Best sectional density in handgun bullet?

[Cosmoline]

Any bets on which handgun cartridge bullet has the best SD??

Obviously, TC's and hand-and-a-half guns win the game if they're allowed in. So besides those, what do we have?

The best I can find is the 200 grain load for the .357 Mag., at .224 SD. That's not too shabby, though it's low by rifle standards.

 

[MCNETT]

How about a 405gr bullet in my 454 Casull?

 

[Cosmoline]

.270 or so, I'd say. That beats my .357. How fast can the .454 move those .45-70 bullets?

 

[Cosmoline]

I wonder why more handgunners don't care about this? Frankly I've had a hard time even finding SD figures for hunting handguns. With rifle's it's well accepted that SD is a critical aspect to a hunting bullet's performance.

Curious.

 

[MCNETT]

they are from Beartooth Bullets and are a true .452" bullet. I can push them 1400fps from my SRH.
-Mike

 

[Preacherman]

I think sectional density is largely irrelevant to most handgun rounds. Almost uniformly, the rounds are short for caliber when compared to a rifle round: and they're not designed for long-range work. The average handgun round is seldom fired at more than 25-30 yards, even in training. Hunting rounds are used out to 100 yards or so (in handgun calibers - I know you can get the "rifle pistols" that fire a rifle round out of a handgun, but that's not really what we're discussing here, is it?), but even at such ranges, sectional density is much less important than for a long-range rifle round that might have to reach out 300, or 400, or even 500 yards.

 

[Hal]

Preacherman,
I think your mixing up ballistic coefficient with sectional density.
BC is a factor in long range.
SD largely determines penetration of a given caliber vs the weight/dia of the slug.

FWIW, here's a decent SD calcualtor
http://benchrest.com/sst/sd.html

300 gr .44mag has a SD of 0.233 according to the calculation.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yes indeed, SD is critical for determining penetration. There seems to be some crazy notions around that the way to ensure better penetration with handguns is to increase the caliber, but this isn't correct at all. Also, the hardness of the bullet only matters because the bullet's SD will decrease as its diameter increases, and of course if it's soft its diameter will get larger as it expands.

 

[E357]

Well, my reason for not paying attention to SD in a defensive handgun is that the sectional density of a .38 158 LRN (SD = .177) is about 10% higher than a 230 JHP out of a 45 Win Mag (SD = .160).

Elliot

 

[Hal]

Elliot,
Exactly!
And why SD is so important to consider!!

The 158 gr LRN has a SD of .177 @ the muzzle, @ 7 yards when it hit the BG, @ the other side of the BG as it exists, and @ 50 yards behind the BG when it hits an innocent bystander.

Contrast that with the <any flavor> 230 gr JHP in .45 cal which has a SD of .161 @ the muzzle, .161 @ point of contact, then changes as the JHP opens up. Figuring a nominal expansion of 20%, the SD drops to .11. Thats a dismal figure for an initial one, but middle of the road for point of contact through exit. Figure an optimal expansion of 50%, and the SD drops to a very respectable .073. At that level, there's very little chance it will exit, and if it does exit, then it won't travel very far behind the target.

Fortunatly most respectable ammunition makers allow people to take SD for granted. SD and controlled expansion have been worked out long before the product hits the shelf.

 

[Preacherman]

Hal - BLUSH! You're quite right - I mixed up BC and SD. My bad. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Gordon]

The 180-200 grain .357 bullets rock! You have to go to 320-340 grain .44 bullets to get the same penetration at same velocities. A vital organ not penetrated or a heavy bone not broken = insufficient performance. Not ever planning on shooting at people in crowds or apartments either!

 

[Frohickey]

I've heard that the 10mm is pretty good for sectional density at allowable bullet weights with adequate velocities.

Though, for penetration and maximum wounding effects, you want a hard cast bullet with as wide a meplat as possible. Can anyone say W-A-D-C-U-T-T-E-R?

 

[Dr.Rob]

I came up with .241 in a 44 mag/300.

That's because a 44 mag bullet is .421 in diameter, not .44.

 

[ddc]

Could someone state the equation used to compute sectional density?

I imagine it involves caliber, bullet length and bullet weight?

Does bullet profile figure into it at all?

Thanks!