Those of you who've hunted with a handgun. Do you still believe in stopping power?

[foghornl]

I have put a few Bambis in the freezer courtesy of a handgun...

2 with a .357Mag, 1 with my .44Cap-n-ball revolver.

But only at very close range...<40Yds

Have taken a lot of squirrel/rabbit over the years with a .22LR, both rifle and handgun.

Never had to track Bambi more than 20Yds from point of impact...although one of them sort of ran around in a circle.

 

[KBintheSLC]

The gun I hunt most with is a Ruger MKIII .22 pistol. It is great on small game of all kinds. We have a pigeon infestation problem, so I keep them in check with a stack full of CCI Stingers. They hit so hard that they generally rip the body of the pigeon in half and empty out the innards on impact. It is not a pretty sight, but it is one of the most humane and rapid deaths I have seen while hunting.

As for big game, I assume that a big-bore revolver will do the same job as a rifle as long as you do your job.

 

[rcmodel]

It still seems to me everyone is missing the intent of this poll question.

The question in the poll is:
do you still believe in "stopping power" as it relates to defensive handguning.

We all agree a handgun will kill a deer, sooner or later.

But the OP wanted to know if we still believe in "Stopping Power", not killing power!

The poll results & posts seem to indicate that 46% think a handgun will kill game ranging from Pigeon to Moose with one shot.

Not stop a BG in his tracks instantly with one shot!
And that was the question in the OP.

rcmodel

 

[Master of Arms]

My friend shot a doe with his .357 mag at about 25 yards and the impact knocked the deer off of its feet and it landed flat on its side and died.
Two years ago I was hunting and it was almost too dark to see when out she came. It was during primative weapon season so I was packing my 45-70. I took the shot with open sights at about 75 yards. The shot was waayyy off and it struck the deer right behind the hip. The impact knocked the deer down and incapacitated it long enough for me to dispatch it with a blunt tool.

Point being that although placement is the primary concern when hunting, the power behind the shot can often make a significant difference in the outcome.

So I would say yes, I believe that when using a handgun of a heavier caliber that there will definately be a high % of the cases where one shot would incapacitate any human being.

 

[wyocarp]

The one thing that matters just as much as shot placement is proper bullet selection...handgun or rifle, if you can put those 2 things together...you will kill whatever you're shooting at.

NO. Not always.

I do believe in one shot kills.

I do believe in stopping power.

I do believe if my son had shot the bear that was charging at us a couple of months ago with a 30-06, the bear would have still been running much longer than I wanted. Instead, he dropped him at 20 feet with one shot, dead in his tracks with a shot dead center of his chest.

I grew up using a 30-06, it is a great rifle, but it doesn't drop the big animals the way I like to see them drop. I don't care where you hit them.

There is a difference in calibers. There are documented cases of bears being killed with a .22 that had perfect shot placement, but I'm not going to use one and I consider myself a decent shot.

 

[freakshow10mm]

There is no such thing as stopping power.

I've hunted small game and deer and black bears with the .357 Magnum and 10mm Auto in handguns. I've perhaps taken 6 or 7 deer and only 2 blackies in my lifetime with a handgun (I'm 27).

I took one bear with the 10mm and one with the 357. Both were inside 60y and were one shot kills. The 10mm was a 200gr XTP at 1050fps and the 357 Mag was a 180gr Partition Gold at whatever velocity that I can't recall, perhaps 1200-1300fps. Both piled up within 30y of being hit. The 10mm was a headshot and the 357 went through both shoulders.

For deer, they aren't as hard to kill as people make them out to be; blackies included. My favorite deer load is a 215gr LSWC at 1100fps. I've never in my life had a deer run more than maybe 30-40y after being shot.

I've seen deer shrug off a .300 Wby Mag but fall to a 22-250. Placement in the same spot. One deer my uncle shot needed 4 heart shots with a 7 Mag using 175gr RN before it gave up. All shots hit the heart and were in a fist sized group.

Two rifle cartridges I've used on deer and bears that will never fail me are the 45/70 and 375 Holland.

 

[wyocarp]

Both piled up within 30y of being hit.

That is why people don't believe in stopping power, because some have never seen it. 30 yards is not a demonstration of stopping power. Stopping power for me is when the animal doesn't make another step and is dead. Some guns are able to do that more regularly than others with the same shooter and that is because of greater stopping power.

 

[freakshow10mm]

I've shot deer that dropped as soon as the bullet hit. That isn't stopping power.

You can name all the cartridges in the world you want to and none of them will drop an animal "in their tracks". I've seen a lot of animals shot with all sorts of weapons.

I've witnessed a crazy uncle of mine shoot a 416 Rigby into a whitetail, going through both shoulders and it carried on for some 60y. I've seen the same uncle shoot a large bodied buck dead in the heart at 130 something yards using a 22-250 and 55gr SP that never took a step. I've seen a buddy of mine shoot a doe in the heart with a 7mm Wby Mag that literally blew the heart out of her body 5 ft and the doe continued to live while it ran 300y. I've shot an opposum 3 times in the head with a 20ga slug before it gave up.

Stopping power is an non existent event.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

There are documented cases of bears being killed with a .22 that had perfect shot placement

That IS NOT what I call proper bullet selection...

