We’re not trying to pick on the .40 S&W. I swear.
It’s just coincidence that last week we came across a story about a woman’s breast implant deflecting a .40-caliber projectile and now, this week, we found another article detailing a head-turning situation involving the popular self-defense round.
Published in lawofficer.com is a story called “Officer Down: The Peter Soulis Incident,” which ran back in February.
It details a harrowing gunfight where a wounded officer needed as many as 22 rounds of .40 to bring down an armed assailant — 17 of which struck center mass.
You should read the whole thing if you have a moment. But here is the gist from author Brian McKenna:
More @ Guns America
I have been re-thinking my gun needs recently. I have a S&W 357 Magnum as my truck gun and a 45GAP as my daily carry. I have been playing with a 10mm but I have found the 45GAP to be more efficient sending a 180gr chunk of lead downrange. The 10mm can be pushed higher but not by much.
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that the weapon had been loaded with Ranger SXTs considered by many to be one of the best man-stoppers
Deleteweapon had been loaded with Ranger SXTs considered by many to be one of the best man-stoppers
That's worrisome. I like the Federal HST.
I have been a Federal fan since the HydraShok came out.
DeleteI remember I posted a slow motion shot of it expanding when hitting the target and that sold me. Just checked and two of the links are gone but this was in 2009. http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=2864&highlight=hst
Deleteif/when push comes to shove, I have my XD45 load alternating FMJ and JHP 230gr. a 10mm may have more energy but I always figured you do not need to improve on success. having something using a commonly available ammunition is sorta important to me. besides all that it is what I have trained and used for many decades; in light winds I can put your eyes out with it at under fifty yards. as nice a shooter that the XD45 is, my latest acquisition-an FNX45-is more accurate because of the longer sight radius and a 5.3" bbl.; but because of size it is not my daily carry.
ReplyDeleteno matter what, diligent practice with the DCW and awareness of what's going on around you is more critical than what calibre weapon you carry; a big enough rock thrown accurately would be just as good. I know guys who still carry 1911s(Marines-go figure)because when they are out, it makes an excellent club they tell me.
as the trainer once said, be polite and courteous to all but have a plan to kill everyone around you.
:) Indeed and attributed to Mattis I believe. & Heinlein: An armed society is a polite society.
DeleteThe simple reality is that caliber is only a factor in the effectiveness of a handgun. Accuracy is another factor. The biggest factor however is luck. The ONLY sure way to stop someone REALLY quickly with a handgun is to take out the brain with a CNS hit, paralyze them with a hit to the spine, which can either paralyze the legs leaving their arms capable of firing a gun OR if high enough paralyze them completely ending the threat OR to make them bleed out enough to lose consciousness.....which can take a few seconds even if you hit the aorta/heart. They can still kill you in the few seconds it takes for them to die. A pistol is a compromise. It's what you carry to allow you to fight your way to the rifle you should have been carrying. And even a rifle isn't a 100% guarantee to end a threat though it's a very high probablity weapon. Most people don't realize just how hard it is sometimes to kill another human. And at times it's also amazingly easy to end a life. It's one of those wierd things about reality.
ReplyDeleteThis aiming thing in self defense is over rated since if you have someone that's a threat in front of you, all you are going to do is point the weapon at his mass and fire.
Delete"This is a political war and it calls for discrimination in killing. The best weapon for killing would be a knife, but I'm afraid we can't do it that way. The worst is an airplane. The next worst is artillery. Barring a knife, the best is a rifle — you know who you're killing."
~~John Paul Vann