In reality there are two many variables for the stories to have much validity. Only when shooting under controlled conditions is there more of a scientific basis for valid conclusions.
I might mention that way back in the 1980's there was a "new kind" of Gun Magazine called "Pistolero" devoid of the influence of the firearms advertisers so therefore the Editors could publish the "truth" about gun tests they ran and not soft soap the results or even deliberately lie through their teeth as found in most gun magazines.
In one issue Pistolero Magazine went to Mexico to avoid U.S. animal cruelty laws and shoot barnyard pigs in the barnyard at point blank range with a variety of handgun calibers. What they found astonished them. I might add that Pigs are actually anatomically much like the human anatomy only the pigs are of course much better behaved.
Pistolero Magazine found no difference in killing power between the .45 acp, the 9x19, the .38 special and the .357 magnum. They did say that the pigs jumped higher and squealed louder when hit with the 9mm as opposed to when they used the .45 acp. I might add in Europe, in Strasburg they shot goats under controlled conditions and came to much the same conclusion i.e. not much if any difference in handgun killing power.
And lets not forget one of the biggest Charlatan's of all, Col. Thompson when he ran his famous Chicago Stock Yard Tests so he could hoodwink the U.S. Board of Ordinance into adopting a semi-auto .45 caliber handgun for the military which a few years later became known as Browning's 1911 Colt. What the devious Colonel did not reveal was that his tests too revealed that the big .44 and .45 caliber revolvers he used did not kill the 1,200 lb Steers any better than the .30 Luger and the 9mm Luger. This he concealed from the Ordinance Board. As a matter of fact Col. Thompson was so shocked by his own tests he even ran out and bought "Man Stopper" expanding bullets to use in the big revolvers (of course not revealing this to the Ordinance Board) and the Man Stopper revolver rounds killed no better than the fmj ammo he used in the .30 Luger and 9mm Luger.
You can read about this in an old copy of The Gun Digest which was titled "Shooting Holes In The Stopping Power Theory".
I think Pistolero's real life tests simply showed that handguns are nowhere near as lethal as people have been lead to believe by glitzy gun rags nor as lethal as high velocity rifle calibers.
When dealing with human targets there are many variables such as the thickness of the clothing worn, distance to target, angle of shot, penetration of the round, expansion of the round, amount of adrenaline pumping through the person at the time, the mental attitude of the person shot and the exact placement of the shot.
I might add I know of 3 incidents. two of which when the lowly .25 acp was used. In one case 3 guys jumped a man coming out of a bar and he killed them all with one shot a piece. Was it just luck? Without knowing all the variables we will never know.
In the second example a lady cab driver was kidnapped by a serial killer who took away her glasses and took her to an isolated spot to rape and kill her. The Nut Case did not search her and she at the last minute pulled out a .25 acp and killed him with it.
In the 3rd incident an aggressive cop harassed the wrong guy at the wrong time during a traffic stop and the guy went nuts and slyly waited until the cop was walking back to his cruizer. The stopped driver then attempted to shoot the cop in the back but his shot went low and he hit the cop in the buttocks. The bullet hit bone and then ricocheted up through the cops body turning the internal organs to jelly. The cop dropped as if lightning had stuck him and of course died on the spot. What was this astonishing lethal caliber? It was a high velocity .30 Tokarev. You know, a small .30 caliber handgun that the gun writers claim is anemic because of its small caliber.
In conclusion if you think that your "latest and greatest" handgun in 45 super daydream nightmare caliber that you are told has a 20 foot muzzle flash and will burn down half the forest or blow down the neighbors cow fence or cause a Whitetail Deer to be spun around like a top and then be knocked off his feet and then disappear in a red puff of mist with one shot you are living in a fantasy world because there is no such thing, at least not in any handgun caliber.
I might mention that way back in the 1980's there was a "new kind" of Gun Magazine called "Pistolero" devoid of the influence of the firearms advertisers so therefore the Editors could publish the "truth" about gun tests they ran and not soft soap the results or even deliberately lie through their teeth as found in most gun magazines.
In one issue Pistolero Magazine went to Mexico to avoid U.S. animal cruelty laws and shoot barnyard pigs in the barnyard at point blank range with a variety of handgun calibers. What they found astonished them. I might add that Pigs are actually anatomically much like the human anatomy only the pigs are of course much better behaved.
Pistolero Magazine found no difference in killing power between the .45 acp, the 9x19, the .38 special and the .357 magnum. They did say that the pigs jumped higher and squealed louder when hit with the 9mm as opposed to when they used the .45 acp. I might add in Europe, in Strasburg they shot goats under controlled conditions and came to much the same conclusion i.e. not much if any difference in handgun killing power.
And lets not forget one of the biggest Charlatan's of all, Col. Thompson when he ran his famous Chicago Stock Yard Tests so he could hoodwink the U.S. Board of Ordinance into adopting a semi-auto .45 caliber handgun for the military which a few years later became known as Browning's 1911 Colt. What the devious Colonel did not reveal was that his tests too revealed that the big .44 and .45 caliber revolvers he used did not kill the 1,200 lb Steers any better than the .30 Luger and the 9mm Luger. This he concealed from the Ordinance Board. As a matter of fact Col. Thompson was so shocked by his own tests he even ran out and bought "Man Stopper" expanding bullets to use in the big revolvers (of course not revealing this to the Ordinance Board) and the Man Stopper revolver rounds killed no better than the fmj ammo he used in the .30 Luger and 9mm Luger.
You can read about this in an old copy of The Gun Digest which was titled "Shooting Holes In The Stopping Power Theory".
I think Pistolero's real life tests simply showed that handguns are nowhere near as lethal as people have been lead to believe by glitzy gun rags nor as lethal as high velocity rifle calibers.
When dealing with human targets there are many variables such as the thickness of the clothing worn, distance to target, angle of shot, penetration of the round, expansion of the round, amount of adrenaline pumping through the person at the time, the mental attitude of the person shot and the exact placement of the shot.
I might add I know of 3 incidents. two of which when the lowly .25 acp was used. In one case 3 guys jumped a man coming out of a bar and he killed them all with one shot a piece. Was it just luck? Without knowing all the variables we will never know.
In the second example a lady cab driver was kidnapped by a serial killer who took away her glasses and took her to an isolated spot to rape and kill her. The Nut Case did not search her and she at the last minute pulled out a .25 acp and killed him with it.
In the 3rd incident an aggressive cop harassed the wrong guy at the wrong time during a traffic stop and the guy went nuts and slyly waited until the cop was walking back to his cruizer. The stopped driver then attempted to shoot the cop in the back but his shot went low and he hit the cop in the buttocks. The bullet hit bone and then ricocheted up through the cops body turning the internal organs to jelly. The cop dropped as if lightning had stuck him and of course died on the spot. What was this astonishing lethal caliber? It was a high velocity .30 Tokarev. You know, a small .30 caliber handgun that the gun writers claim is anemic because of its small caliber.
In conclusion if you think that your "latest and greatest" handgun in 45 super daydream nightmare caliber that you are told has a 20 foot muzzle flash and will burn down half the forest or blow down the neighbors cow fence or cause a Whitetail Deer to be spun around like a top and then be knocked off his feet and then disappear in a red puff of mist with one shot you are living in a fantasy world because there is no such thing, at least not in any handgun caliber.
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