The knockdown power of handguns

[garandman]

2 In the chest 1 In the head that'll stop anything lol.

Drug bust in - drumroll - FL - guy took a 12 ga to the chest, turned around, ran upstairs into a bedroom before finally expiring. Time estimate was 12-15 seconds.

Then there was the fatty the MSP shot 9 times? Who walked into the ambulance under his own power.

 

[taz-2005]

Ask saint trayvon martin about handguns.

- - - Updated - - -



They were torso hits, not head and he got out of the house but crashed the car down the street.

I guess we were both correct.

Gun rights groups say Georgia home invasion proves their point - CNN.com
"Melinda Herman fired a six-shot revolver at the intruder, hitting him five times, in his torso and in his face. Surprisingly, he managed to flee."

 

[ivarr]

More likely a .38 (.380 or 9mm) due to the description.

I meant it as what I carry as to NOT have a problem like this if I'm ever confronted with a situation where I need to shoot someone.

 

[BillO]

You mean overestimate, right?

Just one of the reasons why being limited to 10 (or less) rounds in a handgun is just stupid. The guy was probably (didn't read the story from the link) shot with a 9mm.

- - - Updated - - -



Not always... Shot placement and rounds used count for a lot. Typically you aim for center of mass (or center of chest/heart area) for body shots. Head shots are usually 'lights out' shots, but still depends on other factors. There are people who have been shot in the head and survived. Some without any side effects from being shot.

YUP. Fixed it.

 

[Win]

The sig academy teaches to shoot as much gun as you can handle but to always carry at least one extra magazine and practice your magazine changes.

 

[gearjunky13]

There's the replacement for the M9. For the troops who can't handle the 500 they can have a 460.

I had a guy at the range tell my his 460 was louder with more kick then a 500, now i cant say i have ever compared the two but i was always under the impression the 500 could take a higher gr round with a hotter load then any other factory produced hand gun, so i have no idea if this guy is full of him self or what but i guess they both pack a hell of a punch

I know muzzle velocity and trajectory is very difrent with the two, but i alway figured with a 500 if you somehow miss the bad guy your aiming at he still will probably feel it

 

[gearjunky13]

You're lucky it weighs nearly 4lbs because only having 5 shots, you're gonna need something to beat the guy with after you run out of ammo.

Something tells me if you fail to stop the bad guy with a 500, he may actualy plead with you to beat him to death,

Well its the humane thing to do

 

[oilspill]

Some interesting reading for the stoppin powah folks:

An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power | Buckeye Firearms Association

 

[RHJJ]

WTF kind of bullets are they shooting? Bet not defense rounds. A man was killed up the street from me one shot to the head it was a .22 or .25.
It was a distance away.

 

[taz-2005]

Some interesting reading for the stoppin powah folks:

An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power | Buckeye Firearms Association

So with his research the best you can hope for is 21-34% fatality and 30-59% one shot stop with a handgun. This jumps up to 65-68% fatal and 58% one stop shot with rifles and shotguns.

This seems consistent to what Dr Andreas Grabinsky says in this video Skip first minute

 

[ivarr]

More 9mm is better than less 45.

i choose to take a pass on the 9mm

thank you anyway to those that advocate that course of action, it is just not to my taste.

 

[Golddiggie]

More 9mm is better than less 45.

How about the same round count per mag?? I can comfortably fit 15 rounds in each of my mags (Para P14-45)... Carry rig typically has two additional mags available too. From what I've seen, most 9's stop at [about] 15 in a mag too.

As always, it really does come back to good shot placement.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Most popular 9mm pistols have 17 round (or more) mags (Glock, M&P, Beretta 92, etc).

I prefer the lighter plastic guns and as many rounds as possible. 15+1 is good. More is always better. Even 18 rounds can go quick.

This.

Get some ridiculous +P+ 115gr hitting at about 530ft/lbs of kinetic energy, it makes the .40 look like a pussy round. Sorry to those 40 owners , just my experience.

 

[Davidk]

I think this comes from John Farnam:

What do people do after they are shot with a handgun? The same thing that they were doing before they were shot with a handgun.

 

[Carver patriot]

Please do not use a gangster thug or a police officer to prove the stopping power of any weapon, we all know that snoop ez e gangster boy never practiced shooting a gun in his life and lacks any trigger time and the same could be said about 90 percent of the police force in the US. I mean really unless its a dog the cop ain't gonna hit his or her target.

