THE STOPPING POWER OF DIFFERENT HANDGUN CARTRIDGES

2/22/2003

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

General Julian Hatcher, a noted forensic pathologist, in the early 1900’s developed a good formula to determine the theoretical stopping power of a firearm cartridge. His formula has withstood the test of time and validation from other studies and data related to stopping power.

You want a handgun cartridge that has a Hatcher value of over 50 for the most effective stopping power. Values over 55 have diminishing returns in that you don’t gain any significant increase in stopping power for the extra recoil and control you must cope with. Handgun cartridges that don’t make a value of at least 50, should not considered for self-defense. If the rating of your handgun cartridge is under 30, it only has about a 30% chance of producing a one shot stop. Hatcher Ratings of 30 to 49 raise a one shot stop to approximately a 50% chance. Ratings of 50 or higher produce a one shot stop about 90% of the time.

Handgun Cartridge Type ..................... Hatcher Rating

.45 ACP full metal jacket 230 grain .......... 49.1

.45 ACP jacketed hollow point 230 grain ...... 60.7

.44 Magnum full metal jacket 240 grain ....... 92.3

*.44 Magnum lead wad cutter 240 grain ......... 136.8

.44 Special full metal jacket 240 grain ...... 51.6

*.44 Special lead wad cutter 240 grain ............. 76.5

.41 Magnum full metal jacket 230 grain ............. 54

*.41 Magnum lead wad cutter 230 grain .............. 80

10 millimeter full metal jacket 180 grain .......... 50.3

10 millimeter jacketed hollow point 180 grain ..62.1

.40 S&W full metal jacket flat nose 180 grain ...... 53.4

.40 S&W jacketed hollow point 180 grain ....... 59.4

.38 Special full metal jacket 158 grain ...... 26.7

*.38 Special lead wad cutter 158 grain ............. 39.7

**.357 Magnum full metal jacket 158 grain ..... 32.7

**.357 Magnum lead wad cutter 158 grain ............ 48.5

.357 SIG full metal jacket 147 grain ................ 36.6

.357 SIG jacketed hollow point 147 grain ..... 45.2

9 millimeter full metal jacket 147 grain ............ 32.3

9 millimeter jacketed hollow point 147 grain ... 39.9

.380 Auto jacketed hollow point 95 grain ..... 18.3

.32 Auto jacketed hollow point 71 grain ...... 11.1

.25 Auto jacketed hollow point 50 grain ...... 3.7

.22 Long Rifle jacketed hollow point 40 grain ... 4.2

* Jacketed hollow points will have the same rating as wad cutter bullets if the bullet hollow tip is greater than 1/2 of the caliber of the bullet.

* .357 Magnum ratings are taken from a firearm with a 3 inch barrel. Longer barrels will raise the rating of the round.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

Any functional handgun is better than no handgun at all. But I hear some people talk about how good the 9 millimeter, .380 Auto, or .38 Special rounds are. If you have the choice of a better handgun for self protection, buy it. Be sure you have the heaviest grain bullet you can get. Make sure it is a functional hollow point in your handgun.

Also be sure to buy a quality handgun that will not jam on you in a situation where you need it.

I also cannot emphasize strongly enough the need to train with your firearm of choice for self protection. Go to the shooting range at least once every two months and train with at least 50 rounds of ammunition. Dry fire practice twice a week to master trigger control. If you have not fired a firearm within six months you are probably incompetant with your weapon. A gun will not save you if you do not know how to use it.

In stressful situations we do not rise to the occasion, we fall to our level of training.

[ez]

Wow, I was thinking I wanted a revolver in .38 special, but after reading this, I think I'll see what's out there in .40 S&W.

[Hootowl]

This is why you double-tap...always!

[NonValueAdded]

Watched an old movie yesterday, Assassination, with Charles Bronson starring as a Secret Service agent. He pulled out his ankle-holstered backup piece which was an over/under pistol with about a 4 inch barrel. He said it fired a .410 shotgun shell. That sure sounded like stopping power to me. I was instantly intrigued.

What would be the Hatcher Rating of that piece? Anyone know where can I find one ... or would it be classified as a sawed-off shotgun these days?

[Centurion2000]

So where does a 454 with a 300 grain hollow point at 1600 fps rate ?

[Travis McGee]

Get a five shot .44 special revolver, you won't be sorry! Plenty of power, little recoil.

[Travis McGee]

What about the new S&W .50 caliber revolver?

[Polycarp]

Thanks. This was a very timely post for me. I've spent 6 hours today online researching various pistols. I want to upgrade from my current cheap DAO 9mm to either a .40 or .45.

I'm almost sold on either the Steyr M40 or a compact Para Ordnance LDA.

I'm leaning towards the Para, because I want to use either Crimson Trace or LaserMax lasersights, and I like the concept of Para's LDA DAO mechanism. Its available in both .40 as well as .45. This added "Cocked And Locked With The Hammer Down" LDA safety measure may not be necessary but it would make me feel more secure.

Any advice?

[BenLurkin]

Some folks like the Glock Model 23:

[Ches]

BANG!

[kAcknor]

kAcknor Sez:

Interesting information. I would have guessed the .357 a bit higher. Sure is satisfying to punch holes in paper, cans, bottles other dangerous items with it.  ;)

One has to be careful in a list like this. It may be golden in it's data and worth (I'm not saying it isn't). But lets not forget the need to keep shots in the immediate area and NOT choose a round that might injure neighbors of others by being too powerful and passing through the target, then a wall.

I still feel good about the .38sp 158gr SJHPs I have loaded for house use. Besides, there's always the 12 gauge.

"bImejDI' reH betleHlIj yItlhap" (Never leave home without your bat'telh.)

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[BenLurkin]

Charter Arms .44 Special "Bulldog":

[joesnuffy]

A hit of 38+p is better than a miss of 44 mag
If you cannot handle the recoil it doesnt matter how much of a power rating your choice has..
Center of mass and keep on pulling till empty

[ez]

Me Likee. Charter Arms, too. Probably quite reasonable.

[kAcknor]

Center of mass and keep on pulling till empty.

kAcknor Sez:

Can't argue with that...

"bImejDI' reH betleHlIj yItlhap" (Never leave home without your bat'telh.)

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[SBprone]

If you're talking about duty and concealed-carry weapons, handgun stopping power is an oxymoron. They are about 1/10 as good as a rifle, but better than a handful of pebbles.

[resistance]

I prefer my old winchester model 12, full choke, with 00 buck shot. My guess is at 10 yards the bad guy would have a hole the size of salad plate all the way through him. At 40 yards it would be like getting shot about 12 times at once with a 22.

[Servant of the Nine]

General Julian Hatcher, a noted forensic pathologist,

No, General Hatcher was an Army Ordnance Officer.
He was not in any way a medical man.
His material is over 50 years out of date.
The modern expanding bullet is not factored into his material at all.

Try "Handgun Stopping Power" or "Street Stoppers" by Evan P. Marshall and Edwin J. Sanow. Their data is up to date and based on actual shootings, not theory.

They have tabulated every shooting they could find by caliber and ammo brand and rate the % of one shot stops with a body hit.

You can look up your gun and ammo brand and see the actual percentage of times one body shot stopped the other person.

So9

[MarkL]

Well, I'm big enough to conceal a S&W N Frame revolver or a 1911 under a jacket, but I'm afraid that I'm just not quite big enough to conceal either my Benelli Defender 12ga or my M-14.

While both do offer superior stopping power, I'll take my Power Custom tuned S&W 625-5, or 1911, both in .45ACP for concealed carry, assuming that I ever get the option in MO!

Mark