This is a retort to the other 9mm vs. .45acp thread.
I too did some self testing on 9mm and .45acp. I used wet phone books because they are somewhat like flesh. I used a SIG 220 .45acp with FMJ Blazers and Federal Hydra-Shoks as the hollow point load. For the 9mm, I used Blazer FMJs and Speer Gold Dot HPs.
I found that the 9mm FMJ has excellent penetration ability. It will go deeper than a .45 FMJ. I also found that 9mm HPs will go as deep as .45acp FMJs but will expande to larger than .45 cal! I think I was getting something like .60 cal out of my recovered 9mm HPs. There was some fragmenting and some of the jackets peeled off but in the ones that stayed whole, they looked pretty text book mushroom. The .45acp HP had very little ability to penetrat, they did expand even at the slower velocity but had so little penatration, that I wonder if FMJs would be a better bet in .45acp since they already have a large cal but would also go deeper than the HPs.
My findings are, the 9mm FMJ will go through more stuff than ANY .45acp load. The 9mm HP will go through as much stuff as the .45acp FMJ but will make a much larger hole towards the end of the trip at least. The .45acp HP will not go though a lot of stuff but will make an even larger hole than an expanded 9mm HP.
What this tells me is, if you want a good mix of penetration and large diameter hole in the target, the 9mm HP or the .45acp FMJ are the way to go. Either one will go fairly deep and make a large hole. If you want lots of penertration, the 9mm FMJ is truely awsome, it out preformed all other rounds by a wide margin, the 9mm FMJ is a good round if you have to shoot through a light object on your way to the target, a car door or a thin wall should pose no problem to the 9mm FMJ as long as you don't hit a stud or a extra thick part of the car door. It should still have enough speed to do all the damage a 9mm sized bullet will do to the target. The .45ACP HP would be the best round if you knew that your target was not wearing any body armor or heavy jacket. If you are shooting a man in the chest and he is wearing a t-shirt, the .45acp HP would probably do the most damage.
I like the 9mm because ammo is half the cost of the .45acp so I can shoot twice as much as get twice as good as I could otherwise. Practice is more important than balistics because if you don't hit what you are aiming at, it doesn't matter what cal you use.
I think a good 9mm HP is more deadly than a .45acp FMJ.
I too did some self testing on 9mm and .45acp. I used wet phone books because they are somewhat like flesh. I used a SIG 220 .45acp with FMJ Blazers and Federal Hydra-Shoks as the hollow point load. For the 9mm, I used Blazer FMJs and Speer Gold Dot HPs.
I found that the 9mm FMJ has excellent penetration ability. It will go deeper than a .45 FMJ. I also found that 9mm HPs will go as deep as .45acp FMJs but will expande to larger than .45 cal! I think I was getting something like .60 cal out of my recovered 9mm HPs. There was some fragmenting and some of the jackets peeled off but in the ones that stayed whole, they looked pretty text book mushroom. The .45acp HP had very little ability to penetrat, they did expand even at the slower velocity but had so little penatration, that I wonder if FMJs would be a better bet in .45acp since they already have a large cal but would also go deeper than the HPs.
My findings are, the 9mm FMJ will go through more stuff than ANY .45acp load. The 9mm HP will go through as much stuff as the .45acp FMJ but will make a much larger hole towards the end of the trip at least. The .45acp HP will not go though a lot of stuff but will make an even larger hole than an expanded 9mm HP.
What this tells me is, if you want a good mix of penetration and large diameter hole in the target, the 9mm HP or the .45acp FMJ are the way to go. Either one will go fairly deep and make a large hole. If you want lots of penertration, the 9mm FMJ is truely awsome, it out preformed all other rounds by a wide margin, the 9mm FMJ is a good round if you have to shoot through a light object on your way to the target, a car door or a thin wall should pose no problem to the 9mm FMJ as long as you don't hit a stud or a extra thick part of the car door. It should still have enough speed to do all the damage a 9mm sized bullet will do to the target. The .45ACP HP would be the best round if you knew that your target was not wearing any body armor or heavy jacket. If you are shooting a man in the chest and he is wearing a t-shirt, the .45acp HP would probably do the most damage.
I like the 9mm because ammo is half the cost of the .45acp so I can shoot twice as much as get twice as good as I could otherwise. Practice is more important than balistics because if you don't hit what you are aiming at, it doesn't matter what cal you use.
I think a good 9mm HP is more deadly than a .45acp FMJ.
