Caliber Size Doesn't Matter.....

[leonidas]

I thought this was an interesting article. I think we can all agree that shot placement is far more critical to stopping an attack than the size of the round.

An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power

 

[Rum Runner]

Interesting new perspective on an old topic. Thanks!

 

[leonidas]

I thought the same thing Rummy.

 

[Charlie]

Great info. Statistics yes, but still good stuff. Hmmmm........guess that solves the age old questions, "Which is better, the 9mm or the .45ACP?"

 

[Skip]

 

[Rum Runner]

I thought the same thing Rummy.

Its not the "be-all" or "end-all". I think you still have to consider ballistics gel data too, etc. But this particular data set gets poo-pooed a lot, yet this perspective shows that it may have more validity than previously thought.

Some of the observations/tables also seem to make logical sense. For example most people don't want to defend themselves with a 22LR in spite of its statistical effectiveness according to the fabled/maligned "One Shot Stop" data. If you look at the Failure to Incapacitate table, you see that this table gives you something else to consider.

I think this article also brings up an interesting question. We can argue all day as to what caliber/bullet combination is more effective, but really what is "Effective Enough"?

 

[Tejano Scott]

Thanks for sharing

 

[cleric]

Shot placement beats stopping power. But when you have both

 

[CanTex]

Well, this will save me both many nights compiling data as well as having to shoot a number of people to prove my conclusions... (( KIDDING)). Thanks for doing the work and sharing it with us.

 

[Texas1911]

Shot placement beats stopping power. But when you have both

Stopping power is just the ability of the round to penetrate, and in doing so just about everything over a .32 ACP has "stopping power" in a handgun round.

The fact that .44 Magnum got beat out by .38 Special as a one shot incapacitation percentage is very telling ... first of all, energy is just energy, and secondly it matters FAR more where you put that energy. You're essentially stabbing someone with bullets when you shoot them ... there's no magic effect with a handgun round when it hits things, it's very uneventful and it just pokes a hole in it. I don't know why people get so caught up in how big of a bullet and how much power they can put behind it ... it doesn't matter and the facts are in the article above, but that won't stop people from sitting around thinking that .45 ACP +P round is going to blow someone in half when they hit them with it, LOL.

I kinda wish it did ... cause then it'd make our lives alot easier!

 

[Texas1911]

I thought this was an interesting article. I think we can all agree that shot placement is far more critical to stopping an attack than the size of the round.

An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power

Thanks for posting this, however, due to copyright issues I had to remove the article and leave the link. Unless it states it's for free distribution on the page or article I would just quote a small portion of it and leave a link along with the author's name. That fulfills the fair use of the item and gives credit back to the publisher / author where it is due.

 

[M. Sage]

Great find!

IMO, the number that matters most, since "torso hits" is still extremely vague, is the percentage of failures to stop. Check out the percentage once you hit .380. It stays pretty much in the 10-15% range the rest of the way up.

Lethality doesn't matter that much to me. One-shot stops don't matter that much to me. What matters is "will it stop this guy from tearing my guts out?" I don't care much if it takes one or five as long as it's going to work.

 

[M. Sage]

Hah, OK. I just read the whole article. I agree with what he says about the one shot stop number, but would go further and say it's not really significant. Like he points out, most are probably psychological stops.

Again, I'm more interested in the failure rate. Maybe I'm a glass half empty guy. Or maybe I'm just planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

 

[DBDawg]

Good read...makes me feel a little better about my pocket pistol.

 

[Wolfwood]

awesome read.

i love me some graphs and data.

 

[cleric]

Stopping power is just the ability of the round to penetrate, and in doing so just about everything over a .32 ACP has "stopping power" in a handgun round.

