jwp, I’ve been reading, and learning from, your posts here for long time and have come to understand your thinking that jacketed bullets don’t tend to impact with enough velocity to ensure reliable expansion. At least as applied to big bore handguns for big game.
Where I live self-defense usually means protection against grizzlies as I’m in their country pretty much any time I go into the woods. I always carry heavy hard cast bullets in my .44s and .45s.
In the rare cases I go into places where I’m more worried about people I carry a snub-nosed .357 mag with 140 grn XTP bullets. But I’ve been thinking about replacing them with 158 grn cast bullets. What are your thoughts (and everyone elses) on the use of cast bullets for self defense?
You will get nice deep penetration that if pushed with a proper load will consistently reach vitals (provided you put it in the right place). You don't have to rely on expansion to do the work. It is one of the reasons why so many handgun hunters have used properly designed hard cast bullets for so long. They simply work.
