So its been made clear here that there is no magic pistol round for stopping an assailant, if there was everybody would be using it. However, I would think that some pistol rounds have a better chance at stopping an assailant than others, provided that you hit the assailant.
There is no magic pistol round for stopping an assailant
- Thread starter PhotonGuy
- Start date
And the question is what?
if your asking preference I'll go with a hollow point 44mag
if your asking preference I'll go with a hollow point 44mag
It's already common knowledge that handgun bullets are feeble manstoppers compared to long gun projectiles.
However, with a proven premium hollowpoint design, just about any reasonable duty caliber (9mm or higher) can work just fine as a manstopper, or at least as well as one could expect from a handgun.
There are agencies that still use the old-fashioned Federal BPLE 115 grain +P+ load for their 9 mm weapons, and they haven't had any complaints about its performance. For that matter, the NYPD was using ball ammo for their 9 mm pistols for quite a while, and didn't have any noticeable complaints about its performance as a manstopper either.
However, with a proven premium hollowpoint design, just about any reasonable duty caliber (9mm or higher) can work just fine as a manstopper, or at least as well as one could expect from a handgun.
There are agencies that still use the old-fashioned Federal BPLE 115 grain +P+ load for their 9 mm weapons, and they haven't had any complaints about its performance. For that matter, the NYPD was using ball ammo for their 9 mm pistols for quite a while, and didn't have any noticeable complaints about its performance as a manstopper either.
I would think a .357 magnum would have better stopping power than a 9mm especially at point blank although nowhere near the stopping power of a .30 06 rifle round. So I would go with a .357 magnum hollow point. Preferably a critical defense round by Hornady. The .44 magnum is a bit too hard to control. Now, while the handgun might be a poor manstopper unlike a good .30 06 rifle round or a 12 gauge round, I would think a .357 Magnum would stop just about anybody from close range provided you hit them, and by close range I mean around 5 feet or closer not 20 feet away.
Is it really really necessary to have the same conversation twice before you get it? Every single time?
Accuracy is the single most important factor. Same as when you started the same thread a couple weeks ago.
Sheesh.
Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Really.
Accuracy is the single most important factor. Same as when you started the same thread a couple weeks ago.
Sheesh.
Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Really.
The poorly aimed one, of course.
drop bear
Sr. Grandmaster
Regardless of weapon and/or ammunition you keep fighting till the fight is done.
If there is any significant difference, it's not going to be that much in either direction.
Today's premium hollowpoint rounds are designed to penetrate and expand according to specific specifications. You're probably going to find that a 9 mm premium hollowpoint round will have about the same efficacy as a 357 Sig premium hollowpoint, a .40 premium hollowpoint, etc. The question is if the extra recoil of a more powerful caliber is going to be worth a very small increase?
Again, apples and oranges. For that matter, it's probably closer to comparing apples to turnips.
On what grounds? What platform?
This is not necessarily true at all. If you use a .44 magnum in the way it was intended to be used (longer barrel, nice solid N-frame platform), then the recoil from a full fledged .44 magnum load isn't going to be difficult to control at all. Too many people buy into the Dirty Harry hype...
Again, you're taking some poor guesses here. I think you'll find with a bit of reading and testing, that just about any commonly used handgun round (9 mm or greater) used in a defensive setting is going to do about the same job, regardless of whether you are 5 feet away or 20 feet away (they don't lose nearly as much velocity from that distance as you may believe).
If you don't like what someone says, then you can always choose not to read his responses. Nobody is forcing you to read his responses to your posts.
Tgace
Grandmaster
The "best" pistol round for ME is the largest caliber (that provides the fastest reasonable velocity) I can hit the target with that allows me the greatest capacity in a reasonable size.
I"ll take 9mm over .357 because I want more rounds. Ill take .40 over 9mm because I like heavier bullets. Ill take a revolver over a Desert Eagle block of metal because I like to have something I can actually carry day in day out.
The point is that there are many factors in your selection. I find My Glock 22 fits my personal bill nicely.
I"ll take 9mm over .357 because I want more rounds. Ill take .40 over 9mm because I like heavier bullets. Ill take a revolver over a Desert Eagle block of metal because I like to have something I can actually carry day in day out.
The point is that there are many factors in your selection. I find My Glock 22 fits my personal bill nicely.
Tgace
Grandmaster
And then there's the controllability factor. I can dump a lot more 9mm rounds into a target faster than I can .357....others experience/abilities may differ, but I know my limitations.
ST1Doppelganger
Brown Belt
There's not a magical pistol round just some better choices if guns and ammo you can use.
Rite now I have a 45 ACP with some type of Winchester Defense round in it.
I do plan on getting the Smith & Wesson governor and use the hornaday critical defense round in it for my home defense gun.
Check out this video on YouTube:
Sent from my iPhone
Rite now I have a 45 ACP with some type of Winchester Defense round in it.
I do plan on getting the Smith & Wesson governor and use the hornaday critical defense round in it for my home defense gun.
Check out this video on YouTube:
Sent from my iPhone
Last edited by a moderator:
One of the great things about America is that you can think whatever foolishness you like.
A .357 may or may not have more "stopping power" than a 9mm fired from the same range and (since accuracy is more important than caliber) hitting exactly the same target. Your statement is categorically incorrect, however, because you have not addressed the variables of (among others) barrel length, bullet weight, muzzle velocity and expansion characteristics of the round. You've also ignored the 6 or 7 round capacity of the .357 compared to the 15+ round capacity of the 9mm.
Hornady makes good ammo. Whether or not it is the best choice for a particular person firing a particular weapon is quite debatable. I like the Hornady Critical Defense loads for my wives Bersa Thunder380. I hate them in my Ruger P95 and S&W Model 66. After actually testing ammo, I carry Hydroshocks in the .357. The 9mm is loaded with Glaser Silvers, with the spare magazines holding Black Talons and Hydroshocks.
No. It's not.
At 5 feet I can ask you which nostril you'd like the bullet to go through, so the caliber is pretty much a moot point.
View attachment $Target 01.jpg
This was shot today. Ruger P95. 115gr FMJ. 6 yards. Single fire. 15 rounds.
Now, here's a test for you. Is a 15 round grouping such as that a good thing for personal defense shooting? Why or why not?
Nice shootin'.
Nah.
In a personal defense shooting, it's pretty likely that you wasted the last 13 shots........... on a dead guy......:lfao:
"Zombie" personal defense, I guess-but then you probably just wanna put one in the brain? I dunno......:lfao:
Sorry, I'm outta here....carry on.
(That is some nice shootin' though, DirtyDog..)
