Power vs Accuracy: CA Limits

[deckhandmike]

I would just carry a heavier gun which sucks up the recoil of the larger round. Just picked up a glock 20. I really don't even worry about printing. 99.9% of the public are ignorant.

[Sleighter]

.45 JHP opens up to 1 inch., 9mm is up to .8in (a bit overestimated, actually)
So, .45 hole is about .79 sq.in, while 9mm hole is .5 sq. inch. Thus, two .45 shots damage the area of three 9mm. You call it a "little difference"? More realistic estimates can get down closer to 2:1 ratio. No big deal, right? It's negligible difference, isn't it?

I would rate 9mm under .45 and .40

It is a negligible difference considering neither round is going to be an instant stop unless it hits the CNS. If it is a CNS hit, the difference in size won't make a difference.

OTOH, both calibers, with 2 solid torso shots will not instantly incapacitate someone physically. So the damage done is negligible in the context of the fight. What is more important is how much will the attacker has to fight. In that regard, I think the reality of being shot is more likely to stop the attack than the actual tenths of an inch difference in tissue damage.

[Cokebottle]

Power without accuracy? The power doesn't matter if you don't hit the target.

You are going to stop a man in one of 3 ways:

CNS hit... paralyze him or take out his cranial functions.
Hit him in a vital organ that leads to rapid bleed-out.
Psychological "awakening" that you WILL kill him.

All of the above CAN be done with one bullet, but it needs to be placed accurately. That is why I've changed my mind on putting my SP101 on my CCW. I simply do not shoot it well enough.

[riderr]

It is a negligible difference considering neither round is going to be an instant stop unless it hits the CNS. If it is a CNS hit, the difference in size won't make a difference.

With a 2x wider hole, you have 2x better chance to hit CNS. Last time I checked, math worked this way.

[safety-1st]

I appreciate everyone's comments and input. However any reason why you feel you can't be accurate with the larger calibers? From 5-15 feet it's not hard to hit the center of an average male 5'9" ?

[k1dude]

I appreciate everyone's comments and input. However any reason why you feel you can't be accurate with the larger calibers? From 5-15 feet it's not hard to hit the center of an average male 5'9"

Everyone is affected by recoil differently. I don't really notice the difference between calibers personally. So I shoot them all about the same. Others feel dramatic differences and it affects their shooting ability. I've seen people repeatedly miss torso sized targets from 3 yards away.

Only you can determine if you'll experience problems with more recoil.

[ElDub1950]

I appreciate everyone's comments and input. However any reason why you feel you can't be accurate with the larger calibers? From 5-15 feet it's not hard to hit the center of an average male 5'9"

No, there's no reason you can't be accurate with a larger caliber.

It's simply that some (many?) aren't as accurate as they need to be when rapid firing a larger caliber handgun. Some are wildly inaccurate by the 3rd 4th and 5th rounds. Of course that only matters in a defensive or competitive situation.

Training and practice can make it doable for basically anyone. But handling recoil and rapid fire accuracy a very individual thing.

Have fun and shoot them all, a lot, and everyone will settle in on what works for them.

[Calif Hunter]

The original question was you have only one bullet, so mag capacity and follow up shots are irrelevant to the question posted. Now reality is different,,,,

[safety-1st]

The original question was you have only one bullet, so mag capacity and follow up shots are irrelevant to the question posted. Now reality is different,,,,

It was part of the original question, only to see if it came down to it, would you consider the larger caliber. Main question/idea of the topic is would you consider larger calibers because we are limited to only 10 rounds. To many people, their accuracy is not affected by larger calibers.

[Calif Hunter]

If you only had one bullet to save your life would you rather have a .40 , .357sig, 45acp, or 10mm? Or the 9mm?


I am one of those who do not notice any appreciable difference between 9mm and .45 ACP recoil and actually tend to shoot my 1911s better than any of my 9mms. The 10 round limitation only reinforces that choice for me.

[[Variable]]

He did say "one bullet to save your life", so caliber is irrelevant in this case. Again, engagement actions followed by shot placement. Caliber comes into play for getting back on target for followup shots.

[pacmule]

This reminds me of a movie I saw back in gunsmith school on stopping power. All comes down to shot placement. Showed the unlucky bystander shot dead with stray 25acp, went between her ribs and pierced her aorta. Another guy shot point blank in the face with 44 mag, walks down the street and get in his car and tries to start it before he dies. Bullet went under his eye so missed brain and brain stem. In the end they chose the 45acp as the best round because they said the bigger round might be the difference between just missing or just hitting that vital tissue that will drop the bad guy.

[Calif Hunter]

What kind of shooting are you doing? Static shooting at a stationary target? Or a USPSA match?
__________________
I shoot bullseye, action pistol matches (not formally sanctioned matches), handgun hunting for small and large game, etc. I am also a combat Viet Nam vet. I've been shooting handguns from .22 to magnums for over 40 years. While not sanctioned and just an informal club, I won Class A in those action matches for several years.

[riderr]

How much training do you have vs the LAPD/NYPD?

It's also well-known that the majority of police officers are not frequent visitors on a shooting range

[JTROKS]

You only have 1 shot so recoil does not matter anymore unless it breaks your wrist with gun flying towards your head. I'd like to have a 180 grain JHP full power 44 magnum.