What is the best caliber in an auto pistol for the most effective stopping power for personal protection?

Answer 1

The new Five 7 Five pistol from FN in Belgium will shoot clean through body Armour kill the dude and rip out the back of the body Armour.
The 45 and 9mm will not penetrate standard bullet proof vests. unless you use a full load round with a tungsten steel tip.
all pistols are only really at there best at very close range, while a 38 revolver with a 6 inch barrel ar 25 yards will make pretty holes in a paper target it will not penetrate a wet blanket.
Personally I pack a 9mm PPK.

Answer 2

The best would be the largest or most powerful. But unless you know how to shoot it well, and can carry it whenever you need it, then it is not very useful.

Even a 22 caliber pocket pistol will be effective at repelling a mugger, no one wants to get shot.

My advice is to choose the largest pistol (22lr or 380 auto are good for this) you can completely conceal if you have a permit and the situation allows. Or choose a larger pistol/revolver for open carry such as a 38/357, or 9mm/45acp. After making your choice, practise on a regular basis at short range, 20 feet and less. Being able to reach for the pistol, flick off the safety, then hit your target without flinching or jerking the trigger is what you want to be able to do.

I would avoid using a 25acp or 32 acp, they are weak and do not penetrate well at all.

Answer 3

.500 S&W Magnum if we're talking production pistol rounds. In a semi-automatic pistol, .50 Action Express has the best stopping power, but I don't think you want to lug a Desert Eagle around. Yes, the 10mm Auto provides great stopping power in a pistol that can be easily carried. I'd look at the compact Glock 29 rather than the full size 20. The .45 ACP is another route to go if you are concerned about pricing and the availability of the 10mm Auto round.

Answer 4

First of all, anybody who is worth shooting once is worth shooting twice. Or you keep shooitng until he stops doing what ever it was that made you shoot him to start with. There is no such thing as a magic bullet or bullet load combination.

What there is and what you should consider is what is the largest caliber that you can shoot accuratly and quickly. If the biggest thing you can shoot, and regularly hit the center mass of your target with is a 9MM then that is what you should use. Ammo shoud be number one, absolutly reliable but it should also be designed for defensive purposes.

Nothing, and I mean nothing will make up for poor shot placement.

If you can handle larger calibers then a .40S&W or a .45 are normally better choices. I like them both. The .40 is neally the equalivant of the .45 from a ballistic standpoint and you normally have a higher capacity gun. The .45 has benifited from recent bullet construction technology and is a suprub performer.

I live up north were its cold a lot. The temp outside as I write this is 8 above zero. That means that heavy and layered clothing is the norm. Any hollow point bullet will act like a cookie cutter and the hollow cavity needed to insure expansion will fill with debris from the clothing. You will then have non expanding ammunition and with non expanding ammunition, bigger is always better.

Therefore I normally carry a .45ACP. But I must say again that nothing wil make up for shot placement. Spen your time practicing. If its cold outside then dry fire exercise is great.

Good luck.

Answer 5

That's going to be a matter of personal preference. The .45 cal has the best stopping power hands down - I guarantee you that if you hit someone center mass with a .45 hollow point slug, he's NOT going to get up! Only problem with a .45 is that they're kinda bulky and hard to conceal, and the ones that are designed for concealed carry are kinda pricey.

The next most effective round below that is the .40 cal. Good stopping power and not as expensive as a .45. Put some Starfire rounds in it, and you're all set!

Personally, I carry a 9mm Beretta 92FS loaded with Starfire rounds most of the time, and when I'm not carrying that I carry a S&W Model 10-5 snubnose .38 cal revolver loaded with Starfire +P rounds. I only carry the snubby when it's really hot and I'm wearing light clothing. The 9mm is a good round, but it's a tad short on stopping power. That's why I carry two extra magazines with me. Besides, with my military training, I know how and where to shoot a man to get him to fall.

And to Bugaisha: as for it being illegal to carry a handgun "in most states," I hate to break it to you, pal, but as of today 38 out of 50 states have a "must issue" concealed carry law, which means that if you request a concealed weapons permit, the state MUST ISSUE IT TO YOU unless you're a convicted felon, mentally unstable as proven by a doctor, or under the age of 21. Might I suggest you do your homework before you open your mouth, skippy?

Here's a web site where you can start: http://www.packing.org.

Answer 6

I have carried the 9mm, .40 and .45. The .45 is your best choice. The 9mm is a faster bullet and smaller, because of its speed it may just rip through the intended target with little damage. The .40 is good but it is a newer bullet, not too new, but not as trusted and tested as the .45. Even if the intended target is wearing some type of bullet proof vest the .45 will still knock him flat on his rear. And to the person who stated that most states don't let citizens carry guns, check your laws again. 48 out 50 states have some type concealed carry law, Illinois and Wisconsin are the only ones that ban it all together with the exception of law enforcement officers.

Answer 7

I don't think one can argue very effectively against the .45 as having the most effective stopping power. I worked for a very large police agency where officers carried the 9 and 10mm, as well as the .40 and .45 in semi-auto pistols. I don't recall anybody every complaining about a suspect surviving a good hit from a semi-jacketed, sub-sonic, hollow-point .45 round, whereas I heard constant complaints about the effectiveness of the others, especially the 9mm.

Answer 8

Any gun caliber in a gun fight is better than no gun. Also, it depends on your training and effectiveness(accuracy). My favorite in a semi-auto is a 45acp and the 9mm (quick followup shots/easy to control). Do a search for pistol stopping power and i think its Chuck Hawks gives a breakdown of most calibers and their effectiveness. If your looking for a revolver, then its the 357 125gr jhp. Just remember, a hit with a bb is better than a miss with a cannonball!

Answer 9

When John Thompson was developing the submachine gun that bares his name he did tests. He found that the .45 ACP was better than the 9MM luger rounds. When the Army was looking for a sidearm at the beginning of the 20th century they looked at the German Lugar but it lacked the stopping power of the 1911 .45

Now there are people that swear by the 10 MM, which is just a grown up .40 caliber round with more power.

I trust my life with the .45, not so much with the 9MM Lugar round

Answer 10

Ask ten people who know weapons and balistics and you might get many different answers. The correct answer would be to use a caliber sufficient to neutralize the threat. Calibers ranging from .380 to .45 for handguns are common. The .41 is the newest caliber to become popular with law enforcement. Its a heavy bullet with good stopping power and tends to disburse its energy without extensive collateral damage, which one might get with a .357 magnum. During my career and for my personal protection I carried a 9mm.