People are not pure water. Use a better medium and you will get expansion.
Water jugs are a terrible indicator of bullet performance because they are brittle and can be torn open by hydrostatic pressure.
Winchester Ranger (the old Black Talon) which is quite difficult to find these days.
A few years ago I did a whole battery of terminal ballistics testing on a wide variety of 9mm JHP bullets and a few other calibers. All the data was posted on this website at the time.
What I found after numerous tests was that 147gr JHP of good quality offered the best combination of penetration and expansion. The lighter stuff tended to explode, shed weight and not penetrate as deeply. The epitomone of that being the 110gr JHP 357 Mag which created a one inch entry hole and failed to penetrate hardly at all.
On the other end of the scale were the high performance 45 ACP bullets which tended to open up so big that their penetration was reduced.
Of the 147gr JHP 9mm, the high end factory ammo was all fairly close. The best of them being the Remington Golden Sabre which opened up the same every time no matter what we shot it into or through.
Reloaded bullets tended not to expand as well as the premium stuff but they would penetrate to the same depth.
We also tested some extremely exotic stuff as well as an RCMP issue level 2A kevlar vest to determine what will penetrate kevlar and what won't.
FWIW IF, hypothetically I was to choose ammo for self defence, my choice would include the Rem Golden Sabre 147gr interspersed with some high velocity frangible rounds capable of penetrating kevlar. That combination gives the ablility to penetrate body armour with the best possible combination of penetration and expansion in soft tissue.
I sincerely hope that I can live my entire life out without ever having to shoot someone. It is simply not something I want to experience. But that doesn't mean I am not prepared nor willing to defend myself or my family.
