Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnKSa
Excellent. Can you provide some information about them?
I've been interested in this topic for decades. I would love to see something that, based on the outcome of real-world shootings, points to a clear winner out of the service pistol performance class.
Urey Patrick's paper, back in 1989 contained an offhand statement suggesting that caliber differences might make a difference in the outcome of 1% of shootings. I thought that was interesting given the context of the paper. It's been a long time since I read that paper for the first time, and I've not seen anyone provide any data to contradict his offhand estimate. In fact, I think, if anything, he may have overestimated the effect...
Please note the emphasis in the statement--"based on the outcome of real-world shootings". It is critical. I'm well aware of the measurable/quantifiable differences in the various calibers, whether they are measured in penetration, expansion, momentum, energy, power factor, TKO, RII, etc., etc. Those are all interesting, but if it's not possible to show that those differences are having a significant effect on the outcome of real world shootings, they are meaningless.
What everyone really wants to know is how much of an advantage/disadvantage they will have in a gunfight based on the terminal performance of the service pistol caliber they choose compared to the other ones they could choose. That's where the rubber meets the road. |
Amen Brother, preach the gospel.
The other key point is that the shooters are even less uniform and predictable than the cartridges.
There are days when my body responds to orders with "It ain't gonna happen." Days when my body simply is not going to rack that slide, perform the failure day, hold the handgun steady, return quickly to POI for followup with many of my handguns.
On those days my Ruger LCPII 22lr Lite Rack or Walther CCP 380 M2 or Walther PK380 that my body says "Can do" have a far higher likelihood of stopping an assailant than my 1911 or P220 or Highway Patrolman that my body says "It ain't gonna happen".
Self Defense is a lot like real estate; the three most important things are location, Location, LOCATION.
Hits on target count. Multiple hits on target get a higher score. Multiple hits on target rapidly are even better.
Even for the same individual there really is no single right answer and he best we can do is to find the solution available to use that is appropriate for that individual on that day in that moment.