent, so I figure "why not just load JHPs?".
That said...I've had no feed problems that weren't my fault or the fault of an under charged load during load development, though granted the pistols in question are all modern (XD-45/Glock 23/Sig P226).
Federal EFMJ is my current carry ammo. Seems to be the best of both worlds if it works as advertised.
I agree with Tam that the feeding problems with JHP's(where they occurred) have largely been solved.
There are other considerations with JHP bullets; some folks have asserted that the cavity can become filled by clothing and thus inhibit expansion. Dunno. I have yet to shoot them at a clothed target.
If you fill the cavity with clothes or what not don't you just get the same thing as a FMJ but less heavy?
Having been to a few autopsies I can tell you that plugged HP's still expand, although not to their full potential. From a liability standpoint, find out what the local cops carry and if it shoots well in your choice of handgun, I would carry that.
Even if my JHPs fill up and somehow don;t expand at all (something that doesn't generally happen, as knie said) my JHPs will, at worst, hit like FMJ ball.
Becuase I carry JHPs with the same weight as standard ball projos. With the notable exception of my .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers -- I use 125gr JHPs in both, and as far as I know the only "standard" FMJ load for either is the USGI 130gr ball that's pretty much the same as the Winchester White Box stuff. . .
Never had a single JHP problem with with either of my Glocks (19, 21) in either 9mm or .45.
Never had a prob in my XD-9 or my S&W 569 9mm's.
What HAVE you had a problem in?
Different handguns have different rates of failures, both in feeding and ejecting. A dependable gun makes much more difference than the ammo you use. However, the best thing to do is to pick the firearm you're going to carry, pick the ammo you intend to carry in it, and test it until you're comfortable with the combination. If it fails to feed or eject in the first 100 rounds though, I'd find a different combo.
I carry a Ruger P95. I thought about other brands and models, and decided to go with the P95 for my own reasons, not least of which is its reputation for feeding anything. Plus, if you run out of ammo, it's a good weight to throw. :-)
FMJs tend to make through and through wounds, and potentially wound others... JHP's WILL expand to some extent even if 'jammed'... FYI, the bullet in the picture is actually a semi-wadcutter...
well, the one on the right is certainly not 'Ball', Fo.
I've never once had a JHP fail to feed in any of my pistols(two 1911's, an XD45, and an XD9).
I just picked up a Ruger LCP, we'll see how that one goes - but with the price of .380 it will be a while before I get a high number of rounds downrange.
Yep :-)
I had issues with my 79' Sig P6 and HP's with large cavities. Got the feedramp altered & polished and never had another problem.
I have had JHP's (remington Golden Saber's) that wouldn't feed well because of OAL issues.
For the most part though my guns have digested whatever I chose to shoot.
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