An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power

[ace]

This article regarding 'handgun stopping power' makes an interesting reading: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7866

[sa_ali]

nice, thanks for sharing.
it just reiterates .22 isnt that bad

I like this part in the article

"The average number of rounds until incapacitation was also remarkably similar between calibers. All the common defensive calibers required around 2 rounds on average to incapacitate. Something else to look at here is the question of how fast can the rounds be fired out of each gun. The .38 SPL probably has the slowest rate of fire (long double action revolver trigger pulls and stout recoil in small revolvers) and the fewest rounds fired to get an incapacitation (1.87). Conversely the 9mm can probably be fired fastest of the common calibers and it had the most rounds fired to get an incapacitation (2.45). The .40 (2.36) and the .45 (2.08) split the difference. It is my personal belief that there really isn't much difference between each of these calibers. It is only the fact that some guns can be fired faster than others that causes the perceived difference in stopping power. If a person takes an average of 5 seconds to stop after being hit, the defender who shoots a lighter recoiling gun can get more hits in that time period. It could be that fewer rounds would have stopped the attacker (given enough time) but the ability to fire more quickly resulted in more hits being put onto the attacker. It may not have anything to do with the stopping power of the round."

[goodboy_mentor]

The data also reiterates that rifles and shotguns are comparatively better than handguns at producing results.

[xl_target]

The data also reiterates that rifles and shotguns are comparatively better than handguns at producing results.

Yup. A long gun is many times more effective than a handgun. If you look at the energy figures for rifles, they make handguns appear positively puny. Rifles/Shotguns are also easier to aim than handguns at slightly longer distances.

Regardless of what caliber or whether you are using a rifle or handgun, if you can't hit your target, it's pretty useless. Close only counts if you are using artillery.