Do pistol rounds provide more stopping power than rifle rounds?

[RebelRabbi]

The answer to your question depends upon many factors, most basically bullet mass and velocity. The 5.56 is a good penetrating and wounding round, it's not designed as a "stopping" round or "killing" round. NATO and us like it because it is logistically better than 7.62 NATO, meaning they can haul around more smaller bullets. You have to taylor your load to your mission. I BELIEVE that white tailed deer and humans make a good comparison. Deer are smaller but tougher than humans, humans have more mass. The 30-30 is balistically equivalent to 7.62x39 Russian and many states won't allow anything under .24 caliber. The 30-30 is a danged effetive Deer caliber to 200 yards. The .32, .380, 9mm, 38 Sp, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP are all poor choices for Deer but these are your basic defensive handgun calibers. If you want a caliber/load combination is a handgun that would be great, try the 44 magnum 180 gr JHP's. Why doesn't anybody carry one of these, shoot it and find out, the recoil, muzzel blast and flash are spectacular.

 

[LeonCarr]

I can look at an X-ray of a GSW and tell you if someone was shot by either a rifle or a handgun by looking at the broken bones. A handgun projectile breaks bones, a rifle projectile shatters them.

To answer the original question, rifle rounds provide more stopping power.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[coloradokevin]

As others have already mentioned, the effectiveness of the shot depends on shot placement. But, assuming that the rifle and pistol are shot from the same angle and distance, into the same vital area, the rifle will almost always do more damage.

Obviously, stating exceptions for the ".22lr vs .500 S&W" can prove that this isn't an absolute rule, but it will almost certainly hold true for a standard handgun defensive round (9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP) against a standard rifle defensive round (5.56, 7.62-by-whatever, etc).

The 5.56 NATO cartridge has a bad name in some circles, but I'd suggest that you don't believe everything you've read on the internet! It may not be a .300 Ultra Mag, but it does what it is supposed to, and does it well.