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Is the .45’s Stopping Power a Myth?

Ripster said:
I carried a .45 for thirty plus years. I love the .45. However, 9, 40, 45, etc. are all the same. I've seen the ER pics comparing wound channels. There is no discernable difference between them. Pistol calibers are a defensive tool. .357 was the supposed holy grail of one shot stopability, but it's all a myth. I watched the video of a perp shoot a clerk pointblank in the chest with a .357 and she stood there arguing with him for another couple of minutes before eventually going to her knees and bleeding out. Stopability is a term we love to throw around, but it's all horse pucky. Pistols are merely defensive weapons. If you want to put down a threat, shoot them with a carbine in a rifle caliber.
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Carbine? Rifle?
I don’t know how long your legs are or what size pants you wear but a commander (45) IWB is about as much as I can get away with.
 
I’ve heard it said that bigger is better but I’ve also heard it said that it’s not about the size it’s how you use it.

At a range one day I overheard a conversation between a trainer and a trainee (elderly woman)… she had just been through a class and was asking about which was the best gun for her to buy. (She had shot several), the trainer was pushing a popular “tactical Tupperware” model of Austrian origin. And when she asked why the trainer went on to tell her about allllll the ways she could upgrade the sights and the high cap mags she could get (I live in TX). When the instructor walked away I leaned over and said “the gun you should buy is the one you are most comfortable with, the one you can manipulate efficiently and effectively. The brand is not important”.
I feel the same way when it comes to caliber of choice… which could be influenced by the environments you find yourself in on any given day.

That being said I spend 90% of my time with a commander (45) IWB with a spare mag or two…
 
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I have and love a Range Officer Elite Compact...Just an awesome weapon. Sits next to the bed with a spare mag.
For work...CZ75 Compact (9mm) or Hellcat. Because most of the agencies I work with carry 9mm

I would love to carry a double stack 45 ACP for the ammo. But that being said...I would rather have someone carry something they will practice with, carry with and enjoy. I would rather someone hit the target multiple times with 9mm or .380 etc...than miss with a 45 acp
 
Nitestik said:
With all due respect to the author of this article, the effectiveness of a cartridge in a self-defense scenario is not a question of whether the aggressor “lived” or “died”; rather it is a question of whether they were “stopped”. There exists (on the internet) bank security camera footage showing a bank robber shot through the neck. There is copious arterial bleeding spurting out yards all over the floor. It takes him 30-32 seconds to bleed out. That is a BIG window of time in which to remain dangerous. According to my reading, a one-shot stop with ANY defensive handgun runs the risk of failure at least 15% of the time. Personally, I don’t like those odds. Better to be where the bad guys AREN’T. And then, be armed with a rifle.
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Mike H. said:
Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Is the .45’s Stopping Power a Myth?” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/45-acp-stopping-power-myth/.

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Your Article mirrors exactly the article that came out in PM many years ago when they did a report on LA's Swat team.

They ended up using the .45 as their main pistol. The .40 kicked too much and the accuracy was best with the .45 believe it or not.

That said, I prefer a .45 for it's stopping power and many States limit to 10 rounds. In that case (like you) I"m sticking to a .45.

I also notice the tremendous rounds needed to by fired by a 9mm to stop somebody, often by several cops. Unbelievable.

And on Youtube there is a chase by police department to bring a guy to a stop in a white SUV. They chased him all over the place and literally put hundreds of holes in his vehicle trying to stop him and when they did arrest him he practically had no bullets holes in him. Even when he drove pass police barricades and they unloaded with their puny 9mm they missed.
 
Dodo Boid said:
Your Article mirrors exactly the article that came out in PM many years ago when they did a report on LA's Swat team.

They ended up using the .45 as their main pistol. The .40 kicked too much and the accuracy was best with the .45 believe it or not.

That said, I prefer a .45 for it's stopping power and many States limit to 10 rounds. In that case (like you) I"m sticking to a .45.

I also notice the tremendous rounds needed to by fired by a 9mm to stop somebody, often by several cops. Unbelievable.

And on Youtube there is a chase by police department to bring a guy to a stop in a white SUV. They chased him all over the place and literally put hundreds of holes in his vehicle trying to stop him and when they did arrest him he practically had no bullets holes in him. Even when he drove pass police barricades and they unloaded with their puny 9mm they missed.
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.45’s, by and large, do worse against body metal and glass than 9mm.
 
Dodo Boid said:
Your Article mirrors exactly the article that came out in PM many years ago when they did a report on LA's Swat team.

They ended up using the .45 as their main pistol. The .40 kicked too much and the accuracy was best with the .45 believe it or not.

That said, I prefer a .45 for it's stopping power and many States limit to 10 rounds. In that case (like you) I"m sticking to a .45.

I also notice the tremendous rounds needed to by fired by a 9mm to stop somebody, often by several cops. Unbelievable.

And on Youtube there is a chase by police department to bring a guy to a stop in a white SUV. They chased him all over the place and literally put hundreds of holes in his vehicle trying to stop him and when they did arrest him he practically had no bullets holes in him. Even when he drove pass police barricades and they unloaded with their puny 9mm they missed.
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Welcome to the forum from South Texas.
 
Dodo Boid said:
Your Article mirrors exactly the article that came out in PM many years ago when they did a report on LA's Swat team.

They ended up using the .45 as their main pistol. The .40 kicked too much and the accuracy was best with the .45 believe it or not.

That said, I prefer a .45 for it's stopping power and many States limit to 10 rounds. In that case (like you) I"m sticking to a .45.

I also notice the tremendous rounds needed to by fired by a 9mm to stop somebody, often by several cops. Unbelievable.

And on Youtube there is a chase by police department to bring a guy to a stop in a white SUV. They chased him all over the place and literally put hundreds of holes in his vehicle trying to stop him and when they did arrest him he practically had no bullets holes in him. Even when he drove pass police barricades and they unloaded with their puny 9mm they missed.
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I don’t recommend using that as a guide. Because lots of cops do blind mag dumps at suspects with zero attempts at aiming, it’s not really hard to believe it takes more rounds since very few likely hit the subject. If you remember the acorn hitting the roof video, don’t recall how many shots were fired…nobody hit who they thought was a threat. I don’t think it’s a secret most officers do their annual qualification and that’s it…I doubt those types are very skilled at shot placement.

One or two well placed 9mm SD rounds will certainly stop a subject, as will well placed .45 SD rounds. Add armor or some psycho narcotic and all bets are off regardless of caliber.
 
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