45acp verus 9mm

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Bookworm

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Somebody once asked me the difference in stopping power of these two as per self defence. Came across this chart as per hunting with handguns and I thought some of you might like to see it

Brand Bullet Shootings One Shot Stops Percent Diameter Penetration

Federal 45 ACP 230 gr HS 173 166 96% 0.76" 13.9"
Remington 45 ACP +P 185 gr JHP 77 71 92% 0.74" 12.9"
Federal 9 mm +P+ 115 gr JHP 189 172 91% 0.71" 13.9"
Speer 9 mm +P 124 gr GD 74 65 88% 0.71" 13.6"
Winchester 9 mm 115 gr ST 421 349 83% 0.64" 13.7"


Thought it was interesting

Dave
 
Kind of a soup of numbers there... :confused:

Do you have a table you can post? Or make it into a table that makes sense? I'd like to know the numbers.
 
The numbers for one-shot stops seem a bit high. Can you tell me the year this was compiled in. I know in the early 90s the percentage for 9mm stood in the 70-78 percent range (all bullet types taken into account). The penetration numbers don't seem quite right to me either.
 
The argument was settled decades ago in favor of large calibers. Wound volume is proportional to the frontal area of the bullet. A 9mm needs to expand to make it a large caliber but at handgun velocity expansion is unreliable. Anything that can be done to enhance a small caliber can be done to enhance a large one. In a fight .45 trumps 9mm, .50 trumps .45.
 
the late jeff cooper once said that 7 rounds of 45 roughly equals 15 rounds of 9mm - what his criteria for the satement was i don't know was they are both efficent killers- all that being said, the reason some agencies use a 22 rim is b/c it pentetrates but won't do a thru and thru, doing more damage inside the body rattling around, bouncing off stuff - and these guys have been down the research road
 
i believe that the .40 fmj in many cases gives a better wound channel than .45 fmj or round nose bullets due to the flat front profile of the .40
as far as hollow points it falls in between 9mm and .45 as you would expect
 
Bookworm said:
difference in stopping power
Click to expand...
In order to simplify your chart, I offer up this helpful diagram:
mallninjaCalibresExplained.jpg

Bottom line, hits count - shot placement is what matters. Or, as someone recently said, "aim more, shoot less".
 
"One shot stop" is pretty meaningless. What matters primarily is the type of tissue crushed (heart and brain), failing that, volume of crushed tissue is what matters.

But here are my thoughts on it anyways...

From the point of damage, bigger calibre is better, but only if it maintains adequate penetration. Up close, 9 vs .45 the 45 will win as it has more than enough power to completely penetrate a person even with mushrooming. The volume of crushed tissue is greater with the greater calibre, all other things being equal.

At greater distances, the slower .45 will not penetrate as well, nor open up due to lower momentum being carries into the target. The volume of damaged tissue will not be as great as a 9mm. The 9, while smaller will have greater momentum going into the target and what it lacks in width of the crush channel, it makes up for in depth.

So the basics of 9 vs 45, I feel are kinda like the shotgun vs rifle. One is better than the other depending on the distance.



Oh crap...
Not this s**t again.
Click to expand...

It is a gun forum. People are going to repeat questions. Plus the sites search function sucks donkey balls. I prefer to ask a question than look for previous threads.
 
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