Caliber expansion vs penetration

[melensdad]

Originally Posted by 243rem700

So what I am gathering so far is that all of the common self defense calibers (9mm, .380, .40, .45, .38, etc.) that modern defense specific HPs are the most effective rounds. Is that correct?

Yes, that is pretty much the case. But some of the modern rounds, like the "Air Defense" fragniable rounds and similar are not worth the cost. I'd stick with the big names, they are the ones who the police departments trust . . . after extensive penetration/expansion/reliability testing and with some actual real world shootings to prove effectiveness . . . if they are safe enough for use by the police then they are safe enough to be used by us.