50 yards and beyond.

[gym]

Perform how. The 9 may not be the most powerful by far, but it shoots relatively flat at 100 yards, I think for a target round it would be fine, but for dropping an animal the 10 would be better although not that much better.

 

[el Godfather]

I'll add to that, that one could throw a baseball 53 yards. Doesn't mean I'd want to count on a tossed baseball to stop an attacker.

And I do carry a .380 pretty often. I'm just not under any illusion that it is "powerful" even by handgun standards.

Look at the steel plate- if I could do that to a steel plate with a baseball at 50 yards, then I will carry a couple golf balls for the heck of it as back up. Lets not get away from the topic.

This answers your point as well allroun[].,...

 

[el Godfather]

Perform how. The 9 may not be the most powerful by far, but it shoots relatively flat at 100 yards, I think for a target round it would be fine, but for dropping an animal the 10 would be better although not that much better.

You have a point. My cousin a couple of month ago shot and killed a few wild stray dogs near his ranch with a 9 at about 40-70 yards.

And about 2 years my another cousin did the same to a jackal with a .32acp.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I put myself in the position of the guy being shot.
Now am I tough enough to take a couple 22LR, or 380, 9mm, etc, in the chest and still have much fight left?

Maybe I'm just a sissy, but I doubt it.

All the studies I've seen suggest that some folks will stop immediately when they realize they've been shot. Others won't.

Who won't? Those who don't feel the pain or don't care about the pain -- and that seems to be a pretty common thing if the person is ANGRY, is on drugs, or is simply VERY EXCITED. If they've been shot before, they aren't as likely to be put off by getting hit, either. You're assuming that your opponent (or opponetns) are rational and sensible, like you -- and that's not always going to be true.

The person or persons you've shot -- even if shot directly in the heart -- might not STOP their attack before they get to you. All of this is true whether you're using a .22 or .44 magnum. Just because a person is shot, perhaps fatally, doesn't mean they'll stop or that you're out of danger. It can take more time than you've got for the bad guy to quit being a danger to you.

Don't fool yourself about the deterrent effect of hitting someone with multiple shots of any handgun round -- unless you get lucky and hit the central nervous system (or brain). Then, too, head shots are probably the hardest shots to make successfully, and almost nobody recommends TRYING that when you're under pressure or stressed.

(All of the reading I've done on this topic over the past month or so makes me want to pack a semi-auto long gun...or a shot gun. Concealed carry permits generally don't allow that. <grin>)

 

[wow6599]

Your cousin killed a jackal with a .32acp at 40 - 70 yards......what was the firearm he used? And I'm guessing he lives in Africa or Asia?

Outstanding stuff here.

 

[19-3Ben]

Look at the steel plate- if I could do that to a steel plate

I see lead splashes from the bullets striking. I don't see any damage to the steel plate. Not that damaging a steel plate is a necessary feature of good carry ammo, I just don't see that you mean when you're telling me look at the steel plate. All I'm seeing is that the bullet struck it. Now with M2 Carbine's no pics, I can see that the bullet even flattened. I don't know how much force is needed to make a lead bullet flatten though...

Like I said, I carry .380 and I think the round has an awful lot going for it, as a round in deep concealment guns to be used at close ranges. Anything beyond that, and I'd rather step it up just a notch.

 

[el Godfather]

Your cousin killed a jackal with a .32acp at 40 - 70 yards......what was the firearm he used? And I'm guessing he lives in Africa or Asia?

Outstanding stuff here.

If not mistaken I think (guessing will ask him when he returns from his trip) he used either llma, star or a walther. Yes he lives in Asia.

 

[Robbins290]

I think all but the 45 would be good in the right platform

 

[el Godfather]

I think all but the 45 would be good in the right platform

This is interesting. Please elaborate.

 

[huntsman]

I voted for .45acp with the a specific ammo, BB 255gr HC FN

 

[Robbins290]

El godfather, i think the 45 would loose speed and drop too quick. I havent tried 50 yards. But i did do 75 yards with all my handguns. All the 45's did poor. Compared to 9mm, 7.62x25 and 357 sig.