 

[1moa@500]

In reference to the penetration of a 30-06. I once shot a 200lb boar between the eyes with a federal Hi-shok round at around 60rds. It penetrated the skull but did not hold together well. I found several fragments in the neck area just behind the skull. I believe that when velocity drops to 2500 or below bullets start to retain more weight and increase in penetration. That same bullet at 200yds went through both shoulder of a 300 boar leaving a silver dollar size exit wound. I have come t believe that larger bullets at lower velocities that are placed correctly are keys to success. I do not believe in stopping power at all. i want my bullets to penetrate well and give a nice large exit wound that bleeds profusly and aids in tracking an animal if it becomes necessary. If you want stopping power go with a cannon.

 

[mavracer]

It wasn't even charged with adrenalin, because it had no idea it was going to be shot.

+1
adrenalin makes a huge difference.
I've hunted wild boar quite a bit.you shoot one thats been run by dogs it's much harder to put down than when you still hunt them.

 

[wyocarp]

You can name all the cartridges in the world you want to and none of them will drop an animal "in their tracks".

Bull...t

 

[GunTech]

There is no substitute for shot placement.

 

[freakshow10mm]

Bull...t

Consistently? There is no magic talisman of small arms cartridges.

 

[goon]

Consistently? There is no magic talisman of small arms cartridges.

I'm inclined to agree.
If such a cartridge existed we'd all be using it and we wouldn't need to have discussions like this one.
Most of the animals I've seen shot did drop right there, but even with small animals there aren't any guarantees.

My cousin shot a rabbit with a .45 ACP JHP from a 5" 1911 one time. It was a solid body hit. The rabbit got up and hobbled away. It was eventually finished off with a .22.
Shot placement aside, a .45 is like a howitzer to a rabbit. It didn't stop it.
If that rabbit had been a 200 pound serial murder he could have ran around with an axe chopping up retirees for another couple of minutes.

Stopping power is a myth.
Bullets punch holes in vital parts and CNS parts and that's what kills stuff.

 

[rcmodel]

It is also worth noting that no sporting firearm has any "knockdown" power.

If you don't believe it, hang a 150 pound sack of sand on a rope in a tree, and shoot it.

Shoot it with anything you can stand on your hind legs and hold onto.
Handguns, hunting rifles, shotgun slugs, it doesn't matter.

I'll bet you money the sand bag will not be "knocked" anywhere!
It will only swing on the rope very slightly.

If an animal falls flat, as if hit by lightening, it is due to shock to the nervous system causing a loss of muscle control, not "knockdown power".

rcmodel

 

[freakshow10mm]

Yep.

 

[bigmike45]

My experiences are as follows:

My favorite handgun hunting caliber and gun are my 7.5" Scoped Ruger Redhawk in 41 magnum. I spent many years handloading to get the "perfect" hunting load. Three nice sized Texas Whitetails and one large Fallow deer. Then my castle came crumbling down around me. The next 2 whitetails and hog I shot all ran off. The fartherest track was over 150 yards with a double lung shot. All shots were either double lung & heart or double lung or just heart and all taken from a broadside position. The longest was the Fallow shot at 84 yards. After the shot he took one step and exhaled and collapsed. As much as I want to call it the "perfect" hunting round, it is not. I am beginning to, like others here, believe there is no one shot stop everytime round. Of course brain or spinal chord shots are almost always one stop shots.

bigmike45

 

[Gator]

Animals ≠ people

 

[yenchisks]

August 4th, 2008, 01:23 AM #4
TAB
Senior Member



Join Date: 12-19-07
Posts: 1,322 I don't beleave any chambering has stoping power... I've shot a charging pig with a 30-06 at close range and had the bullets fail to pentrait its skull.

rubber bullets don't work.

 

[MCgunner]

You have to HIT the scull to penetrate it. ROFL! .30-06 bounces off skull, eh? Helluva hog, there.

 

[rcmodel]

Hogrannosaurus rex?
Hogzilla?



rcmodel

 

[Conqueror]

3 deer shot with a 45 ACP...all 3 dropped within 30 yards, all one shot kills (1 was dead before he hit the ground...dropped in his tracks), at ranges from 15 to 45 yards. The ammo used was factory loaded Remington 230 grain Golden Sabres and the pistol is a Les Baer stainless Stinger (4.25 inch barrel on an officers frame)...there is a pretty good sized thread over on 1911forum about it...Its called "I killed a deer with a 230 grain Golden Sabre"...

I have seen deer hit good with a 270, 30-06, 308, Etc. run farther than that...SHOT PLACEMENT IS STOPPING POWER.

I'm not sure how you can make that post and then say you believe in stopping power. Would you be happy if you shot an attacking criminal and he could still run 30 yards? Unless you shot him from 31 yards away he would be stabbing you in the face momentarily.

 

[Master of Arms]

I don`t know what you guys have been shooting or what you`ve been shooting at but there is a such thing as stopping power. You know, when you pop a deer at 220 yards or so and you see him get knocked for a flip, thats stopping power.

When you shoot that hog with a "BOW" and land that perfect neck shot and the hog never untracks himself, Stopping power.

When you shot that bear and the shot knocked him on his side, stopping power.

Placement works along side of stopping power but you can have one without the other. Especially since we`re talkin about humans here, are you kidding??? One shot with a .444, 45-70, .44 magnum, 30-06, .300 win mag etc.etc.etc. is going to STOP whoever gets hit with any of those calibers and many more, adrenalin or no adrenalin.

 

[Gator]

One shot with a .444, 45-70, .44 magnum, 30-06, .300 win mag etc.etc.etc. is going to STOP whoever gets hit with any of those calibers and many more, adrenalin or no adrenalin.

Tell that to the Chicago cop I know who took four .44 mags in the chest and still returned fire. Unless you get a CNS hit, there is no guarantee of anything.