I’m well aware of the dust up this post will generate. So I will say this right off the bat: shoot what you want to shoot. If you are confident in your response time, aim, and overall security posture then that is great. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Also, the below synopsis is for dedicated application of a handgun for self-defense use and is not necessarily intended for warfare.
Caliber, as it relates to handguns, will never trump shot placement. I don’t care if you’re shooting a Desert Eagle or a Derringer, until your aim severely degrades the nervous system or skeletal-mechanics, you are basically waiting for your assailant to bleed to death. This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Do you have that long to wait as you are being attacked? What I’m really trying to say is, “knock down” power does not exist. I submit to you, dear reader, that you study as many accounts about deadly force encounters that you can stomach. The reports (and I’ve barely scratched the surface) are nothing short of amazing.
I will provide the links to the references I studied at the bottom. I sincerely hope you read through them and judge them for yourself. There are many camp fire tales that swirl around the world of guns and the myth of knock down power is one that I want to die. The story of why the .45 was developed and movies like Die Hard will not make this an easy challenge. But until we as armed citizens truly understand the physiological impact handgun rounds have, then we will be fighting without every possible advantage.
Here’s about where I piss off the .45 guys.
Look, I love watching Hans Gruber getting thrown off the Nakatomi building just as much as the next guy, but I’m not taking tactical tips from Bruce Willis. What I will do is learn how my firearms work and how I can make the most efficient use of them in the shortest amount of time.
Now we’ve all seen copious episodes of Myth Busters. Those guys go through ballistics gel quicker than small towns drink water, so I’ll spare you on why testing on ballistics gel mimics the human body. Here’s a few things I’d like you see.
The above image is a .45 ACP jacketed hollow point traveling through 10 inches of ballistics gel. You can see the tumble pattern and cavitation from the wake of that monster of a round, but you won’t see the block of gelatin knocked back. You certainly won’t see it knocked off its stand. This test closely mimics what happens to a human body when it is shot with this round.
This doesn’t.
So now we have reproducible evidence that bullets pass through human bodies instead of slamming in to them and knocking them down. So what? So, we need to start changing our lexicon and our tactics. Instead of “knock down” power or “stopping power”, we need to use terms like “neutralize the threat”. Yes, we want to stop the threat from advancing, but as we can see that technology has yet to be developed for handgun ammunition. Instead of teaching EVERYONE to aim for center mass, we need to learn and teach to aim for the head and hip pointers. In my opinion, the best way to neutralize the threat is to severely degrade the assailant’s nervous system – preferably by separating the brain stem.
Easy on paper, right? But the distance between academics and application can be a deathly leap. From a government law enforcement report defending the decision to choose 9mm as the standard ammunition for handguns, I’d like you to see the following:
-LEO’s miss between 70 – 80 percent of the shots fired during a shooting incident.
-9mm Luger offers higher magazine capacities, less recoil, lower cost (both in ammunition and wear on the weapons) and higher functional reliability rates...
-The majority of … shooters are both FASTER in shot strings fired and more ACCURATE with shooting a 9mm Luger vs shooting a .40 S&W (similar sized weapons).
the ability to effectively put rounds on a critical target is far more important than the diameter of your handgun ammunition
I’ve said all that to say this: the ability to effectively put rounds on a critical target is far more important than the diameter of your handgun ammunition.
What does that mean?
It means you need more time at the range. It means we, as instructors, need to change where we teach students to aim. Center mass is a great starting point because it’s a huge target and can build confidence for beginners, but ultimately we need to teach aiming for the head and pelvis.
I know for some this can be an emotional decision more so than a logical one. For those of you not willing to take the evidence into consideration, I’ll remind you that victory is often bought with the sacrifices of tactics treated as sacred cows. Shaka Zulu won his first battle by proving traditional tribal tactics were stupid. Hannibal defeated Rome by marching elephants through the Alps. Question what and why you are doing certain training repetitions and beware of dangerous words like, “we’ve always done it this way.”
Be accurate.
Be safe.
References
Brass Fetcher Ballistic Testing
Soldier Systems
On Combat
This blog was originally posted on my website, WarriorCHL.