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.

[ConservativeLawyer]

One more suggestion. Join IDPA and shoot some of the competition "games" that promote skills and practice while having some serious fun. It's the best practice a civilian can get IMHO.

I just checked out their website. There are two affiliated clubs not that far from me. Looks like a good time and you can come away with some knowledge and skills. Thanks.

You guys are the best, but if you ever tell anyone I said that, I will deny it.

[Travis McGee]

You'll like it. Very nice purse gun as well, where the slightly fatter cylinder does not matter.

[Squantos]

LOL......I understand .........:o)

Stay Safe !

[BenR2]

Glock 23

/ / / /
I'll bump to that!

[USMC_tangocharlie]

that is just FReeping awesome...

THANKS!

TC

[glock rocks]

even better than the training and fun you'll have with idpa is the network of like minded folks you'll meet.

one of the local chapters i've shot with usually has the trainers from two different county sheriff depts, a gun law author/attorney, several deputies from the various counties, former marine gunnys, idpa champs from ours and visiting neighboring states, nra champs, etc. you can't help but learn some useful stuff, and also get some further leads on training... this has been the real benefit for me.

a group of my friends and i make our own scenarios and have built target stands, etc. ... timers, the whole ball of wax, just to practice on our own. it's a class A hoot!

[Euro-American Scum]

Any advice?

Get the Para. You won't be sorry. I've got a P-12 LDA and it's simply an outstanding weapon.

[spunkets]

" a 1 kt nude"

I'll sleep well tonight. Thanks for not posting a pic.

[Squantos]

Did ya try the drop stop targets with the balloon in the head part of a box holding up the target box ? Hit the head in a failure drill and the balloon breaks and the target drops to the ground......

Stay Safe !

[Euro-American Scum]

Hey GR --

Have you ever shot the Springfield Armory XD pistols? I'm seriously considering one or more after all this Glock frame rail/ballistic fingerprinting nonsense.

Of course, if they ever come out with an XD45, I'll be first in line, gun licensing or no gun licensing. -:)

[glock rocks]

that sounds great!

we have some very imaginative folks (who seem to have way too much time on their hands LOL)... one of the guys built a um, i guess you'd call it a wooden railroad track, that curved out from behind a portable wall... right up to your toes... anyhow, once you double tapped the first two targets on your left, the range officer released the last target... and this whole target stand with silohuette would roll down the ramp behind the wall, and curve around the corner and charge you. you had about 1.5 seconds to get two to the center before it ran over your toes (if you weren't paying attention).

i have never laughed so hard in my life watching people do this cof.

these folks were in total panic, and nonetheless, were putting some perfect holes in the target. amazing.

[RobFromGa]

Thanks for this post, it is timely for me.

I have been practicing at the range with a Glock 22 (0.40) and a Glock 21 (0.45). Both are comfortable and I can shoot fairly accurately with my limited practice (several hundred rounds each). I have also shot revolvers and some other handguns and don't like them as much as these Glocks.

I have been leaning towards the 21 because it is bigger, I am a big guy. What do you Freepers think?

I would also like to buy a shotgun and/or rifle for family defense. Any suggestions? I have kids in the 7-10 year old range at my house. Thanks? Any suggestions for safe storage? (I don't consider myself in imminent danger).

[Atchafalaya]

45

[glock rocks]

hi my friend. no, i haven't even seen the xd in person yet. it does look promising.

i'm thinking this thread is a keeper. lotsa info to digest here... it's a task to read some and post some and so on :-) so i'm going to bookmark it and read it while the little ones are in ccd tomorrow morning.

[RobFromGa]

any ideas on my post #92. You sound knowledgable.

[Polycarp]

I'm pretty much sold on the CrimsonTrace laser sights. I'm not sure if they make them yet for the smallest Para's. I'm looking at the 12.45 LDA, 14.40 LDA, and PARA CARRY C6.45 LDA.

I've ruled out the Steyr m40.

I'm also considering the SigSauer P229 in .40 S&W. But I don't think its near as small as the Para Carry.

Its going to come down to which models I can get the Crimson Trace for, then size/concealability, then brand/price. I'd prefer the Para, not sure I can afford it.

[Squantos]

Trajectory x Mass - Time + Fear is quelled by Pucker Ffactor with proper training every time ......:o)

You ever play the chain game ? ya take a line and suspend it across the range. Hang about 7 bowling pins from individual lines suspended from the original "clothesline" across the range. Everyone gets their basic load (this was a game I played in DOD & LEO world) of say three magazines. Best when all involved have same load capacity or else mandate a 7 round limit in HiCap magazines.

Now each shooter gets to draw and try and hit each pin (that is stationary till ya hit the first one and then they are all moving.).....:o)

If the shooter hits all 7 pins, they stop and their time is taken down. They safe and holster their sidearm, "DO NOT" allow em to top off their mags and the next shooter does the same drill/COF. The most hits or last shooter with ammo left is declared the winner. In the case of a tie the time is the factor.

Good stress breaker for range day.......Stay Safe !

[The KG9 Kid]

That new KelTec IS another Mini-14 with AR-7 accuracy, only it's even worse because it's another leech on the dwindling supply of AR-15 mags. Does the folding rifle concept really have a genuine market following anyway?

If there was a gunmaker out there who wanted to make something useful in .223, why not an HBAR Mini-14 that uses 10-round En-Bloc (Garand-style) clips and can actually shoot straight?

I'd buy one like that even if it looked like the rifles from 'Planet Of The Apes'.

[Squantos]

A good shotgun out of the box for home defense is the Remington 870 Marine Magnum 12 gauge IMO. Simple,durable finish, easy to use , high capacity for a scattergun and fairly inexpensive. A little accessory called a side saddle ammo carrier makes it a fairly simple rig to keep handy with a few extra rounds.

There are better,more complex, worse, cheaper and more expensive out there but this was my choice for the 12 gauge that doesn't reside in the gun safe.......:o)

Stay Safe !!

[RobFromGa]

Thanks. Do you have a handgun as well? What do you recommend?