Blackeagle

Forget jello testing, forget theory, do some simple geometry. The frontal area of a 9mm bullet is about 63.6 square millimeters. The frontal area of a .45 caliber bullet is 102.6 square millimeters, 60% larger. Can you really say that a 60% difference is negligible?

older gunner

Auta,
Go to this web site and you can read some very informative and authorative info to help answer your question.

http://www.firearmstactical.com/tactical.htm

Roundeyesamurai

Yes.

In the same way that a bead with a diameter of 1mm has a surface area of 3.14 square millimeters, and a bead with a diameter of 1.5mm has more than twice the surface area- 7.065 square millimeters. This does not change the fact that most people need a pair of tweezers to hold either bead. They're both tiny.

Doc Holliday

HAHA!!!! :D
I think they are LEO only!!!! ;)

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Give Doc the shotgun.
They'll be less apt to get nervous if he's on the street howitzer.

Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave.

I have two guns, one for each of ya.

Tubby45

Muzzle energy is a measurement of the potential to do work. A 10mm load with 700fpe has the potential to do more work than a 10mm load with 550fpe. That is it. That is all it illustrates. It has nothing to do with explaining stopping power.

Stopping power is a measurement of a shooter's ego in protecting their beloved cartridge, BSing capabilities, and inflating propaganda about an unmeasurable phenomenon.

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dimmak

Quite possibly the most acutely accurate statement I have ever had the pleasure of reading on any gun board....

My hat off to you, I dub thee "Sir Freak".....

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deadmarsh

In all of these debates I believe that many people confuss the so-called 'stopping power' with 'killing power'. In hunting, we want a clean, efficient kill (penetration to the vitals). In defensive shootings, we want to STOP the bad guy from doing what he's doing. In other words, get his attention for long enough to get to cover or away from the confrontation; this we do with less penetration and more expansion...

We all must remember that at close distances the recoil we feel in our hands is basically what the bad guy feels when he's hit with the bullet. Bigger and faster is always better -- especially when the handgun is loaded with a premium bullet (DPX, Golden Saber, Gold Dot, HST, etc.).

Of course shot placement is always a key, but you can get away with a little more than always being perfect with rounds such as a 10mm (full loads), .357 Magnum, etc..

Shoot what you like, practice until defensive firing is as natural as walking, and be alert. Stopping power is not always killing power, it's preventing (or stopping) the bad guy from doing what he's doing and you less injured in the aftermath...good luck


Deadmarsh

ccw9mm

Unless you miss because of all that power, of course.

In a single bullet comparison, obviously a bigger hole is better. But making that hole depends on every other factor surrounding the specific package you've got in your hand.

For me, the ability to stop a predator is that combination of factors that yields the most displaced vital matter in a short period of time. That includes: ballistics, recoil management, size/weight of the weapon, familiarity, situational preparedness, etc. Size/weight/speed of the bullet is only one aspect. IMO, not the important aspect, when compared to everything else.

Data point: That recent thread discussing a CHL/CCW licensing course in which one guy brought a big gun with the nastiest, harshest ammo he could find. Ended up not being able to handle it. Succeeded in the course with a Glock 19 and standard ammo. Perfect example of this principle, though on the extreme end of things.

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deadmarsh

ccw9mm:

Read my complete thread...you just said what I said in a different way...

But, bigger and faster is better if the shooter is proficient; no one is slamming the smaller calibers...


Dead

Thumper

Mozambique... 2 to the chest, 1 to the head!
(with Corbon DPX )

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