imported post
I do have a HiPoint 995 9mm carbine, but for self defense at close range (especially inside where the "swing room" is often limited) I greatly prefer one of my pistols.
As to "over penetration," I do take that into consideration. That is why the magazine in my primary carry pistol is full of Glaser Blue, while the backup magazine is FMJ.
My "logic" in that is that one mag of Glasers, that won't penetrate sheetrock (I live in an apartment complex), SHOULD take care of any "immediate" problem, but if the "bad guy" takes cover and is still a threat I can ram in the second magazine and have a chance of penetrating his cover if necessary.
My BUG is loaded with good JHPs as being probably the best choice for handshake distance with a .32 auto.
(The HiPoint carbine is just for fun, and to keep my hand in with a long gun.)
My brother-in-law used to drag a .44 mag pistol around with him (yeah, he was a pretty good sized guy), and I think his usual handloads might "one-shot-stop" a Kenworth. IMHO that was absolutely the wrong choice all the way around, as the penetration of a miss (or even a hit!) with that monster was fearful. He could easily shoot through several walls and still have lethal force left.
I eventually convinced him to back down to something more reasonable (a 1911 with "flying ashtray" Hydra-Shok hollow points).
Thing is, I've seen a lot of folks carrying WAY too powerful a choice of round with apparently no thought at all to where that bullet is eventually going to finally come to rest...
(When I was military, though, it was different - I wanted as much firepower and as much penetration as I could carry...)
