Its why they have those fillers like the Hornaday critical defense has that red plug in it ...allows it to go through clothing before expanding. But like everything else nothing is perfect and you will have hollow points go through like an FMJ doing little damage from expansion, expand in full before it touches skin, or any other of weird things.

 

Now there's a subject that has been discussed in great lengths for a long time. Way to many variables to absolutely say. IMHO and personal experience it will most of the time.

 

You may get a better answer if you give a more specific question.
What caliber are you talking about? Shot from what type gun with what
length barrel? For instance if you shoot a man with a 22 pistol at 50 yards you may just be better off useing fmj for more penetration.

 

The general answer is yes. The specific answer depends on details.

 

What bullet, what terminal velocity at target, what target. To answer the OP question the only right answer would be "It depends on the answer to those 3 points."

 

Too general of a question, too many variables.

In my time I have seen some interesting results from JHP ammo.

Many years ago a friend's mother had a .25 Beretta. My friend, while attempting to clear a jam, shot himself in the leg. The JHP bullet penetrated his jeans and ended up protruding about 1/16th of an inch from his skin. The bullet did not look as if it had ever been fired (after I pulled it out of his leg as he cried and wailed) I have also seen the results of a .22 soft hollow point, it entered a feral hog's neck and split into multiple pieces, resulting in the hog bleeding out as one of the bullet fragments entered an artery. I have also seen 9mm JHP go straight through a groundhog, exiting the body and leaving the same size exit hole as the entry. The only difference was a bit of tearing around the exit wound.

In my experience I have found that Speer JHP's are the most consistent of the ammunition I have personally tested. They all have mushroomed out to slightly under dime-size with little variance. This has been a test using only 9mm JHP's, so your mileage may vary by caliber.

 

There have been many instances where HP bullets used in LE have failed to expand, mostly when they pass through heavy clothing. The Miami shootout was one of the most famous where the felon was hit several times by 9mm hp bullets that failed to expand. That is why FBI carries 40s these days.

 

Always- NO , too many variables

 

always? No. Most of the time? yes.

even if it doesnt, it will act like a FMJ, which is still effective if you remember shot placement

 

looking at 40 or 9 from 10-20 feet.

 

Barrel length and powder charge will have a huge impact on the amount, if any, of expansion that's produced at impact; as will "what" is impacted.

 

No..........

 

Like anything else, circumstances affect results. The ammo we have now works a lot more reliably than the stuff we used to have back in the 1970s.

 

only if it hits something...

 

You are talking about a target only 8-10" thick where expansion needs to take place for the most damage. HPs are my choice. I do not want to shoot holes through but hopefully the boolit will never exit the body. Even if they do not expand they will do damage. Any hit on bone or thick muscle will make it mushroom. Have several HPs that have "flower peddled" out perfectly.

 

Hornady Critical Defence will always expand no matter how much clothing a person is wearing and will always penetrate, I believe, 14". If it has to pass through a barrier first, then no it won't. For barriers get their Critical Duty. It meets all of the FBIs performance test.

Hornady is the only brand I shoot now.

 

My .44 Mag,hot load,240 gr, hornady Hollow Points ALWAYS expand.
Tests I did on .40 Short and Weak proved to me that the calibre is worthless.
9MM proved the same. That was 15 years ago, hopefully Ammo Manufacturers have solved the problems.

 

Nothing, always does what it is suppose to all the time.
And some times they will over-expand,causing them to break up and not get the penetration they are suppose to.

 

I have no experience in this. But logic tells me that if the target is made from hard material that the bullet would be pressed inwards (meaning the edges flip back).

This could as well be caused by a low speed of the bullet and the material used to make it.

If I am correct the tip of a hollow point should expand (as far as I understood) and these things could lead to the opposite happening.

 

I have no experience in this. . . . .

Enough said. :upsidedown:

 

A well placed second shot should reduce concerns of a rare failure to expand.