Kachok
Member
There has been alot of myths about the stoping power of different handgun bullets, some people put all their faith in high speed "Hydrostatic shock" while others think that the caliber and mass of the bullet are the only thing that matters, how do we sort out fact from fiction? What better place to start then the statistics kept by the FBI. Here are a few examples of performance of different bullets. ATI=Average incapacitation time. This is an estamated number based on their formula of shock and blood loss. All of these were among the top performers in their respective calibers.
exp pen shock one shot stop ATI
Cor-Bon JHP +P 90 0.58 9.0in 467psi 70.0% 10.2 sec 380acp
Cor-Bon JHP 115gr 0.55in 14.2in 626psi 90.6% 8.8 sec 9mm
Federal Classic 125 0.65 12.0in 1487psi 95.8% 5.7 sec 357 mag
Remington Golden Saber0.68 12.0in 771psi 93.8% 7.9 sec 40 S&W
Cor-Bon JHP 185 0.7 11.3in 920psi 91.7% 7.2 sec 45 ACP
What does this tell us, well first of all the puney little 380 is far from worthless seeing as 70% of the time one shot was all it took.
Although the 45 did beat the 9mm in one shot stop ratio the margin was so slim that it is hardly noticable.
The myth on larger bullets always being more effective is busted here as the 357 magnum (9.1mm) has a higher one shot % and a faster ATI then any of the larger bores.
The choice of bullets seem to have more of an effect on performance then the choice of caliber as each had good and poor performers.
Other things start becoming more noticeable when comparing these charts in detail. The rapid opening shallow penatrating "shock" bullets tend to have a faster ATI but a lower one shot % then slower, heavier, deeper penatrating bullets that seem to be a more consistant performer. The FBI's 115gr silver tips that gave the 9mm such a bad reputation after the Miami shootout had very poor performance stats, they only had 8 inches of penatration and ranked amongst the lowest of any 9mm round.
I hope this will reduce some of the caliber bashing going on around here.
exp pen shock one shot stop ATI
Cor-Bon JHP +P 90 0.58 9.0in 467psi 70.0% 10.2 sec 380acp
Cor-Bon JHP 115gr 0.55in 14.2in 626psi 90.6% 8.8 sec 9mm
Federal Classic 125 0.65 12.0in 1487psi 95.8% 5.7 sec 357 mag
Remington Golden Saber0.68 12.0in 771psi 93.8% 7.9 sec 40 S&W
Cor-Bon JHP 185 0.7 11.3in 920psi 91.7% 7.2 sec 45 ACP
What does this tell us, well first of all the puney little 380 is far from worthless seeing as 70% of the time one shot was all it took.
Although the 45 did beat the 9mm in one shot stop ratio the margin was so slim that it is hardly noticable.
The myth on larger bullets always being more effective is busted here as the 357 magnum (9.1mm) has a higher one shot % and a faster ATI then any of the larger bores.
The choice of bullets seem to have more of an effect on performance then the choice of caliber as each had good and poor performers.
Other things start becoming more noticeable when comparing these charts in detail. The rapid opening shallow penatrating "shock" bullets tend to have a faster ATI but a lower one shot % then slower, heavier, deeper penatrating bullets that seem to be a more consistant performer. The FBI's 115gr silver tips that gave the 9mm such a bad reputation after the Miami shootout had very poor performance stats, they only had 8 inches of penatration and ranked amongst the lowest of any 9mm round.
I hope this will reduce some of the caliber bashing going on around here.