Muzzle Energy Comparison

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I took the info at ballisticsbytheinch.com and condensed it into a pure muzzle energy comparison (forget terminal ballistics for now). Data is average by caliber except in the case of 9mm which is divided into 9mm and 9mm +P).

Below is my analysis.

1. Note .357 MAG curve is much different than the others. Anyone know why? Different Powder ?(slower burning, shouldn’t 45 acp exhibit a similar curve?) These were not shot from a revolver so the cylinder gap theory is no good.
2. .357 SIG and 10mm curves on top of each other.
3. 45 ACP, 40 SW and 9mm +P curves all on top of each other.
4. Apparently .357 mag and 9mm at 2” are exactly the same . . . I was kind of surprised by that.
5. 380 ACP is sad and alone at the bottom.
6. .357 SIG is not 9mm +P.
.357 SIG @ 3.5” barrel = 9mm @ 6” barrel. SUCK IT, NAYSAYERS!
7. Things really start flattening out between 11-15 in of barrel length. I want an SBR .357 sig carbine right now!!!!!!

So this is just a comparison of muzzle energies. It’s very difficult to translate that comparison into terminal ballistics since terminal ballistics relies heavily on shape of bullet and expansion and all that crap.

These 2 things, muzzle energy and terminal ballistics should be addressed separately when choosing SD ammo. I.E. I’m not shooting ball ammo with very high muzzle energy for SD. Nor would I choose a JHP with low muzzle energy. There is a balance back and forth here that gets super expensive to test/verify.

Conclusion:
1. .357 sig is not 9mm +P.
Stop saying that.
2. Apparently .357 sig = 10mm
3. 45 ACP vs 40 SW vs 9mm +P caliber wars is a waste of time. Just choose one if you’re too wussy to choose 10mm or .357 sig.

357sigrules.png
 
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my guess is that 357 magnum is sort of a hybrid round that shot from long guns a lot more often than any other pistol rounds.
as the result loads are tailored to improve muzzle energy on longer barrels while reducing level of recoil on handguns.
45acp these days is almost exclusively pistol round, not many large volume production guns from mainstream manufacturers are made for it. therefore there is virtually no advantage to gain from loading it with long barrels in mind.

another thing to consider is SAAMI specs. 357 was always envisioned as revolver/lever gun round
while .45acp was designed strictly as handgun round.
yes, they used it for SMGs during WW2 but it was never design to perform that function.
 
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Could you do the same with velocity?

So . . . technically velocity is already in there with the energy.

KE = 0.5 * Mass * Velocity^2

Looking at the velocity alone without considering the mass is misleading since energy is a function of the velocity^2. In other wordsif one bullet travels only 100ft/sec faster than another you might think "that's not very much" but if you take the velocity number and multiply it by itself the difference becomes much greater.

Talking about velocity alone is not really worth a lot without talking about bullet weight so the best way is really to talk about the amount of muzzle energy which levels the playing field between calibers.

It's also a lot of work to do that since I would have to divide things out by weight also.

so . . . a simple "no" would have sufficed? :p
 
No idea but don't kid yourself the subject has been debated to death. The 357 sig is a great caliber, don't get me wrong. But it ain't 10mm. And if you reload, there are soo many options available for 10mm.
 
I could be wrong here but 10 mm is a lot bigger cartridge than the 45 IIRC.

Also, why does the 10mm bullet look so big in comparison to the 45 acp?
It should be smaller. Something's fishy about that chart.



Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk Pro - typos are from the GD auto correct unless they are funny substitutions those I'll take credit for.
 
While this chart is good info, having the .357 mag just confuses the whole point. Why not have .44 mag or 50AE? (seeing as Desert Eagle can be had in all 3). Don't get me wrong, I carry .357 mag (seldom, but when I carry a revolver) but this is chart is more about auto pistols, not revolvers.

I found different numbers for .357 mag/ 10mm.
Average velocity 1261/ 1232
Muzzle Energy (ft-lbs) 537/ 573
Bullet Weight (gr.) 151/ 172
Data Points 274 / 72

Calculated on an average employed bullet weight, muzzle velocity
and energy for the specified cartridges, using all available load data
(data points). Results are displayed for comparison purposes in
summary and graph form.
 
It's a really subjective chart. There are so many different loads today that it's all over the place. There are plenty of good +P 9mm's that make the .40S&W look like a weak cartridge. The .45 seems a bit over exaggerated here too, that coming from someone who carries a .45 as my EDC. Learn to shoot what you carry and run countless rounds through her.
 
This chart is based on data from bbti.com.
Its a concise way to show whats out there and readily recorded.

If you delve into the data you'll see a lot of it is corbon and buffalo bore.

I chose these calibers because they are the most commonly used in semi-auto pistols.
 
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10mm bullet is exactly the same as 40sw bullet including weight.

45 acp while a slightly larger diameter (~.050") is 50 gr heavier.
The 10mm bullet should still look dsmaller than the 45.


I could be wrong here but 10 mm is a lot bigger cartridge than the 45 IIRC.





Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk Pro - typos are from the GD auto correct unless they are funny substitutions those I'll take credit for.
 
So I guess if you agree with this analysis you just use any ammunition from anywhere? How about an analysis comparing top loads that many of us would carry AND can get? As an example, I carry Rem 185 +P in 45. Were I an fpe guy, I'd certainly pick that over any commonly available 9MM.
 
Does anyone know what "ballistics by the inch" website is?
This is not my data.
If you want all the other data put it together yourself and make sense of it

This is where math is good for something, jeez

Also read the original post, at least.
 
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