Originally Posted By: rockinbbar
In my humble opinion, both the .45 ACP and the 9mm are NOT enough power for a gunfight.
The .45 is better, but still not as good as say a .41 or .44 magnum.
Barry
I agree. If I knew I was going to be in a gunfight, I would
bring my AR-15 in 6.8mm SPC. Hard to conceal that weapon.
So I am stuck with a 45 ACP. Mine holds 14 rounds, and I
practice tactical scenarios two to three times a month. Yes
from my experience, tunnel vision will happen, and one will
react like one trains...No training, odds are no effective
reaction.
And I use to carry a 41 mag, in AK, for bear...Not enough gun
either. Since leaving AK, and my 41 mag with a friend, I
felt naked. I recently purchased a 10mm Glock, and am working
SD loads up for it. I have a 1911 that puts 200 gr. XTP
bullets over my chronograph at 1100 FPS
So
far I have only been able to get this Glock barrel to launch
180 gr. XTP .40 bullets at 1200 FPS. I think I need a broach
cut barrel, with a bit more barrel to get to 1300-1400 fps,
but it brings 16 rounds to the fight. My rule of thumb is
always carry as much gun as you can...And it probably won't
be enough.
One of the points in the 9mm vs. 45 ACP discussion that
hasn't been made, is we can argue about stopping power, round
count, shot placement, tissue damage, etc. and it really is
fairly subjective. What is not subjective is the ability of a
bullet to break bones. An arm bone, puts one arm out of the
fight, a leg bone puts the assailant on the ground. There are
several studies out about which round is most likely to break
bones. There is one out of the Atlanta area, from a Coroners
office, that logs much empherical evidence that a 40 S&W
breaks more bones than a 9mm, and a 45 ACP breaks more bones
than a 40 S&W. There were some vivid wound descriptions of 9mm
hollow points, deflecting off leg bones, and a few cases of
where the bullets actually broke bones. For the 45 ACP wounds
most bone hits resulted in bone breaks, with very few
deflections. The physics say a faster lighter bullet will
be more likely to change direction than a slower heavier
bullet, and their case studies seem to prove that out.
It was an interesting read in that they had a lot more 9mm
wounds to study as the gang bangers provided many cases for
the study. For the 45 ACP wounds, most came from law
enforcement engagements. The conclusion was both cartridges
created similar wound channels, but if the wound channel
included a bone, the odds it would break were dramatically
increased if the bullet was from a 45 ACP. The only real
stopping power is when a leg bone, or a spine, or a brain
goes, POP. So even with good shot placement, a bigger bullet
increases the odds of an assailant on the ground.
Squeeze