Steve Reichert's handgun caliber choice and why

[Gunmenhunter]

I have been asked a number of times over the years what handgun round I prefer to carry & why. It’s not a simple, nor fast question to answer so shall make an attempt to do so here.

The rounds you will find by my side most of the time are some form of expanding 9mm hollow points. They are not +P’s or +P+’s, just your regular octane leaded type. Before I go on let’s get the definitions for mechanics of projectile wounding out there:

1. Penetration: The tissue through which the projectile passes, and which it disrupts or destroys.
2. Permanent Cavity: The volume of space once occupied by tissue that has been destroyed by the passage of a projectile. This is a function of penetration and the frontal area of the projectile. Quite simply, it is the hole left by the passage of a bullet.
3. Temporary Cavity: The expansion of the permanent cavity by stretching due to the transfer of kinetic energy during the projectiles passage.
4. Fragmentation: Projectile pieces of secondary fragment of bone which is impelled outward from the permanent cavity and may sever muscle tissue, blood vessels, etc. apart from the permanent cavity. 1, 2 Fragmentation is not necessarily present in every projectile wound. It may or may, or may not, occur and can be considered a secondary effect. 3

Note that pistol bullets only poke holes in targets;.... Read the rest of the article HERE

 

[Fred Fuller]

Caliber choice and the mechanics of wounding aren't topics for ST&T. Moving...

 

[rcmodel]

What is a Steve Reichert?

rc

 

[Perforate]

I prefer .40 Smith loaded hot at 135 - 155 grain weight.

 

[David E]

What is a Steve Reichert?

rc

I dunno, but after trying to read the rest of his article, his middle name should be "typo."

 

[316SS]

I dunno, but after trying to read the rest of his article, his middle name should be "typo."

Their was was some pretty good info in that article, more then you would normally find in an article of that sort. What do you have to loose by reading it?

 

[Road Less Traveled]

What is a Steve Reichert?

rc

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Feb. 03, 2005) -- In the early morning hours of April 9, 2004, a Marine sniper and his spotter crawled on top of an abandoned oil storage tank in Lutafiyah, Iraq. Their mission was routine as they covered their squad’s patrol movement through the small town during the Arba’een pilgrimage. As it turned out, it was also a mission that will go down in the volumes of Marine Corps history.

Staff Sgt. Steve Reichert, a 25-year-old scout sniper with Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and Medfield, Mass., native, was recently awarded one of the Corps’ top medals, the Bronze Star with a combat ‘V’ for valorous action.

The 1998 Medfield High School graduate spends his off hours firing at targets with his M82A3 .50-caliber special application scoped rifle (SASR).

During this particular mission atop the oil tank, Reichert settled himself in a very exposed position -- though he was able to prop up a few steel plates on some sand bags. He and his spotter occupied that position knowing they were extremely vulnerable to enemy fire.

“I didn’t really think about it at the time,” said Reichert. “But when we heard the fifty cal rounds impacting the oil tank we took what little cover there was.”

As the patrol moved toward the town, Reichert observed a dead animal located in the patrol’s path. It was then when he recalled his training in enemy tactics, techniques and procedures for improvised explosive devices (IED) and made radio contact with the patrol leader to redirect. The patrol leader radioed back to Reichert and confirmed his suspicion that two wires were leading out of the dog carcass.

“We encountered IEDs daily,” said Reichert. “The IED that the squad came up on was in a dead animal, and with my spotting scope I could see the slight reflection of the wires coming out of the animal.

But despite the squad’s preventive measures, a routine situation turned treacherous.

A rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, was fired at the Marine patrol and seconds later enemy machine gun and small-arms fire pinned them down, according to Reichert. The Marines couldn’t effectively engage the enemy machine gunner on the rooftop of a nearby building so they radioed to Reichert on the oil storage tank. He took one shot and missed, then made the proper wind and elevation calculations to make his mark. A moment and a trigger pull later, Reichert took out the gunner.

In the after action report, the platoon leader made a remarkable account, that Reichert made the shot from 1,614 meters – approximately a mile away. His accuracy was the deciding factor in the outcome of the firefight.

Soon after, a few insurgents began to climb a set of stairs on the backside of the building where the firefight was taking place. Reichert aimed into the brick wall where he thought the men were and fired.

All three of the men dropped. Reichert’s armor-piercing round penetrated the wall and killed one man -- possibly wounding the other two with bullet and brick fragmentation.

“I was concerned about my Marines making it out of there in one piece,” said Reichert. “And at the same time I was loving life. I was outside of the gunmen’s range, but they were within my weapon’s range. I guess I could compare it to shooting ducks in a barrel.”

