EEllis wrote:Millionhorns wrote:Alright, So, newbie here. Just got my license and have some ammo questions.
Lord forbid that I ever have to open fire, but if I ever have to could the choice of ammunition be used against me, legally? For instance, I just purchased some Gold Dot 124 +p 9mm, would I be better, Legally, by not having +P? If I were carrying 'normal' ammo, could my legal team make the argument that I was not trying to 'kill'? I feel that if I carry +p that the person I shots' legal team could say bad things about me carrying +P. Should this be a concern?
Also, What is the exact definition and purpose of a +P round? It's just more powerful, right?
Any help for this newbie would be greatly appreciated :)
Merry Christmas!
Yes it can be used against you. DAs can and have argued in court that using hot rounds or ammo marketed as causing greater damage show something about the users intent. Now you can and, if you have a decent lawyer, should be successful in countering that argument but that argument has been used against defendants in criminal cases.
With that being said, the reality is that
any equipment you use and
anything you do or don't do before, during, or after the incident can be spun against you by a prosecutor with the motive to do so.
On the other hand, any choices you make that are lawful, reasonable and not malicious (even if they turn out to be mistakes) can also be defended against by a competent attorney with good knowledge of firearms and the human performance elements involved in a life threatening encounter .
This is why post incident legal fees often run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
To return to the original question, I wouldn't worry about the legal spin aspect of using +P ammo. However, I rarely use it myself because IMHO the penalty in recoil and slower recovery for follow up shots exceeds the benefit of the slightly faster round.
Your mileage may vary.