Years back, I think it was Massad Ayoob who did a study on one shot stops in the real world. His research into actual shootings and the results thereof, showed the most effective handgun cartridge was the .357 Magnum with a 125 grain jacketed hollow point bullet.

Well, time has passed and with it came the popularity of the 9mm. Discussion of personal preferences, political influences, 2nd hand experiences, opinions, or what was heard on the internet or read in print are not what I'm asking. Nor velocity, weight, energy or ballistic gel pictures either.

The question is: "has anyone done a similar study in recent years that compares the results of real one shot stop events? Even better would be a comparison to Massad's earlier results".

Thanks for your attention and patience. No personal insults or demeaning remarks intended.

Mike

I do not know but I think the 357 mag will still be way up there even though it is not used as much as the 9mm.

It was Even Marshall and Edwin Sanow that wrote two books on the subject.

Handgun Stopping Power and Street Stoppers.

IMHO must have books if one is interested in the subject.

Their work was some what over shadowed by Marvin Fackler.

A shill hired by the FBI to blame the ammunition. For all the tactical mistakes and piss poor shooting.

Their agents did in the 1986 shootout.

The 357 125 gr has proven to be a great self-defense round.

Many well equal it to day. Any round that gives approximately the same performance in 10% ballistic-gel. Well yield about the same results.

All manufactures use the same FBI criteria for bullet performance for defense against human attackers.

The selection of very good self-defense ammo we have today is the result of the FBI screw up in 1896.

For other defensive uses, use against bears ect.

Deeper penetrations have been proven to work better.

The Marshall and Sanow studies mentioned above showed extremely high percentages for the top 9mm ammunition at the time.

If I remember correctly, the original Winchester Black Talon ammunition (which was very quickly banned due to its' wounding effects) scored above 98% actual one-shot stops.

I think the difference between 95% and 99% is probably so small that any single "normal" person won't be able to tell the difference. By normal person I mean a civilian who uses a firearm for personal defense, not policeman or someone who is using it offensively.

I suspect many if not most or even all modern 9mmP top-tier JHP's are probably effective enough, but having heard what the FBI tests entail, I would be happy with any ammo currently approved by them.

Looking at the table in Street Stoppers.

9mm JHP 115 to 124gr loads from 1100fps tp 1300fps go from 81 to 90 percent.

It has a 1996 publish date.

Good advice from a criminal lawyer friend of mine: Avoid the "Rambo" syndrome. Carry the same ammo as your local police use. If you (God forbid) ever have to go to court for self-defense, don't let the criminal's lawyer paint you as a Rambo-type bogyman prowling the streets looking for someone to shoot.

Agree Bill. And thanks for helping on two(2) threads.

Bill Thibeault's post is absolutely the most relevant and important factor in any discussion on what type of ammo to carry for self defense. (meaning ammo vs caliber)

I have significant personal experience in both civil and criminal litigation where the type of ammo was a major issue. Use what the local cops or the FBI uses. Then play dumb. Do not display any knowledge of ballistics. If it's good enough for the cops, it's good enough for Joe Blow.

If I was going to a gunfight Id opt for the 357 and my S&W mod 19, if I were going too work one morning or into Mexico Id have my Browning Hi POwer or P-35 knock-off and some absconded Border Patrol plus P Plus Federal ammo (LE only). Something cozy about 15 or more rounds in your gun, even if the experts declare all gun fights are 7,5 yards which by the way is BS these days..Make that some are! keeping in mind its damn hard to reload any gun when your being shot at!