9mm .40 .45 ?

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Pulp

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Mr357, I just said I can't shoot it fast. It's still one of my favorite guns.

Things I've learned from this thread:

1. Since I shoot my '51 Navy better than anything else, that should be my concealed carry gun. Or,
2. Learn to shoot something else a bit more suitable for concealed carry.
 

Erick

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What is stopping power?

The ability of the round that makes an assailant say "never mind" when struck by said projectile.

I think it is slightly subjective so sometimes I like to think it extremes. When shot by a 300WSM a person is more likely to by incapacitated than when hit with a .22lr. So, I would say the 300WSM has more stopping power.

I would prefer a .45 over any other round personally. I like the recoil and the confidence I get with the round. However, my carry gun is a .40 s&w. For a concealed gun sometimes you have to sacrifice preferred caliber for capacity. For my H&K USP Compact, I get 12+1 in the .40 as opposed to 8+1 in the .45. It's worth it to me to have 4 extra rounds of what I consider a less preferred caliber. I could have gone one more step and went with the 9mm but I didn't think adding one round was worth it.
 

Koshinn

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I would say any of the above

Stopping the person in his tracks and knocking him down won't happen with 9mm, .40, or .45. The amount of actual energy imparted to the target's body, according to Newton, is less than the recoil felt by the shooter (due to wind resistance bleeding off some of the energy), so unless they're off balance at the time or you hit their nervous system or bones, you won't actually stop a person.
Killing, mortally wounding, and incapacitating are also done with direct hits using handgun ammo (at least, with regards to quickly stopping the threat... anyone can bleed out from a .22LR in some random spot on their body), so really what you're saying is: Stopping power = bullet diameter.

Doing some back of the napkin math, a S&W M&P compact holds 12, 10, or 8 rounds in 9, 40, or 45. Taking expansion diameter from the ar15.com post linked earlier, the total area (area of expanded HP bullet*number of rounds) is roughly the same for 9 and 40, and slightly lower for 45. Using FMJ bullets, it's so close as to not really matter.

In a S&W M&P full size, which holds 17, 15, and 10 rounds, the .40 has the most area covered, the 9mm second, and .45 last by a large margin.

A hit is better than a miss, so more rounds is also nice. And less recoil means quicker and more accurate follow up shots, so .45 really doesn't seem like a good self defense round in a S&W M&P... mathematically speaking. In a M&Pc, I'd take 9mm, but in a M&P FS, .40 seems the best bet in terms of HP expanded diameter vs # of rounds.

If you could get the actual gun you'll be using and take metrics on how fast and accurate you shoot with each gun, you could mathematically come up with the best caliber bullet / gun to use in terms of "stopping power." But that won't matter if you never actually carry that gun because it's too big or never practice with it because the ammo is too expensive.
 

Glockwork1987

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I agree with this.



I had heard all the blah blah about how 9mm was for whimps and if you "really" wanted a self defense gun, you should get at least a .40. However, I would be purchasing the ammo for my gun myself so that made me think.
- 9mm rounds cost much less
- cheaper ammo means i can afford more practice shooting
- if i'm to carry a gun, it is my RESPONSIBILITY to become as accurate, familiar, safe as possible thus practicing VERY often.

I decided that I could afford more range/practice rounds with the 9mm so it would be a better choice for me and thus the more responsible decision since none of the folks trying to talk me into a larger caliber were willing to pay for my ammo. One of the guys happens to have a .45 that he carries but when we go to the range, he never wants to shoot it because he says it's too expensive. I tell him he's foolish to not become more familiar with it and shoot it as often as posible and if he can't afford to, he should either not carry it or get a gun that fires cheaper caliber rounds.

or a 9mm convert. barrel
 

saddlebum

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ive shot deer with 40, 45acp, 357, 45 colt and 41 mag ive shot pigs with 22,9mm 40, 45acp ,41 mag and 45 colt, the bigger calibers do more damage with out a doubt , but i carry a 9mm most of the time because i feel it is sufficent
 

casualplinker

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I don't know that much about the 9mm-.45 issue, but I use a .38revolver for my concealed carry gun. How does that measure up? From what I've read, the .38 revolver seems to be one of the most popular choices.
 

inactive

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Stopping power = bullet diameter.

Doing some back of the napkin math, a S&W M&P compact holds 12, 10, or 8 rounds in 9, 40, or 45. Taking expansion diameter from the ar15.com post linked earlier, the total area (area of expanded HP bullet*number of rounds) is roughly the same for 9 and 40, and slightly lower for 45. Using FMJ bullets, it's so close as to not really matter.

I get the cut of your jib. It's sectional density plus velocity plus projectile size plus projectile mass plus number of rounds. I mean, 9mm may have more "stopping power" if i get 19 of them versus 13 (in an XDm, for example). But then again, 9 hot 40 rounds may impart more energy than 10 9mm rounds (Glock 27 versus 26, for example).

I agree with the "stopping power" argument, we are generally splitting hairs. But I say is has some merit, even if it is mythical, as a .25 has less "stopping power" in general than a .40 S&W. I also say that once you get to 9mm or larger, the argument gets moot. The caliber is all but inconsequential compared to the other variables involved.
 

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