"You do realise that militaries use fmj because of stupidity and the hague convention, right? That is probably one of the stupidest things the military does. Hollow points are prefered by hunters because they kill better than fmj. In fact, the only bullets you can find in fmj are target bullets and match grade. My berger BT long range are fmj and it says right on the box "Not Suitable For Hunting" thats why I also have SST's"

"But that's just the thing; according to this article, even these rounds are NOT man stoppers. Neither a .45ACP nor a .357Mag will reliably stop anyone if those shots do not hit in the right location in the first place, and the ONLY locations that are guaranteed do that in a "one shot drop" context are the brain and upper spinal column. From the article, "Absent that, incapacitation is subject to a host of variables, the most important of which are beyond the control of the shooter." So a hit anywhere else MAY drop an assailant where they stand, or it may cause them to fall down and bleed out a few seconds, minutes or even hours later, long after they've had time to do you in as well. "

"It could also be argued, that not relying on expansion makes you rely on your skills and not the round. Since you have to preform a more acurate shot placement hit of the target to neutralize it, you kill the enemy quickly as you must aim at more vital structures.."

"Valid point, but by and large I think problomatic is right, the likelihood of encountering an armor wearing adversary in a self defense situation, while not impossible granted, is low enough that I wouldn't worry much about it either."

"I disagree, with all the cops/soldiers killed/turned I think there will be a lot of raiders and gangsters using body armor (not to mention the availability of body armor now)

I think the chances are at least moderate"

"Handguns are bad against armor. But you do what you have to do. Even with armor on, getting shot sucks.

Traditionally, there's been the Mozambique drill - if rounds to the chest don't work, rock up and shoot them in the head. As of late, people have also favored shooting for the pelvic girdle. Due to body mechanics, the pelvis is a mostly stable target compared to a swaying torso or head, and it's very fragile considering. Unless they're rocking a military carrier with flak pads, it'll be effective.

But then again, the purpose of a pistol is to fight your way to a rifle anyway, so hopefully your handful of accurately-lobbed bullets will buy you time to cut through their armor with a rifle."