Choice of ammunition, specifically an article making some statements after disagreeing (rightfully in my eyes... I agree with the author, though I think he could've been much more tactful in the delivery of his statements) with formula for choosing caliber as suggested by a gunwriter who I've read a little of here and there, is also the root cause of a HUGE shit storm in the gun industry right now... (namely because of this article right here: http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/handgun-stopping-power-science-vs-40-years-of-experience) And while I must say that I agree 100% with the CONCLUSION of this article and that there are some writers that I disagree with more often than I agree with the opinions of, I can't call them an idiot because in the end what they write is no different than what I'm writing right now...
An arrogant, one-sided opinion that is just like armpits and assholes... Everyone has a couple, they all stink, and some more so than others. But in the end, it's just an opinion. Don't like it? Well... Drive on.
For the record: The formula in question recommended a number of rounds by caliber to stop a fight... more like a suggestion really... And I thought that formula was a crock.
There is only ONE way (singular) to stop a fight for sure... Don't stop shooting the motherf**kers until they quit trying to kill you!
Whether it's a .45, .40, 9, .357 (either one), .38, .380, .32... whatever it is... there's only two reasons to stop shooting... 1. The gun stops... Either it's out of rounds or malfunctioned. This is temporary. 2. The person (or people) meaning you harm has gotten the memo, reconsidered their negative attitude, and is no longer trying to help you with the excess hemoglobin problem they thought you had... In which case stop and don't shoot again unless they decide that your blood level is a bit too high again. End of story.
Now, the man whose article was the subject of the attachment is obviously a .45 fan. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I don't like .45's myself, but that doesn't mean it's a bad cartridge or that my preferred 9mm is any more effective as a whole... It just means a 9 is what I want to carry and not a .45.
We all know how hard it is to find ammo right now... And top end antipersonnel ammunition is as hard to find as hardball for plinking in many calibers. Frankly, around here 9x19mm is one of those things you better snap up when you can because it may not be there in the morning.
Now... I'm EXTREMELY picky with what I run through my guns... Does that mean I shoot finicky guns? Hell no. That just means I want the good stuff when I have a choice in the matter, like most everything else in my life.
So... What makes up a good choice for carry rounds? How do we determine what we really want in a carry load?
First of all, I'd suggest that everyone who seems to have "the one true answer to the best carry bullet question" answered is full of bovine fecal matter... That may be the best for them but not necessarily the best one for me and you, and to tell me you know MY needs better than ME is insulting my intelligence and your own. Why? You're not me, I'm not you. We have different joint issues... (Go train in the martial arts for 20 years and tell me how your joints feel in cold weather! I'm 26 and already have arthritis like an old fart!) We have different tastes. We may shoot differently. Either way... YOUR needs may be similar but they are NOT AND NEVER WILL BE IDENTICAL TO MINE OR ANYONE ELSE'S! So... All we can reasonably do is say what works for us and let others make the decision themselves... As much as I'd like all of y'all to carry a Glock 17 stoked with 127gr +P+ T-Series JHP's, I can't reasonably expect you to do so just because that works for me... Why? We're two different people with two different missions, albeit with the same primary objective (stay safe and keep those we care for and who are in are charge safe).
Second, if someone suggests that any one caliber is this that or the other over another similar (service vs. service, pocket-rocket vs. pocket-rocket, etc.) chambering then they're confused and stating nothing more than an opinion because in reality, any caliber is capable of doing the job, given adequate shot placement and enough doses of "metallic medicine."
Now... I can not tell you how you should select a bullet or a caliber. Some rely on the raw science of the Ballistic Gelatin testing. Some rely only on the grim and grisly tales of autopsies and police shooting reports.
I look at both.
There have been a few loads that come about that are the bee's knees in the gelatin and not worth a damn on the street... There have also been loads (including my former carry load) that failed the FBI Gelatin testing yet have given yeoman service in the street.
This is, to me, emphatic evidence that relying solely on one source is a sure-fire way to wind up getting less than optimal performance.
Most of my street shooting research is not my own... Most is done and prepared by none other than Massad Ayoob in his various books on concealed carry (namely his work "Concealed Carry" and "Combat Handgunnery" both of which I believe are from Gun Digest). He also has (or at least had) students use their carry gun and load on hogs in his old Lethal Force Institute (now his organization is Massad Ayoob Group) courses... and he shows pictures of those bullets and the wounds they produce in flesh.
