why is the .357 known as the all time manstopper?

Question

what about the .45 acp. wwI wwII korea vietnam. Tompson grease gun 1911. need I say more.

Answer 1

Because most all the higher power loads do not expend their energy inside the target as does the .357!

Answer 2

The .357 Magnum is recognized as the best man stopper when loaded with the 125 grain semi jacketed hollow point bullets. This is after years of studies of actual shootings and experimentation on ballistic jell and even live animals.

The .45 acp served us well in two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam but it is not a superior stopper to the .357 Mag. By virtue of its girth the .45 acp puts daylight through its target but it is a slow moving, heavy, fat bullet that does not defeat barriers well. That was last Century's technology. Now bullets have evolved to the point that they expand well when driven at the appropriate velocity. The .357 Magnum does work well against barriers such as car glass and sheet metal. The wave of the present n future is high velocity bullets that inflict a lot of damage by expanding thus creating a lot of shock, much more so than the .451 diameter girth of the .45 acp slowly plowing through its target. That was then and this is now. Now we have the .357 Magnum, .10mm, .357 Sig, 5.7 and so on.

I am not sure what you mean by: Tompson grease gun 1911??? No such thing that I am aware of. There is the Thompson submachine gun that used the .45 acp bullet and saw action mainly during WWII, but it was not a 'grease gun.' Grease gun was the nickname for the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3/M3A1 which largely replaced the Thompson because it was cheaper to manufacture. The Tommy Gun served its purpose well, but now the M-16 and M-4 are the in-thing. No one is using the Thompson anymore. It is too expensive to manufacture, too heavy, too short-range, and relatively inaccurate compared to today's assault rifles.

Best.

H

Answer 3

please dont listen to bob the jackson as he is wrong 90% of the time.... well everybody knows that shot placement is key and that neither a .22 nor a .50 BMG will instantly kill some1 if u shoot them in the foot or miss.... technically the capacity isnt the problem with your .357, the problem is that its a snubbie. there will be an extreme amount of muzzle flip on that with an extremely long time for a follow up shot. youre only gonna get 1 shot off of that before i could put 8 rounds of 9mm into u plus the 9mm's power is underrated. it will still kill very easily and with hollow points is very close to the .45's killing potential. 1 of the reasons why its underrated by the military is because they use fmj which causes less damage my vote? get the 9mm or buy a RIA 1911(its .45acp) EDIT:@Kid yea but .45acp is around 93% and 9mm is around 92% plus if the guy misses or doesnt hit vitals with that .357 then hes screwed... this is a guys life we are potentially talking about and that .357 snubbie just isnt right... at least we both agree on the 1911 ;) EDIT:@Kid youre helping out the 9mm's case even more since its alot cheaper and easier to train with

Answer 4

I don't know about it being the "all time manstopper," but it certainly has a reputation as a damn good manstopper. And deservedly so.

We can get into discussions--even arguments--about why this is so. We can cite bullet velocities, diameters and foot-pounds of energy delivered. We can talk about temporary vs. permanent wound cavities, and the effects of soft tissue and bone on terminal bullet performance.

But when you get right down to it, the fact is that the .357 *works*, and works remarkably well--and so does the .45 ACP.

The following link is to a Smith & Wesson Forum discussion called "Tales from the Morgue." A medical examiner's assistant talks frankly about many of the gunshot victims to come across the Atlanta coroner's autopsy tables. It's a fascinating read, and while he doesn't see many .357 Magnum fatalities (it's just not popular with the gangbangers these days), others talk about it, and he backs up its effectiveness.

Answer 5

There was a highly publicised study in which the 357 did better than anything else. It was retrospective, uncontrolled, and without any real statistical methods, but it carried a lot of weight, largely because the general public no next to nothing about statistics. One of the peculiar aspects was that the 32 ACP came out poorly (no surprise) unless it was fired by a Seecamp. This is obviously a statistical quirk rather than anything about the Seecamp, but those pistols are still highly sought after for that reason. Since we'll never know for sure, not being able ethically to control all the variables, there's no way to know what's best, but it's likely there's been no distinctive improvement in man-stopping since the cap-and-ball forty-somethings.

Answer 6

It was actually the first magnum and came about in 1935. So for quite awhile it was touted as the be all end all. Obviously it is not the case anymore but the round is still very affective and more easily controlled than other handcannons.

I guess I would rather hit 2-3 times with a .357 magnum than miss 6 times with a HUGE gun.

Answer 7

Hatcher formula. Mass + speed + frontal area.

The stats are as a ONE SHOT stopper, the 357 mag wins hands down. That of course is on stops that can later be reviewed and documented. I doubt that could be done during war.

If you want to get really technical about it, I would think the 16 inch guns of the USS Iowa/Missouri/New Jersey/Wisconsin hold the record as far as being one shot stoppers....

Answer 8

because of its size to stopping power
you take say a 38 special it wont go though bullet proof glass at 30 yards but the same bullet in a 357 revolver I mean the same bullet too out of the same box 38 special and it will put a hole in the wall on the other side
plus with a 357 you can crack an engine block.
plus i am exaggerating a Little with this but with say a 45 at 100 yards in comparison to a 357 you can step out of the way of the 45 bullet while with a 357 you and the guy behind get knocked on your buttocks.

However being the owner of 3 Dan Wesson 357 revolvers and one Winchester 357 rifle I do tend to be a little prejudice

Example I know a man who legally shot an illegal who was breaking into his house he shot a 357 with golden talon bullet home loaded the hole going in was the size of a dime the hole out was the size of a softball the guys porch was 7 feet wide and the guy who got shot never touched it and was on the ground. do realize the guy who got shot was shot in the house ( well the doorway)and held a double barrel sawed off shotgun.

Answer 9

The 357 mag. is known as the altime man stopper for the main reason, it was the first magnum load invented. it was a primary upgrade for police forces across america. it was designed with a faster more lethal impact than the regular 38 police special. it's bullet weight was the same but the longer casing allowed for more grains of powder, thus giving it more velocity and deeper penetration. hope this is of some help

Answer 10

South Carolina Trooper Coats was killed when his .357 magnum failed to stop and kill a short (5'6" or so) 300 lb man. He fired 4 rounds into the man's chest and was killed by a single .22lr. His bullets all were within 1/8" to 1/4" of hitting something vital. While Coates died on the side of the road his killer survived and was sent to prison.

SHOT PLACEMENT!!!