Your goal when using your revolver in a defensive encounter is to make the bad guy stop whatever it is that required you to shoot in the first place. To be clear: You want to stop the threat. Your goal isn’t to create a fatality—though that is a distinct possibility—but rather to cause the attacker to stop their actions.
This stopping, or cessation of action, can be achieved through one of two mechanisms: psychological, where the attacker makes the decision that they don’t want to persist; or physiological, where the attacker’s body involuntarily stops functioning because of the damage the shot(s) inflict.
CHOOSING DEFENSIVE AMMUNITION
Years of shooting data have shown that the best defensive ammunition uses a hollow-point bullet that expands reliably in the target and penetrates sufficiently to reach vital organs. There may be instances where that choice isn’t possible, but under most circumstances, the modern hollow point is what’s needed.
Since most revolvers used for defensive shooting are chambered in .38 Special or .357 Magnum, it shouldn’t be surprising that the majority of ammo suitable for self-defense is in these two cartridges.
.38 SPECIAL
In .38 Special, the best results seem to come from the mid- to heavy-weight
