Hello all. I see it this way: ANY handgun commonly used for self-defense against humans is lacking in power and placement becomes critical. The fact that, as was noted in the previous post, that one of our good guys shot a dude with a 9mm and he "kept coming" and then he shot a fellow with a forty-five and he dropped like a "sack of sh&&" doesn't mean that much statistically. I'm very, very familar with two cases in which 9mm provided
one-shot stops, one fatal at the scene, on
felons.
Having said that, I do believe that the .45ACP in its better loadings can exceed the
9mm's best loads, but there remains quite a bit of "ballistic overlap" between the two in terms of load effectiveness.
An officer under my command was shot a few years ago with a .40 S&W (Glock 22) using 180 gr JHP. (Don't remember the brand, but the bullet did expand and did fragment a bit.) The officer was hit in the torso and lost a kidney when all was said and done, and nearly died. However, when originally shot, he didn't know he was hit. Other officers eventually made him sit down.
Several years ago, two officers under my command shot and killed a burglar who was a mental case and tried to kill them. He was shot at about 18" from the sternum with a 12 gauge Remington 870 using Winchester #4 buckshot. The entrance wound was the fabled
"rat hole" about 2.5" in diameter in his sternum. Post mortem later showed that his heart was shredded by the pellets. At the same time that he took the shotgun blast, he received a .357 Magnum Remington 125 gr SJHP to the neck from another officer's S&W M686 4" revolver. How that bullet managed to miss
anything of importance is beyond me, but it did!
This suspect's reaction was to say, "I didn't think you'd shoot me." At that point, he SAT
down with his back against a utility room wall, gurgled something and died.
Thus, I don't get too fired up anymore about
9mm vs .45 vs .357 vs .40, etc.
With the handgun, some loads ARE better than others. Some calibers ARE better than others, but NONE will do the trick without placement.
I've been taken to task before because some insist that one cannot get proper placement.
Evidently some can, as the one shot stops I've personally seen have been the well-placed ones. "It is what it is," and placement remains the ultimate determinant in "stopping power."
I use the 9mm HP for defense. I use the load I think is one of the best and I practice with it. I do the same with my forty-fives, but at speed, I find myself able to deliver the first shot more accurately and with less time using the BHP.
What works for me may not work for you. With work, the 1911 might just be the thing for you, especially if you find yourself feeling more comfortable with that large, gaping hole in the bbl.
The main thing remains the willingness to actually make a center hit on a living human and having the skill to do it with the weapon of choice.
But, all of the above assumes merely the defensive aspects of the handgun!
I am NOT one who sees only this use and use my nines, forty-fives, .44s, .357s, and so forth on paper, plinking, and taking small game.
Best to all and hopefully none of us will have to shoot anything human, but if we do, I hope that the good guys can get the hits.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Stephen A. Camp on 2001-07-27 00:58 ]</font>