"Stopping power" and unrealistic expectations....

[WS6]

Placement, and P for Plenty.

[TehLlama]

Reading some Marty Fackler and the odd Doc Roberts posts, I finally realized how conceptually silly it is for even a 200 grain projectile traveling at subsonic speeds (or one a bit over half that weight in the transonic velocity region) to actually have any sort of stopping power.
Even in ideal situations where the bullet discharges maximum energy into the target, there's still not much raw power, so it comes down to placement.

[200RNL]

We carry 9mms on my job, and we are still carrying them after trying the .40 for awhile. That caused me no end of grief from the "you gotta have...." guys.

My agency went from the 9 to the 40 just for the sake of change as far as I could tell. The 9mm Gold Dot 124gr+P was performing well.

They did this even as the economy was crashing and the budget was going into the red.

Gotta keep up with the Joneses I guess......

[jeremy_p]

I shot my neighbor's amstaff Monday as he was trying to use me as a chew toy, 2 shots from my G19 with 147gr Rangers sent him running but he was still walking around when I saw him last. It took the aggression out of him but he was still moving, wish I would have had a 12 gauge or 7.62 instead. Yeah, handguns suck.

[WillBrink]

Placement, and P for Plenty.

Should be written as a sage statement. Something like:

"When using standard duty loads against two legged varmints, attempt to follow the two 2XP rule : Placement and Plenty"

You approve?

[Kevin Thomas]

We were always told to follow the 3-F rule; Fire at the Felon 'til he Falls.

[KlintonP]

My father got his CCW and I offered to help him select a new carry piece. He wanted a .380 - I insisted on 9mm/.38.

He has been shooting for 40+ years, and has shot dozens of deer with a 12 gauge and watched them sprint a good distance.

So imagine the look on my face when he explained he doesn't like the 9mm because:

"A deer got hit on the edge of our property last year. The Sheriff showed up and shot him in the chest with a nine, and it took at least twenty seconds to die!"

[T2C]

Should be written as a sage statement. Something like:

"When using standard duty loads against two legged varmints, attempt to follow the two 2XP rule : Placement and Plenty"

You approve?

I approve with placement being priorty one.

[WillBrink]

I approve with placement being priorty one.

Plenty without placement = spray & pray

[tpd223]

My agency went from the 9 to the 40 just for the sake of change as far as I could tell. The 9mm Gold Dot 124gr+P was performing well.

They did this even as the economy was crashing and the budget was going into the red.

Gotta keep up with the Joneses I guess......

Sad but true. I know of an agency that traded guns because the Chief didn't want to be "the last place in the state still carrying 9mms".
Yes, seriously.