Small Caliber Vs Large Caliber Handgun

Someone stopped by searching for “small caliber vs large caliber handgun.” Versus in what respect?Recoil? Grip size? Weapon size and weight? In general, a larger caliber cartridge almost forces one to go to a larger gun.  If the larger caliber is to be restricted to small caliber recoil levels, there is little point in going to a larger bullet diameter in the first place. If grip size is to be kept down to something a normal human can handle magazine capacity will maximized with a larger caliber.  All of those factors are reasonably obvious, so I will take that proverbial flying leap and assume the versus involves that all too mysterious factor called “stopping power.” OK – let’s put it like it is.  Despite all the whoopty doo about stopping power, the weapon with the highest percentage of “first shot kills” is the lowly .22 long rifle. There are several reasons, the most important is that most shots are taken at contact or near contact range. Quite often at intruders, by suddenly awakened homeowners. Under near contact conditions a headshot from the .22 provides a more than adequate level of penetration and tissue destruction.  Of course, that does not mean you should rush out and buy a .22 for your home protection weapon. If you miss an instantly fatal point, you may very well have an enraged assailant with enough life left to beat you to death!  If you scroll down a few posts, you will find the results of ballistic tests on various calibers of handgun. Those tests are in 20% ballistic gelatin, which simulates muscle. They show the wound channel that results from shooting a .22 Long Rifle, a 9mm Winchester Black Talon, and a .357 Magnum into a block of gelatine. Here’s one more gelatin test for you, this time the .45 ACP. Watch the bulge at the top, and the action at the bottom of the block, as well as the wound channel:  Obviously, the .45 will create a larger wound channel. More importantly, the shock waves radiating out from that wound channel will destroy nerves, blood vessels, and tissue some distance from the channel. So the .45 will do more tissue damage than the 9mm – but the nine may penetrate further in ballistic gelatin. So how critical is wound channel length?  Well, let’s see. My head is 9 1/8ths inches fore to aft, max. Chest depth is 13 inches, mostly hollow. Abdominal depth is 14 inches. Given that most of that depth is less dense that muscle more than 12 inches in gelatin is likely to completely penetrate an assailant and exit the other side. So the .45 is definitely more than adequate in the penetration department.  Both calibers are perfectly adequate for the job. But .45 will do more tissue damage, and impart more physical shock to the person shot than the 9mm will. So that leads us to an imponderable. How well can you shoot under stress?  Most well trained people do surprisingly well. That does not mean that you will automatically roll out of bed, snatch your shooting iron from under your pillow, and center the head when it is too dark to use the sights. But if you have trained in snap or instinct shooting, you should be able to hit a head sized target in the dark at typical bedroom ranges. Hit – but not necessarily center that target.  So the extra tissue destruction from the larger caliber becomes important. Everyone who looks at the basic set of facts will come up with a different answer. But I use a .45 as the first line of defense, 
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Posted on November 13, 2011 by Stranger