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Jeremae wrote:I carry my own reloads.... my choice

I bought 500 Starline nickelplated brass...

I buy 500 premium bullets (hornady xtp) in 1 lot.

I buy 1000 primers in 1 lot.

I load all 500 rounds in 1 loading session using the same powder.

I check powder throw and cartridge overall length at 5 times the frequency I do with normal ammo.

I shoot 300 of the 500 in a test session, I try to chrono 1 round per magazine (1 out of 8).

My notes from my current carry batch shows less that 5 feet per second varience across 32 rounds(895 ft/sec +- 2.2). My saved test targets show less that a 1 inch group at 20 yards when shot using a rest. and 5 touching holes when shot at 10 yards off a rest.

Unless I shoot all the 41 rounds I usually carry with me they should be able to get consistant forensic patterns from the remaining ammo in my mags/gun. My defense att. will of course have access to the remaining rounds from my batch and all the chrono results and and test targets.

I have had factory ammo go click instead of boom. I trust my own loads more.

Few folks approach this with the degree of organization you have.

It sounds like you have the forensic angle covered.

Trouble comes when you have rounds from different lots that give differing results.

Liberty wrote:This is Texas, We have our castle doctrine, we have Texas Laws. Texas Judges. and Texas Juries. For the most part any defensive shoot doesn't even get past the grand jury. There hasn't been one case that anyone has been able to document where ammo choice played into a courts decision in a homicide case. I suppose if one uses super duper special reloads that blow up and injure a bystander some civil actions could result, but that isn't what we are talking about.

I wouldn't be concerned about the fact that the ammo was a reload. I agree that in Texas that would not be likely to be an issue.

My concern would be the ability of a forensic examiner to reproduce the gun shot residue pattern at a distance that coincides with my testimony. Getting different results could introduce doubt in the minds of grand jurors that otherwise wouldn't be there and may have an influence on their decision (in combination with the other facts of the case).

This may never come into play at all, but under the theory that it's nice to have all bases covered as well as possible on the preparation side, my own choice is to carry only factory ammo for defense.

Frost wrote:I believe the main concern about reloads is that your reload may have a different powder burn pattern or something then factory ammo and in a questionable shooting story may not match the "evidence."

I don't reload, but if i did i would use standard powders in standard amounts and not worry about it.

The forensic effect here is called "gunshot residue" or "powder stippling" or "powder tattooing" which consists of marks made by burning powder on the clothing or skin of the person who was shot. It consists of burns, soot, and pock marks made by incompletely burned powder particles. You can google these terms to see examples in autopsy photos if you have a strong stomach.

The pattern can be used to establish the distance between the shooter and shootee at the moment the shot was fired. With factory ammo, cartridges from the same factory lot fired from the same gun can be used for comparison purposes to determine the diameter of the pattern at various distances and thus establish a standard for the incident under investigation.

Establishing which "lot" a handloaded round may have come from may be much more problematical, and questions here may cast doubt on elements in the defender's account of how the incident occurred.

For consistency, reliability, and forensic considerations, I would highly recommend using only factory ammo for defensive purposes.