Actual real-life performance of handgun bullets?

J

JWR

New member
I've got a question: do any sites exist that have actual performance data on handgun shootings, LE or not? I mean: male, 6', 250#, wearing sheepskin coat and denim shirt, 7 230gr 45ACP Hydrashocks, penetration x inches, expanded to x caliber, subject looked annoyed and shot back until shot with ..., or maybe just: 2" 38 Spl with 110 gr Hydrashocks, xx% one shot stops xx% two shot stops v/s 4" 38 spl 110 gr hydrashocks xx% one shot stops xx% two shot stops (at comparable ranges)?

I spent many hours reading opinions for a small carry gun/caliber. Would this work? Is it the most reliable? Feeding v/s capacity? Will this round penetrate enough? How much is too much? You have to get a 357 Mag and load with one each of 6 different rounds from poodle shooter to deer hunting level of power to feel like you've covered the bases by the time you've read just the first 6 opinions!

Do hollowpoints really fail to expand after 4 layers of denim? Do they all fail 100% of the time or did 1 in 50 of this brand v/s 10 in 50 of this brand fail. Failure rates compared to shooting through no denim at all.

Okay, the question's posed.
 
J

juliet charley

New member
In short, the answer to your question is no. Firearms Tactical contains good information on expansion and penetration in bare gelatin and through denim as well as great deal of very good, balanced general information.

wwwfirearmstactical.com
 
S

Schmit

Staff Alumnus
JWR,

You ask some very broad questions. Now you have to keep in mind that a Handgun is a very ineffective (relatively) firearm.

Also, with the possible exception of a CNS Head shot there is a likelihood that any handgun bullet will fail to achieve a "One Shot Stop". The Human body is very resilient… Pratt/Matix took a terminal hit in the first few seconds of the FBI Miami shootout and went on to do major damage to his attackers all the while dieing.

There are many theories/studies/what have you out there that say XXX bullet has this or that rating. Best bet would be to choose a modern hollow point and do what they teach at the nationally know firearms schools…. Keep injecting bullets until the threat does down. Shoot two shots and if the threat is still there keep shooting.
 
B

BrokenArrow

New member
From an old post of the Firing Line:

Under "controlled conditions" (10% gelatin / light clothing / zero degree
angle of obliquity), and taken collectively, hollow points like SXT, Gold
Dot, Golden Saber, HI-Vel, CorBon, Starfire and Hydra-Shok provide
"acceptable" expansion (3/4 of the maximum expanded diameter obtained in
bare gel) about 95% of the time. However, when heavy clothing is placed in
front of the gel, acceptable expansion is obtained only about 80% of the
time. In actual street use ("uncontrolled conditions"), when heavy clothing
is involved, it is my understanding that these same bullets provide
acceptable expansion less than 60% of the time. Although many variables are
responsible for this diminished efficiency (bullet impacting at an angle,
deflection from bones, etc.), the primary reason is that the hollow point
becomes plugged with fabric. There is also a substantial difference between
firing through clothed gel and clothed tissue. Muscle tissue has a greater
tendency to impede bullet expansion.

Note: Hollow point Bullets fired at 1300 feet per second and higher have a
50% greater likelihood of expanding acceptably when fired through heavy
clothing (and gel) than bullets fired at 1100 fps.

Tom Burczynski (designer of Hydra-Shok, Starfire, Quick-Shok, EFMJ)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top