theres been over a hundred years worth of detailed discussion about what constitutes an effective self defense handgun, and matching cartridge, Id strongly suggest you keep in mind that all the work or damage is the result of the projectile impacting and punching through the target, and that both shot placement and a good knowledge of anatomy of the target is mandatory,
the whole idea of carrying a handgun is that it allows a smaller or less skilled opponent too efficiently and quickly, successfully ,defend himself , against a larger and stronger or multiple opponents, if attacked.
criminals like to rob and injure people they see as either weak or where they potentially gain financially or gain some other advantage, like sexual domination. a handgun and the skill to use it if attacked, allows a smaller woman or older man too successfully defend herself against multiple larger and violent,
opponents
you really can,t logically dispute pure physics, the larger and heavier and faster a projectile is the more tissue it will displace the the more resistance it will over come, and the deeper it will in theory penetrate, before it expends all its energy.
but at some point additional mass, energy, ext-era , becomes rather over kill in that once a projectile can easily pass completely through its intended target from any reasonably expected angle and range additional mass, power/velocity adds very little to a cartridges effectiveness, in fact it may and probably will increase the recoil, reduce the handguns shot capacity, and mandate an increase in weight and size making its concealment and ease of transport more difficult.
traditionally bullet energy was a commonly used way to compare various cartridges, but over time it became rather obvious from pragmatic experience that the larger calibers with heavier projectiles had shown some advantages, keep in mind, statistically the vast majority of defensive uses of a handgun will be at well under 20 yards , shot placement on average SUCKS as under stress most peoples accuracy suffered, and you,ll rarely read about an opponent being hit , in any vital area,more than once or twice , before he either retreats or is severely wounded.
precise shot placement and a good knowledge of anatomy helps stop an opponent, you don,t need much power if the shots precisely placed , the military has done extensive studies and 70 ft lbs, and a projectile weight over 50 grains, in the exact precise place, on human anatomy, is fatal, but it takes a good deal more impact energy on any opponent, if your just randomly punching holes.
bullet velocity at impact x bullet velocity at impact, x bullet weight in grains /450240 = impact energy in ft lbs
bullet velocity at impact, x bullet weight in grains x bullet diam in hundredths of an inch /1000= random, but related number to compare impact energy and penetration resistance, so you can approximate
, the difference in how much potential damage the target will absorb.
the idea hear is that both mass of the projectile and its frontal area have a noticeable effect on how effectively a projectiles energy is transmitted to the target as it punches through and that larger diameter projectiles tend to contact and push through a greater contact surface area, while most hunting and defensive projectiles do expand on impact the amount of expansion is not consistent, but the larger and heavier the projectile the more energy it caries at any given velocity level.
thus velocity, mass and projectile diameter all effect the results, this is hardly a new concept , but comparing energy alone and discounting the projectiles mass and diameter gives most un-experienced people a very un-realistic way to compare two different calibers.
this will be semi useful in comparing potential defensive pistol performance
but I must again point out only precise hits to vital organs tend to get rapid results
example
a 223 from an ar-15 pushes a 55 grain bullet to roughly 3100 fps
the formula to calculate bullet energy is .
projectile mass in grains x velocity x velocity /450240=energy in ft lbs
so an AR- 15 with a 55 grain bullet at 3100 fps= 1174 ft lbs
a 44 mag revolver with a hard cast 300 grain bullet pushed to 1350 fps=1214 ft lbs
energy may be very similar but the results on game it will be noticeably different.
both may be 100% lethal if critical organs are hit but your much more likey to see a very noticeable reaction to the larger diameter and heavier slugs impact from the field results I,ve seen on deer and hogs when something like a pass through, and exit lung shot is made , that may take 10-20 seconds to prove its done mortal damage, and trust me when I state that a deer or hog hit like that can travel an amazing distance at a full run before going nose first into the dirt.
getting that instant reaction lets you have both an instant indication youve made a good hit and usually a much better blood trail left as the larger projectile exits
most of us will thankfully never be forced into shooting some criminal bent on killing us or our family but we may get to do some deer hunting which gives you some idea as to a hand guns effective use.
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ns-power-accuracy-effective-range-cost.13280/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...n-a-defensive-handgun-would-be-and-why.11908/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...vs-concealment-in-a-defensive-hand-gun.14231/
lets take a couple examples, and calculate both results
yes the results are not scientifically conclusive simply because shot placement, the physical and mental state of an antagonist, and differences in anatomy, and bullet design, being used, has a much greater result , on the potential damage,than the calculated figures alone would indicate, but theres no debate that if a properly designed bullet is used ,in your defensive hand gun, and precisely placed into the vitals , of some opponent, that more bullet mass and more energy tend to result in more impact damage potential.
the problem is that once youve punched through an opponent you may be wasting a great deal of that delivered energy on things beyond the intended target.
notice how bullet mass and diameter has a noticeable effect,
and energy and velocity alone are not the critical factor's
evidence
from decades of autopsy results , tends to support the 9mm, as about the lower limit to dependable defensive pistol caliber choice
so experience gained over decades shows that scores of 50-100 are generally preferred
if you care to calculate your particular piston using this admittedly non-scientific system
and anything much over a 100 score as excessive and really un-needed
you should see the correlation of the "A" score box on the lower target and the location of vital organs
a 380 acp pistol has a 90 grain .355 bullet at roughly 1000 fps= 200 ft lbs at the muzzle and a random score of 32
a 9mm pistol has a 123 grain .355 bullet at roughly 1200 fps= 393 ft lbs at the muzzle and a random score of 52
40 s&w
pistol has a 180 grain. .401 diam bullet at roughly 1050 fps=440 ft lbs
random score of 76
a 357 mag pistol has a 158 grain. .357 diam bullet at roughly 1450 fps=735 ft lbs
random score of 82
a 10 mm
pistol has a 165 grain. .401 diam bullet at roughly 1300 fps=620 ft lbs
random score of 86
a 45 acp
pistol has a 230 grain. .451 diam bullet at roughly 900 fps=413 ft lbs
random score of 93
a 41 mag
pistol has a 210 grain. .410 diam bullet at roughly 1480 fps=1021 ft lbs
random score of 127
44 mag pistol has a 240 grain. .429 diam bullet at roughly 1470 fps=1151 ft lbs
random score of 151
44mag pistol with a 300 grain hard cast bullet at 1350 fps= 1214 ft lbs
random score of 173
a 480 ruger
pistol has a 370 grain. .480 diam bullet at roughly 1420 fps=1657 ft lbs
random score of 252
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