THE STOPPING POWER OF DIFFERENT HANDGUN CARTRIDGES

2/22/2003

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

General Julian Hatcher, a noted forensic pathologist, in the early 1900’s developed a good formula to determine the theoretical stopping power of a firearm cartridge. His formula has withstood the test of time and validation from other studies and data related to stopping power.

You want a handgun cartridge that has a Hatcher value of over 50 for the most effective stopping power. Values over 55 have diminishing returns in that you don’t gain any significant increase in stopping power for the extra recoil and control you must cope with. Handgun cartridges that don’t make a value of at least 50, should not considered for self-defense. If the rating of your handgun cartridge is under 30, it only has about a 30% chance of producing a one shot stop. Hatcher Ratings of 30 to 49 raise a one shot stop to approximately a 50% chance. Ratings of 50 or higher produce a one shot stop about 90% of the time.

Handgun Cartridge Type ..................... Hatcher Rating

.45 ACP full metal jacket 230 grain .......... 49.1

.45 ACP jacketed hollow point 230 grain ...... 60.7

.44 Magnum full metal jacket 240 grain ....... 92.3

*.44 Magnum lead wad cutter 240 grain ......... 136.8

.44 Special full metal jacket 240 grain ...... 51.6

*.44 Special lead wad cutter 240 grain ............. 76.5

.41 Magnum full metal jacket 230 grain ............. 54

*.41 Magnum lead wad cutter 230 grain .............. 80

10 millimeter full metal jacket 180 grain .......... 50.3

10 millimeter jacketed hollow point 180 grain ..62.1

.40 S&W full metal jacket flat nose 180 grain ...... 53.4

.40 S&W jacketed hollow point 180 grain ....... 59.4

.38 Special full metal jacket 158 grain ...... 26.7

*.38 Special lead wad cutter 158 grain ............. 39.7

**.357 Magnum full metal jacket 158 grain ..... 32.7

**.357 Magnum lead wad cutter 158 grain ............ 48.5

.357 SIG full metal jacket 147 grain ................ 36.6

.357 SIG jacketed hollow point 147 grain ..... 45.2

9 millimeter full metal jacket 147 grain ............ 32.3

9 millimeter jacketed hollow point 147 grain ... 39.9

.380 Auto jacketed hollow point 95 grain ..... 18.3

.32 Auto jacketed hollow point 71 grain ...... 11.1

.25 Auto jacketed hollow point 50 grain ...... 3.7

.22 Long Rifle jacketed hollow point 40 grain ... 4.2

* Jacketed hollow points will have the same rating as wad cutter bullets if the bullet hollow tip is greater than 1/2 of the caliber of the bullet.

* .357 Magnum ratings are taken from a firearm with a 3 inch barrel. Longer barrels will raise the rating of the round.

[Travis McGee]

Sounds great! I think 20 oz is less than my Charter Arms .38! That's a lot of man stopper for 409 bucks too, and one you don't have to think about much: just pull it out and pull the trigger.

If five rounds that are the equal of a .45 ACP won't do the job in normal "social situations", then you have a VERY big problem on your hands, and probably should have brought your shotgun or S.U.R.!

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

Be sure you carry a speedloader or two of extra ammunition for your .44 Special Revolver. I always carry with an extra magazine even though my .40 S&W handgun already has 12 rounds in it. I think you would regret it the rest of your life if you could not save a loved one because you shot up all your ammunition. Who knows what situation you might run into. Multiple armed thugs are a possiblity though not likely at all. Better to carry it and not need it than need it and not have it!

[Squantos]

Good choice Lurker..... I have a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in .44 special and the S&W 696 and 296 and shoot .44 specials in my .44 magnum Ruger Blackhawks and Vaqueros. My favorite and most accurate load for my Bulldog is the 200 grain Blazer CCI, Gold Dot Hollow point .

Glad Mrs Lurker has no problems with it. Is this to be "her" pistola ? IMHO and experience .44 special is an excellant self defense round.

Stay Safe !

[sneakypete]

Multiple armed thugs are a possiblity though not likely at all.

I had 6 attackers waiting for me outside a Denver restaurant one night. I had a earlier run in with their leader over being nasty to a waitress,and he seemed mad over having to leave her a 20 buck tip when he left. Anyhow,there were 6 of them waiting for me,and all I had was my 5 shot 44 Charter Arms "Bulldog" in my pocket with Valmet bullets that were supposed to explode. Anyhow,I put my back to a brick wall,smiled at them,and told them I had a 5 shot revolver in my pocket,and my plan was to gut shoot the first 5,and beat the last guy to death with the revolver. I then sat down and told them to make up their minds who the first 5 to come at me would be,and to take their time because I wasn't in any hurry. They talked it over for a few minutes,and the general conclusion seemed to be their could hear their mamas calling,so they took off.

BTW,I never once thought I would be able to gut shoot 5 of them. One for sure,maybe 2,but then the others would be hauling ass so fast it would scare you. People don't come at you in packs because they are brave. I've never carried a spare magazine or speed loader as a civilian,and probably never will.

