Posted on 06/18/2015 10:31:19 AM PDT by w1n1
When I used to work at a gun store I was frequently asked what caliber was best for any given situation. It would have been nice if there had been some sort of magic death ray that I could have suggested, but there isn’t, and most people have a pretty flawed understanding of what actually happens when a bullet interacts with a human target. Here’s my take on it and personal reasoning behind selecting a 9mm round.
For starters let’s examine a couple of concepts that don’t actually exist in the scientific world but everyone talks about anyway. I’m going to regurgitate the work from those better than myself, and the information is worth paying attention to.
KNOCKDOWN POWER
This doesn’t actually exist. If a bullet had enough force to knock down an individual, it would also knock down the individual firing the gun. People do not go flying through the air when hit by a bullet, contrary to what the movies and television would have us believe. Newton’s Third Law and all.
ENERGY DUMP
On the back of a box of ammo, manufacturers list the foot-pounds of energy (ft-lbf, or foot-pounds of force/energy) that their rounds have. Well, that doesn’t actually matter. The terminal performance of a projectile is determined solely by how much tissue it cuts, crushes or tears. While it has been advocated by many-a-misinformed-gun-counter commando that some sort of energy transfer occurs between a projectile and its target, this has been rejected by everyone I respect who studies terminal ballistics for a living.
9mm is for girls and sissies How often have you heard, “If you’re not carrying a caliber that begins with the number four and ends with the number five, you’re doing it wrong”? This almost makes sense if we were limited to nonexpanding ammunition, but most of us aren’t. When we compare modern hollow-point rounds in popular service calibers, there is, on average, one-tenth of an inch of difference in expanded diameter between a 9mm and a .45ACP. Grab a ruler and look at a tenth of an inch. It doesn’t seem like much, does it? That’s because it’s not. Read the rest of the story here.
As a buddy says, "Shot placement is King, adequate penetration is Queen, and everything else is angels dancing on the head of a pin."
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If I pull the trigger and it goes boom, I like it.
My affinities when shooting align to the gun itself more than the round. Some guns just seem to fit/handle better than others. I suspect a persons confidence in a gun plays a part as well. As I’ve gotten older, I find the sites on the gun have a bearing on whether I like to shoot it or not.
The 9mm is a good round. Ample and cheap ammo.
Right.
I recently saw where that door gunner was chosen for the role of Sgt. Hartman until Lee Ermey showed up and stole the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRkyKYz5SYM
For pistols I shoot 9mm, .40., .45 .38spl and .357 - doesn’t matter to me. I like shooting and I’m pretty equal with all of them so I like to shoot whatever ammo is available. I do have a special place in my heart for my .22 Ruger MkIII too and would use it in a self defense situation as quickly as any of the others.
If you can carry that concealed, your shirt size is likely sufficient deterrent from most trouble.
That's what I thought too. Hit someone in the breastbone with a .45 or a .44 mag and they are going over.
Not to mention a rifle or shotgun round...and neither one of them has knocked me backwards since I was eight.
:snork:
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Smith & Wesson 1911 in .38 Super - range toy
Somebody had to say it.
125gr JHP at 1650fps.
Works every time.
The concern with that is the safety of the four innocents line up behind the perp.
Now that you mention it, I once witnessed an accidental discharge from a 6in S&W 586 with that very round.
Luckily nobody was hurt.
Nice clean hole inside the house but blew a 5in piece of stucco off the outer wall.
The bullet continued another 40ft and hit a F-150, blew through the radiator and splitting the case of the water pump.
It was enlightening.
Something that will deliver more instant incapacitation.
incapacitation: is that a word?
The .40 came about from a police FBI shootout in Florida with criminals wearing armor. I am sure there were earlier calls for stronger LE rounds but this incident was the last straw. They complained of 9mm and 38sp ‘bouncing’ off the criminals and earlier complaints of 9mm taking too long to incapacitate an enraged or highly drugged perp.
They had trials with newly developed 10mm but it was too much, causing other problems... namely second shot accuracy and the liability that they foresaw in a wild second shot. They settled on the slightly lighter and cooler .40cal and it has gained popularity quicker than any other round in LE and in civilian markets.
While it has been advocated by many-a-misinformed-gun-counter commando that some sort of energy transfer occurs between a projectile and its target, this has been rejected by everyone ...
There absolutely is an energy transfer between the bullet and flesh. Anyone who has ever butchered a deer has seen the massive hemorrhaging that takes place. This damage occurs in flesh that was nowhere near the actual path of the projectile. When a bullet hits flesh, a pressure/shock wave travels through the surrounding flesh. The reason you want an expanding bullet is not so much to cut a bigger path through the body. It is to slow the bullet down more so that it imparts more of its energy into the target.
“...a 45 is 162% larger in area than a 9mm”
WRONG
So I guess “more power” is simple way of saying all the variables combined.
Give me a fistful of .45 ACP any day.
...and the 1911 to go with it!
That said, I like a 9mm for personal protection and also use .380 pocket guns for same.
Different weapons have different ranges of utility and discounting fps and energy are not smart.
Practice much. I miss less with my 45 than any of my friends with their 9. I shoot waay more. Carry the biggest caliber you can be accurate with. It really is that simple.
Strange, I keep getting 162% too. We’re talking frontal area; the areas of the holes in paper if both rounds used a wadcutter.
(.452/2)^2/(.355/2)^2 = 1.62
Since you’re only after the ratio, and both are multipled by pi, you can drop pi out.
Those are the diameters of the rounds in inches, and would be recognized by reloaders everywhere. Also works if you convert both to millimeters.
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