Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness

FBI Academy Firearms Training Unit ^ | July 14, 1989 | Urey W. Patrick

[TheThirdRuffian]

A study on the most effective and useful handgun ammunition for self-defense and law enforcement purposes.

[driftdiver]

“The critical element is penetration”

I’m guessing he carries a 9mm.

[Jim Noble]

“The critical element is penetration”

The critical element is hits.

[rednek]

“The critical element is penetration”
“The critical element is hits.”

The critical element is placment. If you don’t hit something vital, it isn’t going down regardless of penetration or the number of hits....red

[driftdiver]

Just quoting from the FBI thingy that was attached.

[keat]

“The critical element is penetration”
“The critical element is hits.”
"The critical element is placement."

The critical element is being armed.

[relee]

The critical element is the gun that you have with you. A .32 in your pocket is better than the 12 gauge you left in the garage.

And shot placement.

And penetration.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Coming away from it, I pretty much determined he’d carry a Remington 870 shotgun, if he could, as pistols are pretty well useless for immediatley stopping a threat (which is the goal).

One fact that was interesting to me was “knock down” being a fallacy — the energy from a 9mm and .45 being effectively the same — about as hard as a lobbed baseball.

The key in stopping was permanent wounds, which favored the larger weapons -— but any of them with a heart shot -— the person had 15 seconds or so of life to ruin your day.

In short, unless you got a head or upper spinal cord shot, keep shooting.

[KoRn]

Don’t try to overwhelm us with information or anything....

[TheThirdRuffian]

“If you don’t hit something vital, it isn’t going down regardless of penetration or the number of hits.”

More importantly, a criminal is going down for 15 seconds even if you hit the guy square in the heart with a .45.

A lot of bad things can happen in 15 seconds.

[TheThirdRuffian]

I just kind of stumbled across the document.

Found it fascinating.

Been told “pistols only make you bleed” by any number of gun enthusiants, but I’d never really read a study on it.

[50cal Smokepole]

Goddard amply proves the fallacy of "knock-down power" by calculating the heights (and resultant velocities) from which a one pound weight and a ten pound weight must be dropped to equal the momentum of 9mm and .45ACP projectiles at muzzle velocities, respectively. The results are revealing. In order to equal the impact of a 9mm bullet at its muzzle velocity, a one pound weight must be dropped from a height of 5.96 feet, achieving a velocity of 19.6 fps. To equal the impact of a .45ACP bullet, the one pound weight needs a velocity of 27.1 fps and must be dropped from a height of 11.4 feet. A ten pound weight equals the impact of a 9mm bullet when dropped from a height of 0.72 inches (velocity attained is 1.96 fps), and equals the impact of a .45 when dropped from 1.37 inches (achieving a velocity of 2.71 fps).

Although I carry a 9, I have a hard time believing that it beats a 45 with good ammo.

[TheThirdRuffian]

The .45 makes a bigger permanent hole and has better penetration, both of which are important.

[wizr]

Well, the Swamp People are stoppin’ angry gators with .22 mags.....

[driftdiver]

Stop or interrupt neural activity or cause sufficient blood loss to cause loss of consciousness.

[oneolcop]

Good find. But it’s very outdated. Ammo technology has progressed much since 1989. Check out the “Box O’ Truth” website for some valuable information.

[Yo-Yo]

In short, unless you got a head or upper spinal cord shot, keep shooting.

Which is why cops end up emptying their Glocks in a shooting, and you get these crazy round counts. 17 rounds times five officers equals 85 shots fired.

[Nachoman]

Well, the Swamp People are stoppin’ angry gators with .22 mags.....

Shooting the same round through a rifle instead of a pistol makes a world of difference.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

If you get a hit, a .357 seems to me to be the best way to go.

[Yo-Yo]

Goddard amply proves the fallacy of "knock-down power" by calculating the heights (and resultant velocities) from which a one pound weight and a ten pound weight must be dropped to equal the momentum of 9mm and .45ACP projectiles at muzzle velocities, respectively.

Also demonstrated as a fallacy by the Mythbusters in the episode Blown Away.