My uncle John sent me this link to 9x18mm ammo gel tests. When on long road trips, I've taken to toting around a PA 63 Makarov due to its compact size, reliability, and inexpensiveness. (If I have to get something siezed, I'd rather it not be my Sprinfield Armory P9 or my Thompson/Auto Ordinance 1911A1. Those go to either my grandkids or a case on a wall somewhere.) I was never sure about what ammo to use, though. I'm using FMJ surplus. It didn't do too well form the looks of those tests.

See, I want something that will stop in a 2x4/drywall combo after going through an arm or a leg or a neck or something thin. That might sound sick but you have to think about these sorts of things. If someone comes into my house late at night and doesn't knock, I have to protect my family. Protect means securing all weapons against misuse, but it also means no collateral damage. It's dark, there's a guy throwing a cinder block through your front window, they have knives, they're coming up the stairs, and won't leave when told to. You have to either throw down or be a victim. That's no choice at all, except that it might be (in my mind) if I thought my .357 hand cannon might go through an interloper's chest and through a wall and into my wife. I'd hesistate, and that isn't good.

Anyway, we (thankfully) live in probably the best neighborhood we could live in for our area and the possibility of the sanctity of our home being violated is nearly infinitesimal. Still, I should be sure. Best to order a box of Hornaday or Barnaul and be done with it. Or just carry the Mak when on the road and have the 1911A1 available when at home. Or both at home, even. The more the merrier, I say. I'm ten times better with a .45 than a Mak anyway. It's a little big for Tess to shoot, though. Here's a plan: give the Mak to Tess and then get a lefty .45 for me to go with my righty. Full-on John Woo might be the way to go. And I get 14 rounds. Me, in my undies, plowing down the staircase blazing away with both hands like Bruce Willis would deter any nighttime burglar. Hell, me in my underwear would probably scare them enough, no guns needed.

Yeah, I need a pair of stainless .45s: one right-handed, one left. That's the solution.