MCgunner
Member
355sigfan said:Even Evan himself will tell you not to take his OSS numbers literally for prediction. A 32 acp lacks the momentium and ability to penetrate and break bones like the 45 acp ball. They do have a simular wound profile for the first few inches then the 32 stops rather shallow where the 45 ball continues on. Pistols should still be carried by the troops. Their not front line weapons but they beat your bayonet when you run out of ammo or your rifle is destroyed.
Pat
Yeah, that's why I wouldn't carry a .32 rather than .45, exactly. I know the "stopping power percentage" isn't literal, but it's useful for comparing one caliber to another in actually shooting results. It' also illustrates the fact that there is much more to terminal ballistics than simply bullet size. Also, if you look at the results, it coordinates more with energy and bullet type (surprise, surprise) than it does with bullet diameter. This is yet another indication that there is more to terminal ballistics than bullet size and why the big bullet zealots hate the results and try their best to discredit them.
All things equal, energy (.45 and 9mm about 350 foot lbs) and bullet type (round nose ball), you would expect the .45 ball to be better slightly than 9mm ball and, surprise, surprise, that's what turns out to be the case!