karder wrote:It is very hard to say what a bullet will do. While I was in Iraq, as a contractor, I saw the medic bring in a solider who had been shot in the neck with a .223 round by a shooter from a rooftop. Somehow, the bullet tumbled and passed through his body, breaking his pelvis and exiting out his buttock. Poor guy had lost a lot of blood and was in terrible shape. The medics were all amazed by the bullet's path. That is the danger of a small, fast moving round. They seem to be much less predictable than a slow, heavy bullet.
The 5.7x28mm round was designed to travel very fast and penetrate light armor. I think both scenarios you mention could easily happen. If the bullet strikes a bone, it will likely tumble. If it just hits flesh, you could be looking at an over penetration problem. Standard self-defense hollow points are engineered to be predictable.
Another important consideration is that you can't legally by full power 5.7x28mm, which the pistol is designed to fire. You have to buy lower power "sporting" rounds. I don't know that your ballistics will be much better than a 9mm with the sporting rounds but I havn't seen the specs on those bullets.
I don't understand why the medics would be surprised. For years all I ever heard (in both the Marines and Army) was that 5.56mm rounds tumble and come out anywhere and everywhere. It was almost a mantra.