9mm Stopping Power

[GunLvrNLearner]

I know a lot of threads about 9mm stopping power are out there but mine is different

I wonder why you hear people question or are critical of the 9mm but i at least do not hear the same scrutiny when people carry J frame 38's ect. just seems you hear critical reviews of the 9 by some but not so much as a 38 when it is no more powerful than a 9...thoughts?

 

[sm]

Just my take based on being 53 years old, and my experiences and observations if you will.

-Folks put too much stock in hardware, not software.
-They do not learn to shoot, much less continue quality practice.
-Folks do not investigate and verify for themselves by actually shooting guns, into various media.

-Many folks today are not being parented / mentored with firearms in the home . These folks so desperately want to be matriculated into the firearm community , they parrot information gleaned from Internet, Magazines and other input sources.

-Rationalization of a purchase one has made.
-Acceptance of a peer group by choosing a platform, caliber and ammo type.


The key is gun fit to shooter for task, in a platform with loadings affording one the ability to get quick effective hits.

Always has been, always will be.

 

[glocksrfugly]

I have often wondered the same thing. 9mm always seems to be the caliber that gets the most criticism.
When you look at the ballistics on paper comparing say a 125 grain .38 special to a 124 grain 9mm luger; the 9mm is usually about 200 fps. faster and has around 75 to 100 more ft. pounds of muzzle energy.
Yet these two rounds are often talked about as being equal in power. To me the data seems to suggest that 9mm is a more powerful round, not way more powerful, but more powerful nonetheless.
There is nothing wrong with the 9mm caliber as far as handguns go, regardless of all of the bashing it gets. It has been used around the globe in military, civilian and law enforcement roles since 1902. There are many, many, people lying in graves across this planet who(if they could) would attest to the stopping power of the 9mm Luger round. Ditto for the .38 Special.

 

[Wolfman_556]

Load your 9mm with some good quality hollow points and shoot a pumpkin or watermelon with it.

9mm can be vicious with the right pistol, the right ammo, and the right person behind the trigger.

 

[Bufford t. Justice]

The criticism stems from the days not so long ago when hi-cap 9s were all the rage with the street thugs and gangs. The antis and leo's made such a fuss about them they became anathema. A stigma surrounded anyone who used one. So much so that they must be a criminal. It's the very same crap that started us down the road to hi-cap bans etc. It became necessary to diss the 9's in order to protect our reputations as gun owners and keep the antis at bay. Just goes to show you what years of ridiculous retoric will do to a society. A glock 17 loaded with +p+ ammo.......more than sufficient.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

A choice is being made to sacrifice a bit of cartridge power to have a more portable, concealable and (arguably, though there is much truth to it) reliable gun. Actually, when you take a .38 from a two-inch barrel and compare it to a 9mm of the same bullet weight from a three-inch pistol barrel (they both have roughly the same length of actual rifled bore because pistol barrel length includes the chamber), the 9mm has more velocity and energy.

 

[memphisjim]

i 9mm fmj will penetrate through 2 people evin if it hits the firt mans spinal cord
if you shoot me in the finger with a 9mm i wont stop

 

[Disaster]

I wouldn't agree that people aren't critical of the .38 specials stopping power.

After all, it has been many years since any police force in the U.S. has carried .38's....replaced first by the .357 magnum, then the 9mm and now by the .40 S&W and in some cases the .45 acp.

Caliber choice is a combination of evolution, politics and fashion.

When the .357 came in, it's power was lauded. It was replaced by the 9mm when "firepower" (capacity) was deemed more important after a police officer was killed in a firefight where he ran out of ammo in his revolver.

After the Miami shootout, the 9mm's power was questioned and the .40 S&W was developed, while some forces brought back the old military .45 acp (greatly helped by the evolution of reliable, low velocity expanding JHP's) as "big and slow" and penetration has been the latest focus.

The bottom line, like you suggested, is that the caliber you carry is considerably less important than what you do with it.

 

[YoungGun]

You hit it right on the head SM and Disaster ……It’s called a ban wagon and allot of people like to ride it. It’s like what the media says about Pornography and how bad it is, but yet between $2.6 and $3.9 billion dollars are spent each year on it, but that parts gets overlooked because once the ball gets rolling no one looks at the facts! What I’m trying to say is I would bet well over 75% of all gun owners have a 9mm or wish they still had one. I’m sure if someone called Midway and asked what the most popular ammo was they’d say 9mm by along shot, and most likely shadows all other calibers of that nature. It’s a great platform and an even better way to get more people in to shooting……

 

[357wheelgunner]

Someone on glocktalk had a picture of a deer, and the recovered 9mm standard pressure Goldensaber that he'd put through it. The deer dropped, and the bullet was recovered fully expanded in the skin on the opposite side.

