We seem to have forgotten the basics

The above picture is of the .45 Long Colt round. It represents the ammunition choice 19th Century soldiers, lawman and gunslingers had for their sidearms and rifles. Exactly one, the conical lead bullet. Whether it was .36, .40, .41, .44 or .45 all bullets were semi-rounded chunks of lead. No hollow points (or "dums dums" as they British would later invent), no copper jacketed liquid alloy core. No plastic sabot filled with #12 shot and liquid Teflon. No frangible rounds with tungsten coated projectiles. Just a hunk of lead.

There are countless gunslingers, cowboys, lawmen, native Americans, and others that met their fate as a result of a round piece of lead.

Movies and magazines have created all manner of data about the need for reliable expansion and one shot stopping power. You can pay more than double for a box of 20 high-tech rounds compared to a box of 50 non-high tech rounds.

These high tech rounds begin to take on the same ridiculous arguments as though to ask which is better, a 9mm or 45 ACP? What difference does it make if you don't hit your target or worse, leave your weapon at home. Hollow point or Hyrdo Shock? Doesn't matter if you miss. A full metal jacket will drop someone just as fast as a high-tech round if you hit the central nervous system. Hollow points don't expand that often due to clothing, barrel length and metal expansion so in effect you have just paid double for a round nose bullet. Save the cost and buy the ammunition that works best in your weapon and DOESN'T cost a fortune.

Rather than worry about the latest high-tech round, stick to the basics. Learn to shoot your weapon really, really well. John Dillinger was killed by a police office chasing him at full speed firing his .38 Special revolver. The officer placed three rounds into the back of Dillinger. Wild Bill Hitchcock killed Davis Tutt with a single shot from 75 yards away (think about that the next time you are feeling like a bad ass because you fired a 4 inch group at 25 feet).

The bullets did not matter, the shot placement did.