I'd also like to hear what Richard S. has to say about this.
Lots of the gun writers say that carrying the same round that the local police carry is a good policy. Anyway, that's what I've been doing.
Massad Ayoob, the well-known trainer and professional policeman, recommends against handloads for defensive carry because the opposing lawyers love to grasp at any straw when it comes to taking your money and / or liberty.
But Sheriff Jim Wilson, another professional policeman (retired), said he has never found a single case where a gun owner went to jail for using handloads in his carry piece. In fact, he asked for Shooting Times readers to write him if they knew of any such cases. I never saw any such replies in the magazine.