My wife was having a good conversation with the gun store staff as I exited the double door to the range and washed my hands. I went to the counter and said to Todd:
"I need to buy some good self-defensive rounds for my new gun, what do you recommend".
"Well", Todd said, "You should probably go with a good defensive hollow point round".
"What do you use"? I asked, remembering that Todd's everyday carry was a Kimber 1911, in .45 caliber.
"Speer Gold Dot 230 grain". Todd replied. "Speer has a patented bonding system to prevent jacket separations".
Todd was referring to the method that Speed used to keep the lead core of the bullet bonded to the copper jacket. As a hollow point round hits human tissue, the nose of the bullet peels back to form a mushroom shape. The idea is to increase the frontal area of the bullet, and thereby increase trauma in the target. The Geneva Convention outlawed hollow point and dumdum bullets for military use, but they are legal for civilian and law enforcement applications in the US.
The theory is that if your life is on the line, you need the most lethal round in the largest caliber you can shoot, in to increase your chances of survival. You increase your own chances by killing your attacker as quickly as possible.
"How about hydroshocks"? I asked, refereeing to a different well-known brand of defensive hollow point. "Hydroshocks are older, but still good, I prefer the Speer Gold Dots". Said Todd. "230 grains" I said, 230 grains, approximately 15 grams, the weight of each bullet.
"Yes, Todd said, 230 Grains of Justice"! I plunked down $17 including tax and the BATF 10 cent tax for what some would argue was the most lethal round my pistol would chamber. I opened the cardboard box and looked at the 20 shiny bullets, neatly arranged in a plastic holder. At each bullet's tip a large hole was outlined by seven points, where the brass jacket was weakened, allowing the bullet to mushroom and rapidly drop any would be assailants. Amazing, I thought, that as a civilian, I am allowed to carry this gun with bullets I could not use if I was in the army.
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Actually, under the terms of the Declaration (IV, 3) concerning Expanding Bullets (The Hague, 1899), the states party to the agreement agree only to not use hollowpoints and similar ammunition on each other. Technically, it would be perfectly legal for American (or any other NATO) troops to use hollowpoints against the Taliban, because Afghanistan is not party to the Declaration.
More importantly, the premise of the Declaration is that soldiers are merely acting as agents of their state, and that a war against that state is not directed against them personally. Therefore, when practicable, only the minimum amount of force required to effectively place a soldier hors de combat should be used. In other words, there's no need to macerate his internal organs when putting a neat round hole in him will get him taken off the line (and out of the fight) just as readily.
These considerations do not apply where non-state actors (such as violent criminals) are concerned.
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