Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Who prefers the .45ACP and why?

With all the BS about all cartridges are the same.
It makes you wonder if the big shots at the FBI have ever taken a Physics class?
whelennut

yeah well.
a couple of years ago i tripped across at a lgs about ten unopened boxes of those flying ashtray's. I am still giggling. Oh, i have them in a sig and a couple other machines right now. I was born in the last century, work's for me.

I am not a hater, but the words used were "trauma doctors cannot tell the difference in gunshot wounds between 45,40,9.

There is however another question that has not been asked nor answered...can coroners tell the difference?

Or could the perp feel the difference, of course he would have to be a repeat receiver.

I think the theory of whether or not the human animal can tell the difference, should be easily tested on captured ISIS members. Let's get a bunch of .45acp ammo to the Kurds and have them do the testing and report back.

We do not shoot prisoners. But it would seem a mistake to take any.

For every 1 of us they kill, kill 10 of them. Soon no more beheadings.

Amen brother!

According to my Statistics class you would need a sample of 100 people getting shot with each cartridge in order to have a valid sample. Less than that would not be meaningful.
Where can we find a few volunteers?
whelennut

Charlotte

Here is a very clear and well-reasoned answer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55_mFAOvRA

A friend of mine used to be a DEA agent, and he apparently got into a LOT of gunfights. He always wore a vest, and got hit on several occasions (he also apparently never learned to duck or hide). He said that they ALL hurt, but some hurt a LOT worse than others. He really didn't like getting hit with the .357 and .45ACP.

I have no reason to doubt him, he's got the scars to prove his lack of ducking abilities, but he carried a .45 whenever he could, and still does. He's lived to laugh and joke about it, but wishes he'd learned to duck.

You'd need 100 people shot in the same exact spot to be statistically meaningful.

That's what makes terminal ballistics such a challenge, there is a vast array of where people can be hit between instantly incapacitating shots to those that are not life threatening and fringe hits in between that you simply can't accurately correlate the effectiveness of various rounds. I'm pretty sure you put a bullet between C1 and C7 and severe the spinal cord and it doesn't matter if you used a 22 or a 500. Put a shot somewhere in the abdomen and you're playing bad buy roulette.

There are times when I like having a 45, and times when I like having a 9, sometimes a 357 finds it's way along and most of all I like having the ability to choose what I carry.

I've never subscribed to the belief that if you pack a big bore all you have to do is hit them, neither do I believe if you have a 17 round magazine you'll eventually put one where it matters. You have to make your shots count no matter what you're shooting.

The Real Hawkeye,

Yes, I understand that vast majority will practice with cheap 115gr fmj ammo. Then use the premium 124+p, etc for self defense. But then don't you run into the same criticism when police practice with 38spec then use 357mag load for their duty loads (back when they carried revolvers)?

The difference in felt recoil between .357 Magnum and .38 Special (particularly if target wadcutters are used) is worlds greater than that between 9mm range ammo and standard pressure self defense ammo.

You bet, red bricks to golf balls, I can see it.

I have a problem with this statement.


How fast do you load your .357 "Target" wadcutters?

Hint: You load them to the same velocity as your .38 wadcutters.
It may take .2 to .4grs. more of the same powder to do that. That is just because of the increased case capacity.

Another hint: Between 750 and 850 fps max.

Semi wadcutters are a different story.

I was speaking of .38 Special target wadcutters. Back in the day, cops routinely shot these at the range, often provided for them. As suggested by the other poster, this was later frowned upon, and for good reason. The difference is extreme between felt recoil of these and .357 Magnum loads.

One should carry and practice with the same Ammo if not point of aim and point of impact may not match

Back in the day?

Years ago over six million S&W M&P and Model 10's were produced. These guns, being fixed sighted, were regulated for the 158gr SWCHP .38 Special. This is famously called "The FBI Load" or "Chicago Load" or "The Police Load".

The Chief's special was also. The Detective special was too.


They then shot (after 1962 and not barrel marked until later) +P loads (or Hi-VEL). They still shoot very close to point of aim with the +P load.

We ain't talking 50 yard Bullseye shooting here.
If we were, we would get back to talking about the 1911 again.

By 1980 bigger metro departments were qualifying with what they carried on duty.