Posted on 02/22/2003 8:34:22 PM PST by 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.
Depends on circumstances. If your pistol is within arm's reach of my teacher, you're not likely to keep it for long. If your pistol is within 3 yards of my rifle, you're likely to be faster to the shot than I will. If your tank's crew are outside the tank fixing a tread, my rifle will create problems for them, as would your tank's main gun as it crashes through the airstrip's fence catching my A-10 on the ground.
My training covers this point too. If you have time to align your sights you take two shots, then a quick look at your assailant. If your target is down, a fast glance to the right and left sides of you. After this is completed you look back at your assailant and check him out for two seconds, then scan the area for any remaining enemies. If the area is clear it is time for a tactical reload. Reload your pistol then look around. If area is still safe, reholster your weapon.
The .45 ACP full metal jacket 230 grain should be rated at 60.7
The .45 ACP jacketed hollow point 230 grain should be rated at 66.8
This same "expert" makes a VERY good living selling books and videos,yet even HE can not come up with ONE single case where the type of bullet or load fired had anything to do with a case. I guess it would be possible in NJ for a zealous DA to charge someone involved in a "good shoot" with the local felony of being in possession of hollow-points,but even that hasn't happened. I suspect the biggest reason for this is it would get thrown out of court,and the DA making the charges would look foolish. I seriously doubt anyone has ever been convicted of this "crime" in NJ. It's just a political pose.
If you're happy believing that nonsense,I'm happy for you.
How are the techniques I described nonsense? Is it nonsense to know what is going on around you?
I already explained this to you in a earlier post. You don't believe me.
Is it nonsense to know what is going on around you?
No,and that's the very point I was making. The shooter looking over his gun with both eyes open will know what's going on around him. The one worried about sight alignment won't,but go ahead and believe what you want to believe.
There are many factors to using a gun in self defense. To say there is only one way to do things in every situation is not logical.
To say that one will not be able to see anything because they are using sight alignment is not true. There are statistics that point to the facts over and over to show that by in large those who only point shoot hit their targets only about 15% to 20% of the time. S.W.A.T. teams use sight alignment and hit their targets about 85% of time. I would wager to say that members of S.W.A.T. know what is going on around them in hostile situations.
It would be foolish to not use your sights to shoot if your wife had a knife at her throat and was being held by a deranged madman who was using her as a shield and only had his head exposed.
There are also times to point shoot as well. Every hostile situation could call for different self defense techniques.
A .44 Special Bulldog is a very adequate handgun. .357 Sig and .357 Magnum are not as good as the .44 Special round in stopping power.
No thanks, I'd rather not have our police forces looking like Rambo wannabes or mexican federales even if they are.
I just started doing this myself ... it's actually quite fun to know that you are making the ammo that may one day save your life or take down whatever you hunt.
Developed my perfect load .... 360 solid LBT in 45 colt at about 1200 fps ... works like a champ in my ruger.
ROFLMAO! See a SWAT team raid,and from all the laser lights flying all over the place,you would swear you are in a scene from Star Wars. The reason they use these lasers is so they can point shoot. Usually the wrong person.
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