Misfires are dangerous for 2 reasons. The first is, if you are using your weapon for self-defense, the time it takes for you to resolve the misfire could or would enable your opponent to win in a firefight. Second, the round may detonate from 5 to 60 seconds after being struck by the firing pin. If you have negligently cleared the round it could go off and cause serious bodily injury and death, either at the firing range or during self-defense. The average person does not have a background in ballistics.
Most people think a bullet is a bullet.
This is far from the case. The velocity, weight of the bullet, design, its ballistic co-efficient, and length of the barrel all determine effectiveness of the round. Of all of these the velocity may be considered to be one of the most important because a loss in velocity results in a loss of Trauma to the Body. Trauma is what determins the real outcome in a fire fight. This seldom results in a favorable reaction.