Is two .32 ACP as powerful as one .38 special?

Plenty of variables. I don't have an answer. For some reason, I keep thinking it's like comparing beers to shots of whiskey.

I agree with Mokin.

Perhaps we need an official forum experiment.

Revolver.45 said:

A .32 ACP generate about 200 joules. A .38 special about 400 joules. Does this mean that being shot two times by a .32 ACP is as bad as being shot one time by a .38 special?

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No and there is no correlation.

If I eat 2 medium pizzas will I gain as much weight as eating one extra large Pizza? The question is similar to asking that.

If I get shot by 2 32 acp bullets in the head will I die as quickly as being shot by one 38 in the foot?

Sorry, but it's a goofy question. The way it's asked no one can answer.

Revolver.45 said:

A .32 ACP generate about 200 joules. A .38 special about 400 joules. Does this mean that being shot two times by a .32 ACP is as bad as being shot one time by a .38 special?

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Probably worse, since it's the hole that kills, and if you have two holes you're more likely to die or be incapacitated.

Of course, that assumes your assailant can GET two hits. Most gunfights result in no hits at all.

The 38 will have better designed bullets

I have never shot a human. I have shot plenty of groundhogs with handguns. A full metal jacket normally won’t stop them with 1 shot. A JHP will normally drop them on the spot

Revolver.45 said:

A .32 ACP generate about 200 joules. A .38 special about 400 joules. Does this mean that being shot two times by a .32 ACP is as bad as being shot one time by a .38 special?

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I think you are too worried about numbers. A good hit to the right spot with a 32 ACP will always beat out a 38 spl that hits somewhere that does not stop an attacker. But, everything being equal, a 38 spl of pretty much any style round will on average beat out a 32 acp.

22 LR have been very successfully used for self defense and 45 acp has failed, even with multiple hits.

ilbob said:

I think you are too worried about numbers. A good hit to the right spot with a 32 ACP will always beat out a 38 spl that hits somewhere that does not stop an attacker. But, everything being equal, a 38 spl of pretty much any style round will on average beat out a 32 acp.

22 LR have been very successfully used for self defense and 45 acp has failed, even with multiple hits.

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I was being sarcastic and joking. The OP's question is not a useful one to ask. He should have asked, "What's a joule? Does having more joules make a specific caliber more powerful than another caliber?" That would have been a question a fella could answer.

It's similar to the question raised also in this forum about pressure. Does one caliber operating at a higher pressure than another make it more powerful? The answer in both cases is no. Not alone anyway.

tipoc said:

I was being sarcastic and joking. The OP's question is not a useful one to ask. He should have asked, "What's a joule? Does having more joules make a specific caliber more powerful than another caliber?" That would have been a question a fella could answer.

It's similar to the question raised also in this forum about pressure. Does one caliber operating at a higher pressure than another make it more powerful? The answer in both cases is no. Not alone anyway.

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At least what is a joule can be answered... it's 10 million ergs. It's roughly equivalent to 1 watt/second.

As for the OP... that's roughly akin to the odds of a blindfolded man hitting a target x meters away. It would simply depend on situation and terrain. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of either. Still I can't help but remember when I worked in the ER at Elizabethtown. A horribly beaten man was brought in along with a woman that had been injured resisting arrest. She was screaming the man had shot her and demanded the police put him under arrest. When she disrobed, I found a 25 caliber bullet in her bra that had "bounced" off her sternum and left a really nasty bruise but minimal bleeding. Had he used a 38 Special he might have saved himself a major amount of pain and bodily damage.

If the stacking logic held 143 bbs with 1.4 ft-lbs of energy would be as deadly as the .32.

I'd rather have a two shot .32acp than a single shot .38spl.

McKinley was shot with two .32s but one bounced off a button.

goose1 said:

McKinley was shot with two .32s but one bounced off a button.

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RFK was shot three times with a .22, he could have used some of those buttons.

JERRY said:

RFK was shot three times with a .22, he could have used some of those buttons.

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Both Iver Johnson’s!

Goes to show any caliber works if placed well.

goose1 said:

McKinley was shot with two .32s but one bounced off a button.

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Turn of the century presidential buttons were reportedly made out of battleship belt armor.

Vern Humphrey said:

Probably worse, since it's the hole that kills, and if you have two holes you're more likely to die or be incapacitated.

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I agree, neither of these are very powerful, so getting shot twice is probably worse than getting shot once.

McKinly died 8 days after being shot. Two to the belly. Died of gangrene from the wounds.

Nobody asked how many joules were involved or if they counted.

Oswald was shot once with a 38 in the gut and died less than 2 hours later. Was it the joules?

Common result from gut wounds back then.

In short, stacking won’t improve effectiveness with .32 unless it improves hitting a vital.

Revolver.45 said:

A .32 ACP generate about 200 joules. A .38 special about 400 joules. Does this mean that being shot two times by a .32 ACP is as bad as being shot one time by a .38 special?

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You are kidding right?

Ron

Incapacitation (and eventual death, if not treated promptly) comes from penetration and damage; the projectile must penetrate deep enough to hit a vital spot, and do enough damage to either disrupt the CNS or create rapid blood loss to reduce blood pressure below the limit for consciousness. If either projectile could penetrate enough to disrupt the CNS, game over. Think .22 to the base of the brainpan.

If a projectile can penetrate a vital spot (especially a 'blood-filled organ', like the kidneys, liver or, for these purposes, the lungs) and create blood loss and decrease in blood pressure, another shot which does the same would be additive; more holes, more blood loss/second. If either or both are to the heart, blood pressure can drop nearly instantly, due to the cessation of the systolic pulsing.

Since CNS shots are not something one can usually be confident of, most handgun rounds incapacitate through blood loss and reduction in blood pressure, and multiple shots (assuming they reach a blood-filled organ) would conceivably do this faster.

Larry