As for gelatin tests, well... if you carry Law Enforcement grade ammunition, the manufacturers usually post the FBI Protocol testing results for their wares... I know for a fact that Winchester's Ranger line and Federal do so.
So... how do I determine what caliber I want?
Well... Honestly, I'm of the opinion that pistols are pretty much on a level playing field until you get into the true Magnum rounds (.357 Mag, .41 Mag, .44 Mag, .454 Casull, etc.) or try to compare a pocket-rocket round to a service or Magnum round. So for me, the deciding factors are capacity and recoil. The 9mm has way less recoil and way more capacity than a .45. It also has less recoil and a bit more capacity than a .40 or a .357 Sig (and with careful load choice, you can actually get .357 Sig performance out of a 9... more on that later).
Next I look at velocity. How fast is the bullet? I like things that go really fast... My own driving history will show you that. In all seriousness, when it comes to bullets from pistols I like screamers.
Why?
Physics.
Force = Mass x Acceleration (squared)
Take two objects of the same mass and send one at speed "X" and the other at speed "X+1" and the second one hits harder every time.
Well, why not a bigger bullet?
An object in motion will remain in motion until acted on by an outside force, same applies to static objects.
What's that mean??? (Did you sleep through physics class? No worries... I did too, and yet I still passed it.)
If I get a 115 grain projectile... I have to give X amount of push to get it moving.
If I have a 230 grain projectile, it needs 2X.
What's that mean?
Push the 115 by using an equivalent charge (remember... powder burn rate is as important to velocity as powder charge!) and it's GOING to go considerably faster.
Remember... both are starting at 0mph/fps.
So to get STARTED, it requires 2x as much pop for a 230 as a 115...
Further, that initial formula ( F=M x A(squared) ) works both ways... That means to get that bigger bullet moving, more force has to be impelled on the projectile... and the shooter gets it because when that bullet goes forward..... (the same is said of identical bullets pushed at faster velocities here... i.e. a 115gr pill at 1150 will give you less bump and snort on your end than the same pill stepping out at 1300)
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (Which kind of blows the whole concept widely touted by people who don't know what they're talking about as "Knock Down" power... If it will knock your attacker down, it's sending you ass over teakettle as well!)
Which means we, as the shooter, get more felt recoil... This means we have a slower shot-to-shot time.
Now... Before anyone gets started on "He said...." when I clearly did not... YOU may shoot your .45 3x faster than I shoot my 9mm but I'd bet good money and probably give you 2:1 if no 3:1 or even 5:1 that YOU will shoot the same weapon chambered in 9 mil faster with the same accuracy... Because I can shoot a 9mm G17 Gen3 WAY faster (assuming good accuracy... I'm not the mag dump into the berm type) than I can shoot a Gen4 G21 or a Gen3 G22.
Capacity... Well, a .45 is a hair over 11mm in diameter and a 9mm is just that... So with 2mm less per round it doesn't exactly take a doctorate in nuclear physics to figure out that if you're filling a space with something and then fill an identical space with things 2mm in diameter smaller then there will be more of the smaller ones that fit in the same space...
So... You've determined what caliber fits your needs... Whatever it is, good for you.
Let's move on to bullets and load selection.
The first thing to determine is what your gun will take... Shooting +P+ ammo in a pistol not rated for even +P is a very dumb idea and it'll probably end painfully for you if you screw it up so check your gun's paperwork and if you're still not sure, call the manufacturer of the gun. They may of course say "NO +P or +P+" even if the gun works fine with it just to keep you from hot-loading on your own... If they're no help, call the ammunition maker and ask if they know if that load works in your gun... They want to sell you bullets but don't want you to blow your hand off with a hot load so they should be helpful and a bit more objective than the gun maker who's liable to say "No +P or +P+" even if xxx police departments issue the same gun and +P+ ammo for it and have had no issues. If the maker won't help you... call a Law Enforcement ammo distributor... They can tell you (this is assuming you're carrying a popular police service pistol like an M&P, Glock, Beretta 92/96 or PX4, Sig P22x series, etc.) what ammo they're selling to who and how well it's working for them. As a matter of fact, I had this very conversation about Winchester Ranger 155gr JHP (.40 S&W) with a Streicher's rep in a gas station parking lot a few years ago... I actually still have his card in my wallet, for that matter.
