Agree or Disagree?

[GoodKat]

One problem with relying on energy alone is that it drops quickly and easily. You simply won't have all that much energy left after you hit a denim jacket or a bone, unless you have that momentum. Violent attackers aren't made of gelatin. Light bullets don't have momentum to keep that energy up when they hit something.

Correct, if you had say 2 45's with the same energy that expand at the same rate, the one with the greater momentum will undoubtedly win. Like I said, I use all the calibers for different purposes.

 

[ArmedBear]

Like I said, I use all the calibers for different purposes.

I can't say that I use ALL calibers, but the ones I use, serve different purposes.

An alloy .38 makes a great pocket carry gun. .357s are, well, they just ARE. They keep following me home. A big high-capacity .45 is great in a drawer; a .44 is for the trail. I only have one 9mm left, and I don't use it for anything. But if I were to get another one, it would be a compact carry gun.

I'm not someone who thinks that there's only one caliber.

I just think that people who look at energy numbers for their 115 grain 9mm and think that makes them "stoppers" in league with 230 grain .45 need to look a little more deeply into what makes a bullet a "stopper."

Also, .36 black powder revolvers killed a lot of people in the 19th Century. Many died days or weeks later from infection, after they'd killed the one who shot them. There's a difference between a gun that can kill someone, and a gun that will save you.

 

[DeepSouth]

The 45 is only big/slow when loaded with the bigger bullets. When you down-load it, it just as fast as the 40s, nto too mention bigger! In addition you have that ability to go for the bigger bullets if you wanted. Seems like there really is no trade-off, right? Is there something that I am not getting? Does the 40 or 9 have anything over the 45? I just don't see it, if there is please explain.

The trade of is round count, you just can't fit as many rounds in a 45 as you a 9 or 40, and there is recoil, the smaller the caliber the less recoil, which means faster follow up shots among other things.

As far as the "stopping power" of the bullet, the .45 is superior, hands down. As it has been said shot placement is the key. A correctly placed .22 LR can easily have more "stopping power" than an incorrectly placed 44 Mag.

 

[BlindJustice]

_The Flying Ashtray_ was a Speer 200 gr.
JHP loaded to 1,000 fps. A gun writer when it
came out about 30 years ago, measured other
JHPs and most openings were .190-.210 The
SPeer 200 gr. jHP had an opening .250 across and
almost .240 deep. Only bullet I have found in
recent production with that big a cavity in the
JHP, is the 225 gr. Barnes XPB .451 solid copper
- that bullet is too long for function in a .45 ACP,
but it works in .45 Auto RIm. and my 625 S&W.

I prefer .45 ACP, Current carry load is double Tap
200 gr. Gold Dot @ 1,125 FPS. I'd substitute any
quality JHP in 230 gr. and have no doubt of it's effectivness

I keep a 9mm luger also as a range/#2 HD/SD for
a more economical option.

no real need for .40 S&W and stocking another
cartridge in the small arms locker.

To each their own.

Randall

 

[easyg]

However, I've done a reading and looking at numbers, and I know numbers don't tell it all, but since it's all I got - it'll have to do, and what I have found is ....Yes, the 45 can be big/slow with the 200/230loads but it also can be just as small/fast as the 40 with similiar loads in 180 & 165, correct???

For reference this was one of the sites I found to compare similar loads http://www.handgunsmag.com/ballistics/ballistic-tables/

Not exactly....

Look at the data you linked once again.

Notice the barrel lengths of the test guns?

The .45 data came from a 5" barrel, while the .40 data came from a 4" barrel.
Not a huge difference, but if you want truely unbiased data then you would have to fire both calibers from the same length barrels.

 

[Drail]

To me the biggest advantage of big and slow .45 rounds is they are MUCH easier on the gun. No flame cutting the topstrap and peening the ratchets.

 

[GoodKat]

I only have one 9mm left, and I don't use it for anything.

My favorite carry gun is a CZ 75 PCR, but only because I can double tap so well with it.