What kills?

[Jeff Freeman]

What i'm asking is like...

Is a 185gr. +P .45ACP better than a 230 gr?

Bullet mass or Velocity?

The .45 ACP is legendary, but so is the .357 Mag.

 

[MrShooter]

accuracy

 

[ldp4570]

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. You want center of mass in the upper chest. Reason, lungs, all major arteries come right up off the heart, the heart itsself, behind that is CNS central nervous system!!

 

[WTJ]

What the last two said.

 

[264Magnum]

accuracy

Yup..

 

[Glocktogo]

What stops would be a better question than what kills (unless you're asking for hunting ammo). As stated above, there is no better magic bullet than one perfectly placed. When discussing one shot stops, I prefer a Hornady TAP T2 or Barnes TSX load out of an AR, or pretty much any .30 caliber rifle load. They stop much better than any pistol round will. For CCW, I carry a 9mm, .45ACP for duty and home defense. Any of the current crop of bonded core, low flash self defense rounds in 9, .40, .45 or .357 will do as well as you can do.

 

[EFsDad]

Placement on the medulla oblongata

 

[druryj]

Foot pounds of energy delivered at the site of impact on the target is the result of both mass and velocity; what seems to be important, given the context here, is determined by where that energy is delivered. X foot pounds (say X = 250 for example), of energy delivered in a large amount of fatty tissue is a lot different than that same amount of energy, or even less, being delivered to the forehead or center mass of the chest.

What immediately stops the threat is what I am more interested in, and to give a short answer to that, I'd say good shot placement in a critical area with a projectile(s) large and powerful enough to offer sufficient penetration. For me, I'm fine with a .32 acp and up. Some folks say the .32 acp is not enough, but it's plenty, even in FMJ, if it hits the target in the right place. Having said that, I much prefer a 9mm or up in a handgun because in times of extreme stress, I feel a 9mm gives me enough delivered energy that "close enough" might indeed be "close enough" where that same shot placement with a .380 or .32 might not be "close enough" to immediately stop the threat..

I prefer any modern JHP ammunition in 9mm and up, but in my .380, I carry 95 grain FMJ...the reason is I want enough penetration to a critical area and not have a bullet expand, if it even does, in a lump of fat. Plus, I find my .380 pistols to be more reliable with FMJ than HP ammo.

 

[1911Nut]

Accuracy is the best answer. You can get the job done with a .380 if you hit them in the right spot. Just like if you shoot em with a .45 or a .357 mag and don't hit them in a good spot, it could not do the job you want it to.

 

[ldp4570]

Three rules;
1. Shot placement, without it, doesn't matter what you shoot with.
2. Penetration, you've got to reach the vital organs i.e. heart, lungs, major arteries, CNS.
3. Hollowpoint ammunition is basicly a reverse parachute, so they have to get through clothing, maybe a car window, some type of wood, even if the person is naked hollowpoints do wierd things inside the human body(We are not 10% gelatin), theirs lots of things that bullet has to pass through, fatty tissue, muscle, tendons, bone. So don't go betting your life on the latest/greatest hollowpoint on the market, and always refer back to the first two rules!!