“...if a 9 is inadequate, might as well go with the lightest possible...” [dsc, post 59]
Gun enthusiasts insist on believing there is some discernible cutoff point, between 45 ACP and all smaller-caliber handgun rounds, in effectiveness.
There isn’t.
Comparisons of handgun-cartridge effectiveness are necessarily uncertain, mostly because targets that are alive vary too much. And collection of data from “real” events such as law enforcement or self-defense incidents will never fully dispel that uncertainty. There are too many variables, too many unknown conditions.
9mm NATO actually develops more kinetic energy than MIL STD 45 ACP.
“Comparisons of handgun-cartridge effectiveness are necessarily uncertain, mostly because targets that are alive vary too much.”
That’s certainly true, but the comparison I harken back to is between the .38 long Colt that was ineffective in the Philippines and the 1911 that was effective.