Quote:
Originally posted by kel
I didn't quote speed, I quoted force, if a bullet doesn't exit it means all the force is absorbed by the body during the impact. So a well designed cartridge is one which transfers the largest amount of energy in the most destructive manner. .357 sig has more potential energy then 9MM or .45 ACP according to Federal's tables. (A very very hot load of 9MM could have more potential energy, but it would penetrate and exit and the energy wouldn't be absorbed)
Force is a factor of mass/velocity.
I didn't suggest a round to be king of the hill.
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You mean energy, not force. Pure energy isn't the only measure of 'stopping power' and neither is bore diameter or bullet weight.
Stopping power depends on a couple of factors: Energy transfer to the target, depth of penetration, size of the wound channel (permanent and temporary?), and also, transfer of momentum from the bullet to the bad guy.
Ideally, you want your round to punch the biggest possible hole in someone with the most energy transfer while just barely not over penetrating.
Again, energy transfer is not everything. If it were, number 9 birdshot would be a truly effective self defense round. Since it typically has more than an ounce of shot moving well over 1200 fps. The problem is that it won't penetrate deep enough to reliably kill a bad guy quickly.
The over penetration issue is why ball ammunition is not as effective as modern hollow point ammo in medium to large caliber handguns. The ball ammunition will punch a small hole all the way through someone, and keep going, while the hollowpoint will use that extra energy to make a bigger hole.
I chose .40 s&w over .357 sig because I felt the larger bullet would be better suited to personal defense situations where I might have to shoot a regular, unarmored person. The advantage of.357 sig is that it is better able to punch a nice small hole though barriers such as windshields/car doors. The trade off is that the smaller round just can't expand as much as the .40. When you think about it, they both have close to the same 'oomph' since both cartridges start with a .40 case.