 

[JRWhit]

I vote none of the above, the question is just to general. There is a myriad of differing barrel lengths and platforms that completely change the dynamic.
A 10" revolver chambered .357 magnum is going to out shoot Commander sized 1911 in 45acp. And a full frame 1911 in 45 acp is likely to out shoot a .357 snubby air weight.
Accuracy beyond 50yds is in my opinion, going to have more to do with the platform in use than the chambering. Some may be known for accuracy over others, but that could well be due to the platforms available and not the capability of the cartridge.

 

[cfullgraf]

I voted "None of the above".

If i knew I was going out where I might make a 50 yard shot, i would have a 6" or longer revolver.

I used to shoot IHMSA silhouette with a revolver and it is amazing the how much the sights get changed over the course of fire.

50 yard shots are not out of the question even with 380 ACP as shown, but if you have not practiced them knowing where to place your sights, you are wasting ammunition walking the shots on target. We are not talking flat shooting rifles here.

If the animal is charging, I would wait until it is closer and so that more hits were possible.

But, my opinion and $5 will get you a desiger coffee.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The penetration of the .380 standard round is not very much at 25 yards. When I first bought my Sig 232 it would not penetrate the back side of a plastic 5 gallon bucket at 25yards which disappointed me greatly. After reloading a batch (not with the max load but close to) I was much more favorably impressed with the power of the .380. A shot from 10 feet into the skull is going to stop anyone.......

 

[Warp]

Rifle.

Shotgun.

Big more magnum revolver

Small/Medium bore magnum revolver

Whatever you have.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

After reloading a batch (not with the max load but close to) I was much more favorably impressed with the power of the .380. A shot from 10 feet into the skull is going to stop anyone.......

Probably so. But that likely would be the case with a .22 or .25, too. The problem is getting that shot into the skull... of a moving target who may moving toward you erratically, or who has caught you by surprise from the back or side, etc., etc.

You can't PLAN for head shots -- you can only HOPE for them. (But that's true regardless of the caliber.)

 

[TimboKhan]

Uh... It seems to me like maybe this has run it's course? Has it? I don't really want to close it, but maybe this last page of discussion is pretty far off the original question....

 

[allaroundhunter]

I'm pretty sure there's no where else for this to go...

 

[2zulu1]

I've been in situations where I've taken long shots with a pistol. I didn't vote, for me it's platform based rather than caliber, to a point.

About 18 months ago I was out early in the morning working my German Shepherd. About two miles away a couple thousand sandhill cranes were lifting up from a couple of pivots (irrigated quarter sections) making quite a racket. A coyote came through the fence r-l at some distance and then changed direction, trotting toward us. The German Shepherd and I have shared about twelve rounds together, including automatic weapons fire, so he knew the drill when I drew my Colt 1911 in .38Super. Handloaded with .357cal XTPs, MV is ~1496fps, N105 powder, <33,350psi operating pressure.

I guesstimated ~80 yards when I fired the shot. Coyotes are extremely unpredictable in their behavior, especially with dogs. I bracketed the coyote's ears on both sides of the front sight, it's a tough shot to make, but the Super is very flat shooting and that's a necessity when making a frontal shot on a moving target. I was slightly off on my shot, the XTP tearing into its left shoulder, distance turned out to be 95 yards.

At that distance, 9s, 40s and 45s will have too much holdover to see the target, the sights will block the target. The 10mm will work fine with high velocity ammunition AND a narrow front post, G20 would have been iffy for me at that distance because I tend to carry 180gr JHPs or 200gr WFNs, plus the front post is relatively wide.

The yellow dog to the left of the t-post was 75+ yards away. After taking the picture it was confirmed that it was the leader of a feral dog pack that had killed livestock.



As we can see, this ~70# dog didn't present much of a target profile, but larger than a coyote. Had I known that it was involved in killing livestock and there wasn't a home about a quarter mile away, I would have taken the shot with the Colt .38Super.

I've had night time mountain lion encounters at varying distances and have ordered a custom 1911 tactical commander (light rail) in 10mm. Now I have high velocity 125gr Barnes JHPs (1500fps+) for long distance shots and 200gr WFNs for bigger threats and brush.

Except for bears, the .38Super gives hammer of Thor performance on top tier 4 legged predators. The .357cal/125gr XTP is a wicked combination in the Super.

 

[9mmepiphany]

After an hour without comment, I think it is time to say goodnight