If someone doesn't go down after being hit by a 9mm or .38 that was properly placed, they probably wouldn't have gone down if they'd been hit with a 10mm or .45 or whatever. Sometimes you just need a rifle or shotgun.

Carry what you shoot well.

 

[Aka Zero]

I like 9mm, in a full frame the recoil is nothing. Tons of bullets per mag. And cheap to shoot.

If you can shoot well any gun has stopping power. But a .45 will have more muzzle energy than a 9mm.

But it's preference really. Never heard someone that had to use a gun say "if only I was using .45 this wouldn't have happened"

.380, 9mm, .40, 10mm, 45. debates go on and on. But one bullet from almost any gun can stop almost any threat.
Granted, 22lr isn't a good anti threat caliber, but it can be used. Just not on bears and such.....

 

[bigfatdave]

I could be wrong here, and I hope someone will correct me if I am ...
But isn't most criticism of the 9mm round based on WWII era ammunition and platforms? I always hear 9mm detractors talking about putting down revolts on the Philippines or trench warfare in WWI&II ... not modern HP/JHP ammunition from a updated platform.

I really don't care about the stopping power of 9mm vs .38 vs .45 if we're talking about FMJ rounds from 1944. I don't plan to use FMJ for HD/SD/hunting, so why should I be concerned about anything but the effectiveness of the JHP round I do choose for SD/HD?

Or did I miss the memo about following the Hague Conventions for SD/HD?

 

[Orange_Magnum]

I don't understand why the 9mm IS so anemic. With a SAAMI pressure of close to 40,000 psi, why is a .38 Special +p, at 19,000 psi, just as powerful?

I feel confident in 9mm for concealed carry. Shot placement is all.

 

[rkamp]

My handgun battery consists of 4 1911's, which is the platform I shoot best. One is a Colt/Marvel 22lr and another A custom DE 10mm. The other two are box stock Kimbers' in 9mm. One a LW Pro Carry, and the other a Stainless Custom II.

The 9mm affords more practice time and it is much easy to control in a full size pistol, even with +p, +p+ JHPs. While at the range I use the 22lr for about 50% of my shooting, and the Kimbers' for the other half. Because of the relatively inexpensive ammo I have been able to practice more.

 

[tblt]

9 MM has more power than the 38
I carry a 38 and a .380
for HD is my 9 mm

 

[Soybomb]

The people talking, at least the ones I think worth listening to, do talk about .38 special being about the lowest acceptable rung on the self defense caliber ladder, about it being lower than 9mm, and that its rather difficult to find a suitable round from that caliber that can both penetrate deeply enough and expand.

 

[.357 magnum]

9MM Excellent Platform.

The 9mm is definitely more powerful then a .38 Special. With Modern Ammo, the 9mm is a Great stopper. On Average you get 18-20 shots with Hi-Cap 9mm's. I use the Federal HST 147gr +P and non +P Mostly. I also like the Winchester Ranger Talon's 124gr +P and Winchester 147gr Bonded. The Heavier 147gr loads really Penetrate well!

The Best to All!

Frank

 

[papajack]

i think people just buy into the hyperbole that .45 is the most powerful round ever. look at all the people, like memphisjim above, who believe things like shooting someone in the fingertip with a .45 will put them down but you need a couple shots of 9mm in center mass to do the same thing.

 

[papajack]

interesting read: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/9mm vs 45.htm

 

[CZF]

The .45 auto is not a death ray. Just ask various cops around the nation that have had failures with it.

In fact. Nothing is a 100% stopper, so you should shoot what you are most comfortable with.

Having a likeness for autoloaders over revolvers for defensive carry.
I actually prefer the 10mm over any 9mm,.40, or .45 , but
carry a Nine Only because it is much lighter on the belt, and
much cheaper to reload and practice with.

 

[pistolero6869]

I feel shot placement is the key in both cartridges...........

 

[KBintheSLC]

I have often wondered the same thing. 9mm always seems to be the caliber that gets the most criticism.

This is true, however I believe that a lot of the "fail tales" rooted from combat troops being forced to use 9mm in FMJ only... and of course the FBI using substandard ammunition back in the old days.

With modern loadings, the 9mm is capable of doing the job just fine. Those that continue to bash it are either not educated in the modern developments of the ammunition world, or they were just born with a deficiency in testicular fortitude.

 

[memphisjim]

if you are able to read what you want into what is written as papajack does
you can say that the bible says the 9mm caused dinosaur extinction

 

[azhunter122]

I don't dout the 9mm I'd just rather have a .40 or .45 lol.

 

[SoCalShooter]

SM smacked the question right out of the ball park on this one.

Personally I shoot .45acp its what I shoot in competition in the 1911 format. That is my preferred format because its what I practice with constantly. That does not mean I don't have guns in other calibers or other platforms, I have a 9mm and believe me I would not want to get shot by either, but for my own SD and HD I prefer a 1911 45acp platform. Cause if you run out of ammo you can use it as a club