Is the .357 Magnum a better stopper than the .45 ACP?

which is the better stopper?

  • .357 Magnum

    Votes: 47 54.7%

  • .45 ACP

    Votes: 39 45.3%
  • Total voters
    86
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You'd also have to have the same victim, shot in exactly the same place, with each round, in order to determine which is best - and if you hit him in the right place with the first round, he wouldn't be alive to test the second...

Bear in mind that no matter what the gun, if the assailant is hopped-up on drugs or drink, or wound-up with adrenaline, his reactions may be such that even a good, stopping shot, guaranteed to be lethal as soon as it takes effect, may not stop him quickly enough to prevent him doing some serious damage.

Also, NO handgun round in a defensive caliber is a guaranteed stopper. Just check them out (velocity and energy levels) against any 12ga. load, or common centerfire rifle load. No comparison! It comes down to bullet placement, mentality and chemical composition of the assailant, and things like that.
 
I think against someone wearing heavy clothing the .357 might be better while against someone with a T-shirt, the .45 might be better. (more efficient)
 
I'd choose a .357 Magnum from a 4" barrel. More energy. Smaller diameter round, but at full velocity, the hydrostatic shock must be (is) truly traumatizing. But which would I rather touch of several rounds of indoors in a SD scenario? .45 ACP.
 
how fast does a standard pressure .357 shoot a 230 grain projectile?


assuming said 230 grain projectile is a JHP, and does expand, and expands to a larger diameter than a .45ACP JHP, then that .357 round would be "better" than a 230 grain .45 JHP.


are there any uber heavy .357 bullets suitable for SD?
 
I don't think one is better than the other with a good defensive load. However i picked the 357 cause it's what i carry.I carry the 150gr starfire because it's at lease 50% more accurate than the others i've tried.Andrew wyatt,I believe winchester makes a 180gr ranger talon? i think it's called that and it's in boxes marked "law enforcement only"
 
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I say the 357, but by only the SMALLEST of margins. And the new Cor-Bon Pow'R'Ball may tip the scales the other way due to it's "clogproof" characteristics and ballistics close to the 357 (165grainer doing over 1,200fps from a 5" 45).
 
Andrew Wyatt: it's more complicated than that. Velocity equals expansion, to a large degree. Get a 158grain well-designed 357 projectile moving at around 1,250fps, and it's expansion may well be larger than most 230grain 45s doing 850-900, and better yet, the 357's expansion may well prove to be far more reliable.

When a JHP in a semi-auto fails to open, it's particularly bad because they have a "round nose profile" to aid feeding. Round-nose ammo is the poorest type for wounding, although in a 45 it's still respectable. With 357 fodder, you don't have to design the nose as a compromise for feeding, so you can maximize it for the expansion you want for a given velocity.
 
Alliant has 200gr .357 loads at 1200fps.
180gr .357 at 1300+fps

I'd rather not get hit by either.. but a 180gr XTP moving at 1300fps would (I think) be pretty darned messy.

Or if you want more speed, a 125 moving at 1700fps (standard pressure load).
 
either

When suspicious of body armor (improvised, or stolen) or narcotics, head shots at distances up to 15 yards (CQB tactics, hard cover optimal) then pelvis is targeted with three rounds to collapse goblin.

Either round is adequate, providing SCT rules of shooter's performance is met as a minimum standard (5 rounds/5 seconds/5 yards/5 inches). With either hand, I train SCT to 25 yards.

The 12ga. 3" slug load is preferrable. . .
 
From a pure kinetic energy standpoint, .357 wins hands down. .45ACP, espeically in the modern +P loadings (add about 100fps to standard pressure loads, I think) is pretty potent. .45 Super even more so (though .45 Super can't be fired out of anything but full sized guns, to avoid slide battering).

But, .357 can do more, energy wise. Especially if you handload. There's no reason you couldn't load 200 grain .357 bullets to teh same velocity as a 200 grain .45ACP +P load. (That'd be what, 1050fps?) But you could push the 200 grain bullet even faster in a .357, moreso than you could do in .45ACP or .45 Super (I think). Espeically if you have a very strong gun like a GP100.

So let's compare. .45 Super can do 230 grains at 1200 fps, abouts, out of a 5" barrel.

What can .357 do with 180 and 200 grain bullets? I believe 200 grains is the heaviest available .357 bullet out there, but don't quote me on that.

I have an answer to the quandry, of course. .41 Magnum! 210 grains at 1325 fps, anyone? :evil:
 
Since the vast majority of SD shootings occur at night, I'll take the .45 over some firebreather that will in all likelihood ruin my low light vision. Heck, in dimly lit conditions, I'll take a 9mm+p+ over the .357.

"Stoppers" are for bottles. Threats are shot until neutralized.
 
I have no doubt the .45 A.C.P. is an adequate self-defense cartridge; since there's a small chance my life might depend on cartridge selection, however, I pack the .357 magnum in a revolver: better accuracy, better reliability, and less weight to lug around.
 
Suprisingly close. I guess the .357 ISN'T generally accepted as being superior to the .45 after all.

I would've guessed this poll would have gone about nine to one for the .357.

Hmmm...
 
Greeting's All-

I think if a scientific study were done, you would find
that more combatant's have fallen to the .45 caliber
230 grain hardball than any other loading's? Seems
to have worked well for over 70 + year's!:) :uhoh:

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
"how fast does a standard pressure .357 shoot a 230 grain projectile?"

A better question is how fast the .357 Mag. will shoot a 200-gr. bullet...

The answer to that is about 1,000 fps, or about the same as the .45 ACP...


Quite frankly, I'll pick the .357 Mag., but that's just personal preference because it comes wrapped in a Smith & Wesson Model 19.

Other than that, any differences between the cartridges is more the talk of drunken people at bars than any true demonstratable superiority one compared to the other.
 
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