LogFAQs > #880099398

dragon504 posted...

Kyuubi4269 posted...

ultra magnus13 posted...

Read the fbis report on ballistics and wounding effects of handgun ammunition. But the tldr is.

Handgun ammunition only wounds via crushing, cutting, or tearing what it directly impacts. To incapacitate effectivly you need to hit the head,cns/spine lungs and heart are good but arnt as sure of incapacitating as effectivly. You want a minimum of 12in penetration in calibrated ballistic gel and a maximum of 18in, 16 being ideal. Good modern 9mm ammuniton will meet the 16in ideal and reiably expand. The fbi found across the board there agents had faster times and better accuracy with 9mm than 40 or 45. You get a VERY marginal increase in wound channel size at the cost of capacity, speed and accuracy.

9mm being lower recoil is the only factor you've presented that remotely matters. You should also note that the FBI also had records of shots to kill in real life cases and found that 45 needed 1-2 shots on average but 9mm averaged 3-4.

The only real advantage 9mm has is ammo capacity. My XD holds 13 rounds, which seems like plenty to me, and it's currently loaded with 230gr hollow points. I've seen ballistic gel tests of the ammo I'm using and was quite satisfied with the wound channel they created. 9mm should have more penetrating power as well, which is more dangerous in a home defense situation where you're not the only one home, but I wouldn't say this is a big downside.

Incorrect. It also has the advantage of almost everyone being able to put more rounds on target, more rapidy, and more accurately in a combat scenario. Bullet weight doesn't matter (other than have enough weight to make penetration.) "Knockdown power" is a myth, "stopping power" is a myth, hydrostatic shock only comes in to play with rifles. The only way a handgun round causes incapacitation is by directly damaging vital organs/cns. 16in of penetration in properly calibrated gel is the ideal depth to reliably reach those organs from less than ideal hits. Both rounds do this. 45 gives you a fraction of an inch more margin for error, but as shown in real world examples even having that fraction, the scored hits are less likely to hit where they are intended.

45 is just as likely to overpenetrate as 9 depending on specific load chosen. If that is your concern though 5.56 is your ideal choice. With correct ammo choice it will less over penetration while still reliably being lethal.
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?huh?........ it's just a box.