Power of Ammunition?

Question

Can someone order the most popular handgun rounds sold least effective to most effective given the following situation? (Also add any relevant information such as penetration through target and so on. I also know some are not practical at all, but I included them anyways.)

One person 10 feet away. Shot in center of body. No body armor.

List of calibers: .22 LR, .40, .45 ACP, 9mm, .357 mag, .38 spl, .380, .44 mag, .50, 10mm, 5.7mm, .45 LC, .454 Casull, .32... Add any I missed if you would like.

This may sound like a macabre question, but I am interested in the practical effectiveness of certain rounds compared to others.

Answer 1

I can only tell you this:  The .357 Magnum (with 125 grain semi-jacketed hollow-points from any of the major ammo makers) fired out of the 4" revolver barrel is the best man-stopper yet.  The .45 acp follows.

The .22 LR (especially when fired out of the abbreviated barrel of a handgun) is deadly, period.  Problem is it lacks the initial traumatic stopping power of the big bores handguns which may mean that in a defensive situation the medical examiner may be looking at two bodies rather than just one.  

The 5.7mm (like the .223/5.56x45 NATO) is better suited to disabling rather than inflicting rapid terminal cessation of hostile activities.  

The .380 acp is generally accepted as the minimum defensive caliber.

The .32 (assuming you mean the .32 Auto) needs the hottest .32 acp ammo you can find to bring it up to .380 acp specs.

The .40 S&W may or not duplicate the stopping power of the .45 acp.

The 9mm is a very decent stopper when loaded with the right ammo (115 to 127 grain jacketed hollow-points from any of the major ammo makers).  The FMJ rounds and subsonic loads gave the 9mm the reputation of being a poor stopper.  This was shooter error not caliber shortcoming.  

With the right ammo the same is true of the .38 Special as is of the 9mm.

The .45 LC is probably as good or better than the .45 acp but limited to revolvers.

The .44 Magnum, .50 Action Express and .454 Casull are... Overkills for all but hunting.  At least in D/E the .50 seems to be problematic for most shooters as a lot of jamming is reported.  

You didn't list the .357 Sig but this one is close (on paper) to .357 Magnum performance.  It is generally is higher capacity and quicker to deploy & follow-up shots with than the Magnum.  It is also loud, louder even than the .357 Magnum.

Nor did you list the .500 S&W Magnum but this one is definitely an over-kill for anything but hunting big game.

My personal favorite defensive caliber?  The 10mm because it is suitable for man or beast or things that go bump-in-the-night.  With my Glock Model 20 10mm with nightsights and hi cap mags I fear no evil.

Good luck.

H

Answer 2

"According to the FBI, .22lr is the #1 murder caliber in the US"

According to me and the FBI, the above quote is bullsh*t.

Answer 3

lets just say a 22 would feel like you were hit in the sternon with a louisville slugger or 98 mph fastball but both with penetrating about 3 inches through muscle and flesh and the ocassional bone and an sw 500 magnum would feel like a mack truck loaded with 8 cars at 25 mph with about 16 inches of penetration blowing a clean hole right through you not to mention he could have been using a hollow point which could have made a double sized hole and alot of flesh from around the bullet hole jagged and rougly ripped apart and out and if there was any bone in the way it would be gone like dust in a tornado

Answer 4

Of the ones I know

.32, .22 LR, .38 spl, 9mm, .45 ACP, 10mm,  .45 LC, .50, .44 mag, .454 Casull,

If you found a re-loading manual you could look up the exact muzzle energy of each of them.  At that range surviving any of them is based on luck.

Answer 5

22LR, .32, .380, .38SPL, 9mm, 5.7mm, 40SW, .45ACP, 45 LC, .357mag,10mm, 44mag, 454Casull, .500SW

The 32 is more powerful than the 22LR, contrary to popular belief. However, the 22lr comes in more loadings, some of which are better at inflicting damage on human targets.

I made a guess with a few of these that are really close, like the .38SPL and 9mm. Many of these could be reversed with different loadings within the calibers.

