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- From: ems@michael.apple.com (E. Michael Smith)
- Newsgroups: rec.guns
- Subject: Re: Best stopping power in handguns?
- Message-ID: <1993Jan23.075245.15729@michael.apple.com>
- Date: 23 Jan 93 15:59:44 GMT
- Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu
- Organization: Circle 'C' Shellfish Ranch, Shores-of-the-Pacific, California
- Lines: 34
- Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu
-
- In article <1993Jan22.141008.10672@samba.oit.unc.edu> Harry.Johnson@lambada.oit.unc.edu (Harry Johnson) writes:
-
- #My question is: what is the relationship between energy and stopping
- #power? Due to its larger size, does the .45 gain over these higher energy
- #rounds in stopping power, or are the smaller rounds actually better? I
- #expect there to be additional factors to consider besides sheer energy in
- #figuring out how good a slug is at taking down an attacker, but at what
- #point can you say, "Well, that's pretty big, but this one's just so much
- #(faster/more energetic) that this one is superior?"
-
- Some folks hold that MV**2 is everything. Others hold that MV is king.
-
- Some folks think how far into ballistic geletin a bullet goes is what
- counts. Others ask how big the hole is in diameter as well. Some
- go on to ask about the 'wound channel' around the hole.
-
- The 'real answer' seems to be that MV**2 needs to be between 250 and 600
- for best effect and that a bullet diameter between .357 and .45 is good.
- Oh, and the bullet should be between 100 and 300 grains... Finding
- the best fit within these bounds keeps at least 3 magazines in business
- and sells (my guess) about 1/4 of all handguns sold ;-)
-
- #Or have I asked some sort of age-old debate question that has no clear
- #answer? Any replies are welcome.
-
- Yes, you have.
- --
-
- E. Michael Smith ems@apple.COM
-
- 'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has
- genius, power and magic in it.' - Goethe
-
- I am not responsible nor is anyone else. Everything is disclaimed.
-