As the OP seems to indicate, the one-shot gun-fight is the exception and not the norm.
When the last bullet finally finds some schlub's ON/OFF button, evidence seems to point toward it being pure LUCK.

Such poorly conceived and conducted "comparison" tests are worse than worthless, and serve no purpose beyond distracting a couple of nut-jobs from more harmful pursuits, for the span of a Saturday morning... It was, at best, an "apples/oranges/bananas" exercise, and provides no real basis for comparison..madman4570 wrote:http://www.reloadersnest.com/article_40 ... ug3103.asp
40S&W FMJ against 30-06 for penetration!
I've wondered that myself, but someone mentioned earlier in the thread that a relatively small percentage of LEO trainees are 'gun people', and that, plus different training philosophies, could make alot of difference.KirkD wrote:If my 15 year-old daughter can handle my 45 1911, I just cannot see why compromises are made for the professionals.
kevin in nh wrote:. Someone on PCP can withstand multiple hits and stay in the fight.....
I think you are right ..... the proper training procedure is the key.AJMD429 wrote:... if their first training and practice is with a .22 LR for a couple hundred or thousand rounds, THEN they are eager to move to a 9mm, and quickly ASK if they can step up to a .45 ACP, which they usually fire, then grin, as if to say "Finally - THIS is what I wanted all along..."
Police trainees might be insulted if their first range sessions involved shooting .22 LR's, but I'm not sure how it could hurt.
Buck Elliott wrote:Such poorly conceived and conducted "comparison" tests are worse than worthless, and serve no purpose beyond distracting a couple of nut-jobs from more harmful pursuits, for the span of a Saturday morning... It was, at best, an "apples/oranges/bananas" exercise, and provides no real basis for comparison..madman4570 wrote:http://www.reloadersnest.com/article_40 ... ug3103.asp
40S&W FMJ against 30-06 for penetration!
.22s have a very nasty habit of acting just as you described, due mostly to lack of mass.. A chest shot with a .22 rimfire is likely to result in massive tissue damage to the lungs, and possibly the heart.. Remember the case of President Reagan.... The little pill bounces around against the elastic tissues of the chest wall, like a ping pong ball in a washing machine, until it runs out of energy... A high school classmate of mine died from just such a wound, back in the late 60s.. After he was wounded, he sat down on the couch, waiting for an ambulance crew.. By the time they arrived, he had bled out, internally...Cliff wrote:Some good comments. The picture (X-ray) of the bullet in the throat, may no tell all about it. Bullets do have a tendency to bounce(?) around inside a body when they hit. I have heard and seen pictures of the 22LR which did quite a bit of travel after hitting and going in several subsequent directions before coming to rest some distance from the entry. I am still looking for the bullet which will turn everything from the belt line up into a pink bloody mist when hitting it's intended target. No luck so far. At least in a handgun caliber. Interesting topic, shows the need to practice and be able to respond correctly when shooting at a bad guy. Too many people believe most people fold up when hit and quit fighting. Have a good weekend.
tman wrote:If the guy was hit in the vitals with a .22, .40S&w or 30-06 he would have went down. All 3 would have penetrated the head and heart. Caliber, muzzle velocity, magic bullets are a poor substitute for bad shooting. I know it ain't easy under pressure, that's why u practice, practice , practice. Replace the 40 for a 45 and u have the same results. Poor shooting at deer with a 30-30 sells a lot of 300 magnums. If you can't put down a man with a .40 or a deer with a 30-30, you need more time at the range, not a bigger gun.
Apparently you didn't notice that most of the .40 rounds hitting this guy left shallow craters of 1 to 2 inches.tman wrote:If the guy was hit in the vitals with a .22, .40S&w or 30-06 he would have went down. All 3 would have penetrated the head and heart. Caliber, muzzle velocity, magic bullets are a poor substitute for bad shooting. I know it ain't easy under pressure, that's why u practice, practice , practice. Replace the 40 for a 45 and u have the same results. Poor shooting at deer with a 30-30 sells a lot of 300 magnums. If you can't put down a man with a .40 or a deer with a 30-30, you need more time at the range, not a bigger gun.
What?tman wrote:Difference between a 40 and a 45 with 180 and 185 grain jhp's isn't worth mentioning, just splitting hairs. At 100 or 200 fps. or 50 grains more bullet weight can't compensate for for poor shooting.
That is well known to be faulty ammunition.458 winchesters have failed to stop elephants,
I live right in the middle of prime elk country in Colorado and I don't know anyone stupid enough to do that. I know people who have used a .270 and even that is considered marginal. You say they use .243's like it's common, it aint, it's uncommon, so uncommon I've never heard of it till now.Elk tags are are sucessfully filled year after year with .243 winchesters with Remington coreloct bullets.
Did you read the link? The guy was shot in the chest, abdomen, and throat, all in "the vitals". It doesn't do any good to hit the vitals with a round that wont penetrate more than 2". Rapidly expanding "self defense" bullets are utterly stupid in a .40 Stupid and Worthless.tman wrote:Believe what u want. I don't have a dog in the fight anyway. Based on years of what i shot, others shot, what i've read. If u really believe that if the cop shot poorly with a 45 or a 44 magnum, and it would have changed the outcome, i have no hard evidence to dispute it. Just an opinon.
Officers fired on the subject and hit him in the left arm, completely shattering the bone. He was
also hit five times in the chest and abdomen. All rounds penetrated less than 1". All of the rounds
expanded fully but did not cause incapacitation due to the lack of penetration. According to the
Medical Examiner, none of the rounds caused any life threatening injuries. The subject also
received one round into the front of his throat, it penetrated less than 1" as well. The Medical
Examiner stated that the recovered rounds were in pristine condition (still had rifling marks on
them).
Kirk,KirkD wrote:Madman, I will look forward to the results and photos. I am of the persuasion that if one wants to test the maximum capability of expanding bullets, then one should do it with the heaviest expanding bullets offered by each caliber, as mass and momentum are also a factor in how far an expanded bullet penetrates.