[Squantos]

BTW here is the spare ammo carrier I use for my Bulldog's spare .44 ammo...........IMO It is fast, compact, and not as bulky as a speed loader.

http://www.usgalco.com/Catalog/large/2X2X2.jpg

Stay Safe !

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

Is the Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog a good gun? Does it have any problems? Is it accurate? They are priced very well and I may purchase one in the future. I just wanted your opinion.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

I've never carried a spare magazine or speed loader as a civilian, and probably never will.

I know that I will probably never use 22 rounds of .40 S&W ammunition. I most likely will never even pull my gun in self defense. It's not uncomfortable to me to carry a spare 10 round magazine so I do it. It's always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[sneakypete]

It's always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

It surely doesn't hurt anything.

[harpseal]

Taurus also is advertising their new .45acp revolver and it is a honey. I have had excellent luck with every Taurus revolver I have purchased. The late Mrs. Harpseal favored Taurus .357 magnums with Remmington hollowpoints as her load of choice.

[harpseal]

Is the Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog a good gun? Does it have any problems? Is it accurate? They are priced very well and I may purchase one in the future. I just wanted your opinion.

yes it is an excellent gun. The CEO/owner of charter arms is quite clear that his guns do not have triggers that are as good as S&W's but on this particular gun and on the undercover .38spl the ones I have seen have been excellent.

[Travis McGee]

Words of wisdom! Great story. I agree with you, if five won't solve your problems, the odds of a speed reload solving them are VERY low.

[Travis McGee]

Looks a darn sight nicer too! Classy rig.

[Travis McGee]

What is the advantage of a .45 ACP revolver over .44 special? Just ammo commonality for 1911 fans?

[boltCutter]

Although it is barely mentioned in the artice, I AM impressed with the fact that it mentioned something that has been known to the U.S. military for some fifty years, and studied in gross detail and with amazingly high subject numbers. But you seldom hear this in the hyperbola of "wound ballistics" debates. That 'something' is the simple realization that human beings do not handle firearms with the same proficiency under stress as they do on the gun range. In fact, the difference is astronomical. What the military, in particular, the U.S. Army discovered was that people who can effectively aim and shoot a handgun in real combat are exceedingly rare, and those that hit their targets are probably just lucky. Their marksman skills have little to do with it. Only long guns seem to compensate enough for the stresses of a firefight to allow reliable hits with small arms. Even conditioning doesn't seem to help much, save for the most ridiculous cases of ammunition expenditure in training. This is precisely why U.S. Navy SEALS expend so much ammunition in live fire training. It has little to do with actual marksmanship, and everything to do with reflexive conditioning. This training approach was a direct result of knowledge of past firefights. The short of the story is, if you wanna live, don't use a handgun AT ALL. Better have a long gun. Indeed, fragmentation weapons take it one step further, greatly enhancing the odds of incapacitation under mortal stress. But for police, carrying long guns routinely should be seriously considered.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

.45 ACP ammuntion for one is cheaper than .44 Special because it is more available. I can get decent .45 ACP target ammunition for about $10 per 50 rounds. Good .45 ACP hollowpoints cost me about $23 per 50.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

The short of the story is, if you wanna live, don't use a handgun AT ALL. Better have a long gun.

The reason most don't hit with a handgun is under stress most don't look at their handgun sights. They just pull the gun, aim in a general direction, and fire. Spray the area with bullets and you'll hit your target right? WRONG!

I dry fire train several times a week with a handgun and one of my biggest habits is to line up my sights on my target before pulling the trigger. I know if I continually condition this into my head during stress I will do it.

If one wants to be effective with a handgun they need to train like this. If you don't line your sights up on your target, you will not hit your target. Obviously there are exceptions for very close quarters when you can't get your handgun out in time to aim. Different techniques should be used in these scenarios.

How can one carry a long gun into public? If you want to armed in public, a good concealable semi-automatic handgun is your best choice for a defensive weapon. Good handguns are effective weapons if you frequently train correctly and know how to use one.

[harpseal]

The advantages of .45acp over .44 spl are two as I see it. First practice ammunition is a whole lot more common and as a result less expensive. Second the ammunition commonality with the model 1911-A1's means that if you are with someone with such a firearm you could in a desperate situation share ammunition. The second is an admittedly minor consideration but the first is often a big consideration. I have heard that Charter is going to come out with a version of their bulldog and bulldog pug in .45acp.

Their goal is to tap the market for the less expensive .45acp ammunition.

[Travis McGee]

Most of the VN era real deal SEALs I knew in the 80s agreed with you. Most thought that pistols were pretty useless in combat except for "the final bullet" to avoid capture (that's a joke, no seals surrendered or were captured in VN) or with suppressors to kill dogs (hush puppies).

As I recall, most said "I'd take two more thirty round magazines of 5.56 over a pistol any day. If you're down to a pistol against people with rifles, you are SCREWED.

Everything weighs somethinng, and a pistol is big chunk of iron to haul into battle, compared to the 60 rounds of M-16 ammo it kicks off your web belt. That's just what I was always told, I was never in combat.

[Travis McGee]

Makes perfect sense. Then you also have ammo commonality between your big 1911 etc and your backup belly gun.

[Travis McGee]

bttt