Stopping Power - a different perspective

[paul0660]

No matter which caliber you use, you have to hit something important in order to stop someone!

Could have saved the $39. Small sample size, no mention of type of ammo, etc. etc.

It IS nice that the mere sight of a .45 didn't kill people, and that there is a positive correlation between .38 and .357.

[mikaarce]

Thank you for the post.

[ryan0320]

The key for today's topic......
1. Bullet placement (Face/Heart)
2. Always double tap (Shoot them TWICE)
3. shoot enough amount of 22 at a proper place and it will stop the opponent !

[23 Blast]

^ Exactly - particularly the study on shotguns.

I imagine that a fair number of people using shotguns as a HD weapon might load it with the same ammo as they hunt ducks with, simply because it's what they have on hand, in the same way some people load their HD handguns with the same cheap FMJ plinking ammo they use at the range because Its cheap and they have it on hand.

[esartori]

Very interesting. But yes I think the type of ammo would have been another interesting variable. I know it probably wasn't available for all the shootings though. I guess I need a rifle.. Since .45 is not the holy grail of handgun rounds, maybe ill sell my 1911 and buy an AR

[Lapietra]

I had to cut a paragraph or two out of the orignal posters report due to character limitations on this site. Here is the paragraph I removed which answers the questions asked about what types of bullets and a the authors comments about his study. - Lap

Discussion

I really would have liked to break it down by individual bullet type, but I didn’t have enough data points to reach a level of statistical significance. Getting accurate data on over 1800 shootings was hard work. I couldn’t imagine breaking it down farther than what I did here. I also believe the data for the .25, .32 and .44 magnum should be viewed with suspicion. I simply don’t have enough data (in comparison to the other calibers) to draw an accurate comparison. I reported the data I have, but I really don’t believe that a .32 ACP incapacitates people at a higher rate than the .45 ACP!

One other thing to look at is the 9mm data. A huge number (over half) of 9mm shootings involved ball ammo. I think that skewed the results of the study in a negative manner. One can reasonable expect that FMJ ammo will not stop as well as a state of the art expanding bullet. I personally believe that the 9mm is a better stopper than the numbers here indicate, but you can make that decision for yourself based on the data presented

[sanjosebmx]

a lot of data there, would it be fair to say that most of the data was from Officer involved shootings?

[The Professional]

Great read! Thanks for sharing...

Use the firearm you're most comfortable with (I solely use .45ACP for HD, and practice A LOT!) and then there's the shot placement...

Happy Friday, y'all!

[Shellshocker66]

Nice post!

[OC-Indian]

Aim between the lungs and stop firing when the threat stops attacking. I wouldnt want to be shot with a mag full of 22L. Then again I have something larger than a 22L on my nightstand

[sigfan]

Nice post. Thanks for the info

[CK_32]

Great post. Funny to see the bull headed people still arguing against it but with it to still push their beliefs because that can't accept their wrong or what they believe is not the best haha. Makes me laugh lol

[MASTERLAB]

so basically what he is saying is get a .45

[pter]

There might be some inaccuracies with the calculated

% of hits that were fatal
One-shot-stop %

.25ACP-
% of hits that were fatal- 25%
One-shot-stop %- 30%

.22 (short, long and long rifle)
% of hits that were fatal- 34%
One-shot-stop %- 31%

.32 (both .32 long and .32 acp)
% of hits that were fatal- 21%
One-shot-stop %- 40%

.380 ACP
% of hits that were fatal- 29%
One-shot-stop %- 44%

.38 Special
% of hits that were fatal- 29%
One-shot-stop %- 39%

9mm Luger
% of hits that were fatal- 24%
One-shot-stop %- 34%

.357 (both magnum and Sig)
% of hits that were fatal- 34%
One-shot-stop %- 44%

.40 S&W
% of hits that were fatal- 25%
One-shot-stop %- 45%

.45 ACP
% of hits that were fatal- 29%
One-shot-stop %- 39%

.44 Magnum
% of hits that were fatal- 26%
One-shot-stop %- 59%

Rifle (all Centerfire)
% of hits that were fatal- 68%
One-shot-stop %- 58%

Shotgun (All, but 90% of results were 12 gauge)
% of hits that were fatal- 65%
One-shot-stop %- 58%

[Bart1]

Thank you for this post. I guess I will stick with my 9mm and JHP's.