.45 or 9mm? Vote!

[copwannabe310]

Which would you prefer?

[Caprice66]

This may have been a given to most, but I heard this myself only a few days ago, that 9mm's well not stop on impact, (lets say we are using a human being as the point of impact) and a .45 will stop on impact because of the bullet type... Of course with in reason of what it is impacting.

Is this true???

If so the 45 must be a popular pick based on the fact that there is not as much worry of what the bullet might hit next, coming out of its first target. Opinions on this would be most appreciated.

[copwannabe310]

most bullets don't stop on impact. do you mean bullets that stay in the body or go right through? because sub sonic rounds like .45 usually stay in body (possibly causing infection or collateral damage) where as high velocity rounds like .223 or .22 go right through.

[txinvestigator2]

Shot placement and penetration is more important than caliber.

That said, as a buddy notes, a 9mm may expand, but a .45 never shrinks.

[copwannabe310]

dude. blood poisoning. germs are everywhere. nothing is sterile cept for labs and those things. i garuntee you that bullets will have germs on them, and even if they dont, if you get shot, germs can enter the wound, therefore entering the bloodstream. its possible. used to happen a lot in 1800s and early 1900s

[Watchman]

We had a suicide by cop in which a guy popped a 12 gauge round at a cop driving by...intentionly missing.This happened at a PDQ.

After everybody in town arrived and several shots were exchanged, a 9mm STHP hit the guy in the arm and went into his chest, stopping on the other side of his heart. It killed him right there.That puny 9mm seemed to work well.

He had left a suicide note on the table in the PDQ. Broke up with his girlfriend and wanted her to remember him.Im sure she does...

With the advances in bullet technology, the differences in calibers arent near as apparent as it used to be.We've come along way in the last 20 years.

Also in medical practices. Infection is almost unheard of these days due to the exellent medical standards and medicine. If you live, chances are great that the bullet will be taken out immediatley.

With that being said,our dept. issues .45's.

[TPO]

i feel equally prepared with a 16 shot beretta 92 as i do an 8 shot 1911. i can shoot them well and as long as i have one of the two, caliber is irrelevant.

[chinchilla]

Was it the FBI that had a problem with the Silver Tip 9s in Florida? I think it was a heart hit, but it took the guy 15 minutes or so to bleed out. Maybe Im remembering it wrong.

Something odd: Ive heard some departments that issue/allow .45s are going back to the ball ammo as for some reason in this caliber it performs more consistently than the JHPs which dont seem to want to expand.

[sawyerrt10]

Would prefer .45

However, carry 9mm ball (Standard Mil-Spec Ball)

Personal carry .40 (Hydrashocks)

[KenW.]

Speaking of newer technology in bullets, it seems unfair to compare a new 9mm round to a 45 of years ago. Even the playing field. Ball ammo vs ball ammo, got dot vs. gold dot, etc. The larger the hole the faster life-energy will leak out. I've always felt that a lot of the effectivity of a hit should result from how effectivley the energy transfers from the projectile to the target. Hence; expanding bullets. I'm no physisist, but it seems a larger, heavier bullet would mean more mass. Liken it to getting blocked on a football field; is the defensive lineman a big guy or small guy?

Whether it expands or not it's important that the bullet it stops inside your target.

[ALC55]

It seems that both are an effective round. For me, I carry .45 on duty.

If it's a fight for my life, then my thought is that I want to make the biggest hole that I can when it hits. However, (thankfully, I haven't been in one and I pray that for each of us we will never have to), when you actually have live fire coming from some person who is ready to kill you, it seems to me that gross motor skills will most likely prevail. So to reconcile that situation in my mind, I feel more confident carrying the bigger round to compensate for less acurate shot placement when it's life or death.

It's like I said in another post though, I think it is different for each person based on skill, training, experience, etc.

Most importantly, whichever round you use, stay safe, and use your handgun as cover to get to your rifle!

[txinvestigator2]

Originally posted by chinchilla
Was it the FBI that had a problem with the Silver Tip 9s in Florida? I think it was a heart hit, but it took the guy 15 minutes or so to bleed out. Maybe Im remembering it wrong.

Something odd: Ive heard some departments that issue/allow .45s are going back to the ball ammo as for some reason in this caliber it performs more consistently than the JHPs which dont seem to want to expand.

In Miami. The BG did not take a heart hit, but I believe it was an aorta. I know it was a major artery.

Fascinating reading on the subject here

http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs7.htm

a quote "At autopsy, Platt

[1sgkelly]

.45

9MM may expand, .45 will not shrink

[Delta_V]

9MM may expand, .45 will not shrink

So? Personally, I don't see what the big deal with expansion is. The most important thing with any round is that it penetrats deep enough into the body to destroy cardiovascular structures. Expansion is pretty much a luxury. Plus, no matter the caliber, rounds just can't be counted on to expand once in the body. There are way too many variables. Also, there are rounds out there that expand so much (mainly low weight, high velocity rounds) that they don't penetrate as deep as they have to. Either that or they fragment, again not achieving adequate penetration.

Plus, just do the math. A 9mm round is .355" in diameter. How much difference is less than 1/10 of an inch going to make?

[1sgkelly]

Pat .45 rules, thats it.