But the parlor game atmosphere proved to be more difficult than he may have expected.

“I could see that the two Marines got separated (from the platoon) and saw that a small group of insurgents were maneuvering into position to ambush the Marines. Once they stopped moving I shot one; the other two ran.”

Reichert looks back at his mission as a learning experience – not only for him, but for others who follow in his footsteps.

“I’ve learned a few lessons in life that I think helped me along the way,” said Reichert. “Never quit, no matter how tough life can get.”

 

[Gunmenhunter]

I'm no English major.... I'll hit F7 more
Steve

 

[David E]

Steve, if I need someone to proofread, I won't contact you...BUT if I need someone I can count on to cover my back, even from a mile away, I'll call you first!!

Thanks for your exemplary service.

 

[Gunmenhunter]

Thanks Dave! You can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRYwMrsaLxs

 

[willypete]

Thanks Dave! You can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRYwMrsaLxs

The M82 doesn't have a "fire" position, it has a "kill" position.

Thank you for your service!

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Steve's article presents valid information and well reasoned opinion. Good job!

 

[David E]

Ok, you prefer a 9mm. In what gun?

 

[Loosedhorse]

I prefer .40 Smith loaded hot at 135 - 155 grain weight.

I "prefer" something else. But that's a dang fine choice.

Ok onto “stopping power” now…. I term that each & every time I hear it I know the person who just uttered said words has no clue what they are talking about

I utter the term, and I know what I am talking about. Sorry to get anyone's dander (or blood pressure) up.

The often referred to “knock-down power” implies the ability of a bullet to move its target.

It only implies that, IMHO, to those who seek to disparange the term and its users. To everyone else, it means simply the ability of a round to stop the (animate) target quickly.

DON’T EXPECT a HP round to do magic!

A .22 in the pocket is better then nothing!

I carry a 9mm

Odd. Even though I am a philistine (actually, I think the term Steve used was "buffoon") who uses both "stopping power" and "knockdown power" (and has for decades) I agree with the first two statements, and think that some 9mm loads are excellent choices for SD.

Imagine that.

 

[DocModisett]

knock down power,,,,,

Any gun is good if you shoot good.... I dont want to get shot with any of them....
What works good for me in a hand gun is hollow base wad cutters loaded backward.... not fast,, but just a good warm load....cures any disease a varment has,,, makes a possum loose all its taste for chicken... or a fox..... and I have carried them in my personal carry weapon....

 

[fastbolt]

Pleasant reading. Thanks.

Hadn't heard of your website. Interesting. Marked for later browsing & reading. I'll pass it along to some friends and my former partner who were in the corps.

Always a pleasure to see an example of some clear & concise simplicity reasonably applied to this subject, as well as gratifying when it's coming from someone who's BTDT.

BTW, I've always been accounted someone with excellent spelling skills, However, having "adapted" to using a word processor, instead of the electric typewriter on which I learned to type, has allowed my spell-typing skills to degrade over time. I need spell-check capability nowadays, myself. If I get serious about some self-publishing in the growing e-format venue, I may find myself in need of some real editing help.

While nothing published in the FBI article published by their FTU at the end of the 80's was particularly earth-shaking, I always found it a reasonable explanation based upon enough observation to make it a practical perspective for everyday consideration for "working folks" required to carry low-powered weapons (handguns).

It's pretty much withstood the test of time over the last 20+ years when it comes to rubber-meets-the-road reasoning applied to defensive sidearm selection, too (leaving the theorizing to the lab crowd for hypotheses & explanation-after-the-fact, which we can learn from as further studies validate bits & pieces of things).

Poking holes in critical tissues, structures and organs in a controlled accurate & effective manner requires some serious user skillset & mindset. How much more complicated does it need to be?

While I work with instructors who often have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to LE weapons, calibers & ammunition, the one thing most of the better ones have in common is the emphasis on skillset and mindset over equipment issues.

Sometimes you have a choice in equipment, and sometimes you don't ... but regardless of the equipment choice/restriction, you're the key element each and every time when it comes to the equipment being used effectively.

Nothing at all "wrong" with a good 9mm in the hands of a skilled user. I've used a variety of ammunition in my issued & personally-owned 9's over the years. I finally decided it was simply easier to use whatever was being bought off the procurement contract. Sometimes it was standard pressure 147gr stuff, sometimes 127gr +P+, and for some time now it's been 124gr +P. It wouldn't bother me in the least to see the ammo inventory stocked with standard pressure loads again tomorrow. I wouldn't lose sleep worrying over the bullet weight, either. I'd still be burning it up for drills & practice.