I was able to get a really good deal on a half case of Winchester 180 Grain FMJ. Lets just hypothetically say this is all I have available for my gun, will it have stopping power anywhere near my JHP's?

What do you all think?

More inportant is where you place them. If you put 2 to the chest and one to the head, I think you can pretty much stop anyone. In a pinch I would feel confident using bal ammo.

In your case I would get a few boxes of hydroshocks, and use the ball for range ammo. I like the hydroshocks because they have the same point of impact as my range ammo. So I shoot the 180 grain ball for practice and my weekly IPSC and steel matches, and use the 180 grain defense ammo at home. If push comes to shove I know the defense stuff will hit exactly where I aim, just like my 500 rnds a week of practice ammo.

Quoted: I was able to get a really good deal on a half case of Winchester 180 Grain FMJ. Lets just hypothetically say this is all I have available for my gun, will it have stopping power anywhere near my JHP's?

Donn't think it as stopping power as a fraction of an ounce will not stop hundreds of pounds. Will a JHP wound better than FMJ? - YES but you cann't wound what you cann't hit. Practice ,practice, practice. FMJ does the same thing JHP does, tear-up flesh and bone, but with less efficiency; it WILL work though. Just make sure if you cross training and carry ammo, their points of impact are similar.

Quoted: ...will it have stopping power anywhere near my JHP's?

Of course it will as long as you can shoot well. A JHP will only work better than an FMJ if the JHP expands. Otherwise there is no difference. The idea of “stopping power” is illusive at best. One must remember that when dealing with handgun projectiles the only reliable wounding mechanisms are projectile diameter and penetration depth. Given the same shot placement on the same person at the same penetration depth the projectile with the largest diameter will have the wounding advantage. In handguns energy is not a reliable or even a viable wounding mechanism due to the strength and elasticity of the human body and the small amount of energy that is actually transferred onto the target.  So this perceived transmission of energy from bullet to target or the idea that a JHP will wound better because it slows it self down more efficiently once inside a target and thus depletes all of its energy and transfers it to the target is largely a misnomer. When you hit something if you want to hurt it you need to hit it with something big that makes a big hole. With that being said I have no qualms carrying an FMJ in my gun and routinely trust my life to an FMJ and more so my shooting abilities.

A .40 caliber FMJ (especially a flat point style) can and will kill, no doubt. When compared to 9mm FMJ these would probably be significantly better performers. But for self defense, I would still prefer a proven hollow point design to any FMJ provided they feed well in my weapon. Buy a couple of boxes of Winchester Ranger 180 gr or Speer Gold Dot 180 gr and use that for defense. Use the other stuff for practice and plinking.

A .40 caliber is a fairly large bullet starting out. But the better HP's such as the loads I mentioned should get you very good expansion, perhaps as much as 0.60 - 0.70", even through clothing. That is a significantly larger wound track than could be made with a .40 caliber non-expanding bullet. And the sharp edges have a tendency to tear tissue as opposed to pushing it out of the way. Without a CNS hit, the next best means of stopping an attacker is with blood loss. The worse the wound, the more bleeding can occur and the faster he runs out of juice.

-Charging Handle

i would think that it would go right through somebody in many circumstances i.e. overpenetrate. and since it wouldn't expand, i'm thinking it won't do as much damage as some sorta hollowpoint.

but this is just from reading stuff, not experience, so...  

www.firearmstactical.com may have some info on terminal performance with FMJ.  

It's all shot placement. Missing with HPs is worse than hitting with FMJs.

CRC

I feel that it is just like most said in here, with proper placement of shots it won't matter whether you are shooting JHP's or FMJ's.  The JHP will cause more damage over a FMJ, but the FMJ is ment to penetrate over expansion.  The military has used ball ammunition for over a hundred years, and even more than that, they have had a very high amount of kill rates.  Just use what you are comfortable with.