In terms of effectiveness for defense, anything at the 380 mark and up is likely to cause severe enough injury to stop an attacker. Anything in .40SW and up is pretty much guaranteed to stop one if the shot is center mass (there are many exceptions, not the least of which is drug-induced immortality). The 38SPL/9mm will both do a good job of wounding, and a well-placed shot is more than capable of killing, but their survival rates are higher than the others.

According to the FBI, .22lr is the #1 murder caliber in the US. My guess is just because it is cheap. Also, pistol shots (all calibers taken together) have only a 20% mortality rate overall. Considering that the .22 is apparently the main round used, and that pistol shots are rarely well-placed, this is not surprising, but it is still low. I carry .40SW as a balance between wanting my attacker stopped now, and not wanting to look like a freak for carrying a 10mm (see Harold Fish). I don't necessarily want to kill anyone, but neither do I want to be killed.

Happy hunting.

Answer 6

Your question is most effective, not most "powerful" which is how people appear to be answering it.  

Calibers like the .44 Magnum and .454 Casull are intended to kill large animals.  A single shot to center mass with a thin skinned animal application "hunting" type round is certain to put an early end to someone's day.  The .50AE at close ranges should give you the same effect with hunting rounds. The .45 LC is an effective round forgotten about by many.  It can approach .44 Magnum loads.  Definiitely a man killer.

The .454 Casull will penetrate barriers better than a .44 Magnum.  The .454 has as much energy at 100 yards as the .44 Magnum does at the muzzle.  

The  9mm, 10mm, .40, .357 Mag, .40 S&W, .45ACP all have impressive records in police shootings with an over 90% 1 shot stop record.   Which is the best and exactly how "bad" the 9mm is will be debated for years to come.

Once you step into the relm of the .32, .380 and .38, statistics show a sharp drop in effectiveness.  The reality is that dead is dead and all can stop an aggressor with proper shot placement.  The margin of error shrinks with the smaller rounds.  .22lr is down at the bottom.  Although many people are killed with head shots or die before they can receive surgery from chest or other body shots, shot placement is exceptionally critical to stop an aggressor.

Answer 7

with the exception of the .22 Long rifle, .25 auto, and .32 Auto... uh, dead is dead. The only difference is the size of the hole. Even a .22 caliber hole through the works will kill you like being run over with a truck.  

Answer 8

Lowest power to most power

1.22LR

1. tied with 25acp

2.  22 magnum

3. 32 acp

3. tied with 32 short

4. 32 long

5. 32 H&R magnum

5. tied with 380acp aka 9x18 aka 9mm short

5. tied with 32 NAA

6. 9x18mm 'makarov'

6. tied with327 federal magnum

7. 38 special

7. tied with 5.7mm

8. 38 special +P

9. 9x19mm aka "9mm luger" aka "9mm parabellum" aka "normal 9mm

10. 9x19mm +P

11. 44 special standard 'old' loadings

11. tied with 45 long colt standard 'old' loadings

11. tied with 38 super

12. 40SW

12. tied with 357SIG

12. tied with 357 magnum 'low recoil' loadings

13. 44 special 'hot' loadings

14. 45 acp

15. 45 acp +P

15. tied with 357 'full power' or 'standard' loadings

16. 10mm

16. tied with 41 magnum

17. 45 super

18. 44 magnum

19.  45 long colt 'hot loads' for modern strong revolvers only

20. 480 ruger

21. 50AE (desert eagle)

22. 454 casull

23. 475 Linbaugh

24. 460 smith and wesson

25. 500 smith and wesson

Level 1 should not be bothered with, and level 3 isn't much better.

You can get some nice modern compact handguns in level 5 for concealed carry

level 5 is probably the minimum you want for a good defensive caliber

level 7-10 is probably a better place to start.

level 11-12 may be a bit much for a novice, and add in the costlieness of that ammo compared to say a 9mm parabellum or a 38 special, those two are probably better choices

level 14-15 is what most well trained people step up to, although many also stay at 12 with 40SW for it's greater capacity

Few people step beyond 15 for self defense rounds.

15 and 16 are the beginning of 'handgun hunting for whitetail' type rounds

18 on up is again, more hunting stuff, and also good grizzly bear protection, but overly powerful for most self defense situations beyond facing down a big bruin