The fact that .44 Magnum got beat out by .38 Special as a one shot incapacitation percentage is very telling ... first of all, energy is just energy, and secondly it matters FAR more where you put that energy. You're essentially stabbing someone with bullets when you shoot them ... there's no magic effect with a handgun round when it hits things, it's very uneventful and it just pokes a hole in it. I don't know why people get so caught up in how big of a bullet and how much power they can put behind it ... it doesn't matter and the facts are in the article above, but that won't stop people from sitting around thinking that .45 ACP +P round is going to blow someone in half when they hit them with it, LOL.

I kinda wish it did ... cause then it'd make our lives alot easier!

As you said you are at a root level stabbing someone with a bullet. The bigger the bullet the bigger the stab. You have a higher chance of getting something critical with a bigger bullet.

 

[ROGER4314]

Great article! It's a real eye opener!

Flash

 

[TexasBrandon]

If caliber doesn't matter then why make bigger bullets? Much like a sports game, people say it's just a game and have fun, if that's the case why keep score? I would rather carry something decently heavy (9mm and up with the occasional .32) so the energy put into the criminal is enough to make them think twice. Not everyone is 150 pounds 5 foot 9 that commits crimes. If someone 300 pounds decides to hold up a store and your in the middle of it with a .22 then you better be sure your hitting vitals. I would rather rely less on shot placement and more on stopping power personally. I'm a great shot myself but that doesn't mean I'm going to carry a deringer around with me. I personally swap between a 9mm, .40, and a .32 that I have. It all comes down to preference in the end, I don't favor one round over the other...well except the .50 . But seriously who carries a .50 and why? Home defense? I'll just bust out my benelli shotgun. Great article none the less and very informative. His analysis is correct on a scientific point of view but wear what makes you comfortable and only wear what you know you can use and not risk others lives.

 

[Randman]

I like the idea of 9 mm, .40, and .45. But I'd rather have that .380 in my pocket than nothing at all. Someone once said, the gun that will save your life is the gun you will carry. If it gives me the edge then I don't care what the caliber is..

 

[M. Sage]

As you said you are at a root level stabbing someone with a bullet. The bigger the bullet the bigger the stab. You have a higher chance of getting something critical with a bigger bullet.

Go do some math and compare the cross sections of those bullets sometime. The results might surprise you... Also realize that most bullets are simply pushing tissue out of the way as they travel through a body.

Bigger is not always better.

If caliber doesn't matter then why make bigger bullets? Much like a sports game, people say it's just a game and have fun, if
that's the case why keep score? I would rather carry something decently heavy (9mm and up with the occasional .32) so the energy put into the criminal is enough to make them think twice. Not everyone is 150 pounds 5 foot 9 that commits crimes. If someone 300 pounds decides to hold up a store and your in the middle of it with a .22 then you better be sure your hitting vitals. I would rather rely less on shot placement and more on stopping power personally. I'm a great shot myself but that doesn't mean I'm going to carry a deringer around with me. I personally swap between a 9mm, .40, and a .32 that I have. It all comes down to preference in the end, I don't favor one round over the other...well except the .50 . But seriously who carries a .50 and why? Home defense? I'll just bust out my benelli shotgun. Great article none the less and very informative. His analysis is correct on a scientific point of view but wear what makes you comfortable and only wear what you know you can use and not risk others lives.

How is a .45 going to stop someone better than a .380? What do you mean by "stopping power" and where does an attacker's body weight going to come into it??

Besides penetration depth (which some calibers have issues with), the only thing that matters is shot placement.

One other thing, an attacker probably isn't going to feel getting shot. When you swing a muzzle his way, both of you are going to be so loaded with adrenaline that the odds of you feeling a bullet ripping through you is pretty low. I've read way too many accounts of people getting shot and not realizing it. People getting shot in the face, thinking they'd been punched. Guys so shot up they fall down and can't figure out why they can't get back up (until they looked) and survived to tell about it because they kept fighting.

Pain? Pain is not something you can rely on to stop an attacker. If that was all it took, we'd practice giving purple nurples to would-be attackers.