There’s nothing magic that makes a 9mm expand more (as a percentage of original diameter) than a .45; the same bullet technology exists in both calibers.
Usually. If you can hit it.
If you can hit the A-Zone in a chest you can hit the CPU.
I can hit the eyeball. Except when I can't. Moving target, head shot is way harder than upper thoracic.
Agree, agree, a hit or two to the upper chest just might slow the threat down enough for a solid head shot if needed. While I think it's very good to think of possible scenarios when shtf all bets are off.
To date most of the info I've been privy to on bullet performance is from testing by shooting bullets into ballistic gel. Some put various types of cloth in front of the gel to imitate shooting someone wearing clothing. Others like the FBI Standards shoot through wood, sheetmetal, auto glass, etc. I've seen others that actually shoot through animal meat and bones to determine how a bullet might perform on a human being. I don't think these tests are a be all, end all test on a bullets performance on human beings. The FBI testing is great for Law Enforcement folks who may have to shoot through tough barriers. I guess it's possible I may need that kind of performance but not likely. The gel tests do show, under ideal circumstances how bullets may or may not expand or penetrate enough or too much. Man that was a long winded reply. I'm sure I missed a lot, just trying to add info into this thread.
I understand your theory, thinking a lighter bullet moving faster would possibly expand and penetrate better than a slower heavier bullet. I think it's a given that high velocity JHP's rapidly start expanding upon contact quickly slowing the bullet down. A much heavier slower bullet uses momentum of mass to continue expanding at a slower rate enhancing penetration. As I mentioned in an earlier reply Luck Gunner Lab test showed a 5 shot average of .085 expansion & 14" of penetration for the 230 grain HST 45ACP bullet. The same 5 shot average of .061 expansion & 15.2" of penetration for the 147 grain HST 9mm bullet. If my math is correct the much heavier, slower bullet expanded .024 more than faster moving 9mm bullet. I think we both can agree that Federal HST bullets are top tier.Absolutely. Expansion is not a given. And when it comes to penetrating through thick clothing, for example, a smaller diameter and a higher velocity may be an advantage. Lots of expansion can cause a bullet to slow down faster, or barely penetrate at all.
All of which again is just to say that it's a lot more complicated than "this" vs "that" caliber. Or, on the other hand, it really isn't complicated at all, because none of the middle of the road calibers do anything spectacular, or anything that that others don't do. Which brings us full circle.
Forgot the conclusion: Perp went down the tower, left the church, ran across a side street and around a corner of a building and ran right into a cop coming in the opposite direction. Cop shot him in the chest and that was that.
That’s cherry-picking high-performing 9mm bullets and comparing them to poor performing .45’s.