There a great many books that have information on load selection, but again, I can't recommend Ayoob's work enough. There are also a few online blogs where the authors handgun hunt with carry rounds and show the round. These are also good sources.
NOW I look to gelatin... I could really care less about the bare gelatin scores, I more look at weight retention after the barrier tests than anything else.
I pick Ayboob's books back up and see if there's any pictures of the expanded bullet... and I keep reading to see if he mentions it, either as a "xxxxx department issues with xxxx results" or in his "Case xx:" in his reasons not to select a load (though these are usually reserved for hardball, as I have yet to see a quality, LE grade JHP Mentioned in these). After that, I hit up the blogs. Then a couple of forums, namely WarriorTalk.com and StoppingPower.net
This way, I have networks of professionals and instructors, in addition to armed citizens, that are willing to bounce things around and who may have heard something I haven't on the subject at hand... But I don't take their word at face value... I exercise my own due diligence and check as many sources as possible, to include my own research into things...
I buy some of the load... A few rounds, maybe a box or two (2 of 25 or 20 and 1 of 50) and do my own testing.
Does it function in my gun?
Is it as accurate as I read out of my gun?
Any issues with round (failure to fire, extractor ripping part of rim, etc.)?
Recoil?
Point of Aim/Point of Impact?
Now... I do my own ballistic testing. I don't take it hunting unless I've seen good reviews on sites that DO do this or if Ayoob has the hog thing in his books with that load, as when I hunt it is my moral and ethical duty to provide a swift, and humane death to the animal I'm harvesting. But I do barrier test my rounds... And some that the FBI doesn't. I test my rounds on old body armor. I buy used body armor components like throat protectors in surplus stores and I shoot them. Why? (No, I have no desire to shoot law enforcement at all... Hell, the local LE community composes the vast bulk of my friends!) Because around here, shit is getting rough and some of the local bad guys HAVE body armor.
Now... I know going into things that the round WILL MORE LIKELY THAN NOT BE STOPPED... But the divot in the ground shows the kinetic energy transfer that causes the so called "temporary wound cavity." The deeper the better. I then take the pieces of soft armor subjected to the rounds and shred them (easier said than done!) and stuff them in a water jug and then line up a couple more jugs of water behind it and crank a round off at it. I relate this to a "thick clothes and meat" test... I dig the round and eyeball it.
I'm a fan of the Federal 9BPLE 115gr +P+ JHP... I used to carry it. It's 115gr HiShok pill comes out at around 1300 fps. So far, the 115gr +P+ load has given yeoman service (per Mas' Ayoob's work) in DeKalb County, GA and with a Federal Agency (can't remember if it was Air Marshal, Secret Service, or Border Patrol...) and I've read Mas' statement in a the aforementioned works that he has studied shoots with that load where the target hit resembled beef burrito filling after that round did it's thing... but it fails the FBI Gelatin test because it only hits 9"-11" in gelatin.
Nowadays, I'm running a new round. I've tried to lay hands on some since I went to 9mm. It's Winchester Ranger RA9TA which is a 9mm +P+ load that sends a 127gr T-Series JHP out of the muzzle at 1250fps, which is nearly IDENTICAL to the numbers (weight and velocity) for a .357 Sig. Some of the photos I've seen and reports I've read in his work over the earlier SXT version of this load, which we all know and love as the Same eXact Thing as the Black Talon, are a healthy mix of IMPRESSIVE and SCARY.
Plain words, anyone can tell you what they carry. Their formula for this that and the other. It's all opinion... What I do is probably different from most other folks... That doesn't make either of us wrong. Some prefer raw science, others pure experience... Why not use both? They complement each other so well.
Choose your load well... Test it... Study it... Research how well it's worked planting the bad folks for the lawmen.
Stay Safe.
Stay Frosty.
Stay In The Fight.
1*
-V/R
Kenny Smith
President and Chief Master Instructor
Total Force Training Group