 

[TOM1960]

There was a story about a drugged out guy shot by police a gazillion times and he kept on coming.
People overestimate the "stopping power" of handguns; probably influenced by action movies.

Grand Concourse shooting in the Bronx back in the late 1970s. Perp was hit by 18 rounds from NYPD .38 revolvers. He managed to wound a couple of cops also with his own (stolen) .38. Emergency Services officer with 12 gauge Ithaca 37 finally stopped the fight and dropped the perp with a single 1 0z. slug through the chest. Perp was killed instantly.

 

[JRyan]

So, I need to strap a 9mm to my hip, a .45 to my other hip, and .500 in some kind of shoulder holster, then leave all that at home and bring something in .308.

 

[Golddiggie]

So, I need to strap a 9mm to my hip, a .45 to my other hip, and .500 in some kind of shoulder holster, then leave all that at home and bring something in .308.

300 Blackout pistol doesn't sound so outrageous now... Good luck trying to carry it concealed though.

 

[taz-2005]

So, I need to strap a 9mm to my hip, a .45 to my other hip, and .500 in some kind of shoulder holster, then leave all that at home and bring something in .308.

Don't forget the extra ammo!

 

[oilspill]

Please do not use a gangster thug or a police officer to prove the stopping power of any weapon, we all know that snoop ez e gangster boy never practiced shooting a gun in his life and lacks any trigger time and the same could be said about 90 percent of the police force in the US. I mean really unless its a dog the cop ain't gonna hit his or her target.

So you're saying the average gangster thug/police officer possesses the same level of marksmanship as the average NES member?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bill o]

So you're saying the average gangster thug/police officer possesses the same level of marksmanship as the average NES member?

I don't think that's an unreasonable assertion.

 

[DrNVP]

So you're saying the average gangster thug/police officer possesses the same level of marksmanship as the average NES member?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

have you been to an NES green member shoot?

 

[ptanks56]

2 In the chest 1 In the head that'll stop anything lol.

About 30 years ago as a Paramedic in Atlanta we picked a man behind The Gold Club, he had been shot once at close range and hit just to the right of his nose. We got to the scene and he was crawing around on all fours. Right eye exploded and bone frags hit his left eye, which he regained sight in. We were able to get him in the truck and my partner Jerry worked on him. I was driving that night and Jerry asked for a direct, but smooth ride to Grady Hospital. We had early comms in the modular and the victim was talking to Jerry about half way to Grady. Victim was very lucky. Had the bullet hit a few to several inches lower and he would have been DRT. We got to hang around Grady as they worked on the guy and MDs showed us both head xrays. Most of the hit went right between the two hemispheres of the brain and then as the bullet frags parted ways they lodged in the various areas of the brain, none near the brain stem. No permanent harm, victim graduated from college 5 years later. A few days after he stabilized and needed some rehab his father asked that the same crew move him as responded to the shooting. I was availible but Jerry was off, victims dad gave me a 600.00 tip to split with Jerry. We could take those back in the day, I tried to give it back but Dad started to make a scene so I took it and, yes Jerry got his half. So "head shot" even center punch is not an automatic, all done. The victim was taken out of the fight but only or mostly because he could not see and had no weapon.

 

[bill o]

About 30 years ago as a Paramedic in Atlanta we picked a man behind The Gold Club, he had been shot once at close range and hit just to the right of his nose.

Was he in Gaston's entourage?

 

[dukecola]

I know center mass gives a larger target and is prob a good location to aim for someone who does not practice. Me, when I practice, I mainly shoot for the head. I think I've gotten pretty good at head shots, in both accuracy and while moving, out of breath, etc. I can put an entire magazine of 9mm on that target. Am I wrong?

 

[ptanks56]

Was he in Gaston's entourage?

Most likely no, just having a party to celebrate something just about 18 maybe 19 years old.

 

[je25ff]

I don't want to be shot by anything. This whole knock down power stuff is just BS. It's like punching someone. If you punch them in the thigh vs. punching them in the temple. Same shit.

 

[BillO]

I don't want to be shot by anything. This whole knock down power stuff is just BS. It's like punching someone. If you punch them in the thigh vs. punching them in the temple. Same shit.

+1 for that. Your best weapons are still your mind for assessment and your feet for getting you the hell out of a bad situation. Having a gun, no matter WHAT caliber it is, only gives you a last ditch option.