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.40 caliber vs. .45 caliber stopping power

tenniso
i have 3 questions.

1. i have a s&w model 10 .38 special w/4 inch barrell. i load it with winchester sxt +p 130 grain jhp for personal defense. is this a good load for my intended purpose, or is there a better choice?

2. my next gun will be either a .40 or a .45, most likely a glock, in compact or subcompact size. which of these calibers is most effective for causing predators to take a dirt nap (death)? and which type of ammo for either caliber?

3. do any of you have any experience with either of these calibers in a self defense situation?
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • garytel
    As a Deputy Sheriff for 18 years I carried the .45. I can recomend it without reserve. I have had to use it in several bad situations and it has never failed to drop the problem on the first shot. I load my own ammo. I use a 210 grain JHP with 7 grains of Ble Dot and a mag. primer. This is close to the same load made by Corbon for the .45 Good luck....[8D]
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  • kingjoey
    The 40 is turning in real good numbers and will likeley continue to do so. I like the improved penetration of the 40 over the 45, but I also respect that the 45LC/ACP has had a 130+ year record of being the manstopper by which the others are judged. Got a few 45s, but have been impressed with the 40 that I will be buying one after the holidays and probably another soon after. Can't go wrong with either.
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  • Nighthawk
    IMHO the .40 or .45acp is about equal medicine.The .40 S&W with a 135gr HP is one of the best man stoppers,as a matter fact the .40 has taken 1st place with a 97% one shot sop rate.I recommend the Glock,in my case it would be the Glock 23 as I have large hands.


    Season's Greetings!!

    Rugster


    Toujours Pret
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  • kingjoey
    I saw something about that, a lot of 94-97% ratings. But I'll be more impressed if it maintains those numbers for the next 20 years. The 9mm Black Talons turned in really high numbers at first, too. But it was due to there being only fifty or so shootings using that round. When the numbers go up the average tends to down a little. But starting at 97% it ain't going to come down much, probably won't venture south of 90% in most loadings. The 40 is probably the best idea to come down the pipe in the last 25 years or so. Engineered to stop and so far its doing just that. [8D]
    Now my question is when are they going to develop a 50 S&W?
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  • mballai
    The 40 S&W was designed from the ground up as a hollowpoint round with the extra oomph to insure expansion. It also made for a gun capable of carrying extra rounds in the same size package--this was a pre-hi cap ban consideration. All of which is fine and well. The 45 still cuts a leading edge among civilians who may not have hi-caps or even hollowpoints under various laws. In case of a non-expanding hollow point round, the .45 still is capable of making a larger wound channel. Time and again, LEOs and military people seem to gravitate to the bigger bullet.

    A 38 Special is usually best stoked with 158 grain HP +Ps . This is variously referred to by different names like the FBI load. It's a proven round.

    Accurate hits make the real difference. I can shoot a .45 better than either a 38, a 9mm or a 40 S&W. I usually shoot a .357 better than even a .38, don't ask me why, I couldn't explain it. If I didn't enjoy shooting as much as I do, I'd settle on a couple of .45s and be a very happy camper.

    In .45, I recommend the Glock 30--rapidly becoming one of my favorites. If you like the way it feels in your hands, you'll probably like the way it shoots too.

    Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead
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  • p3skyking
    Had a local deputy go berserk and try to remove his wife's jaw with a Sig .40. Using Federal HP's through the kitchen window, range appox 4 ft. Entered at the 10'o'clock position, top right jaw, exited 5'o'clock position lower left side. saw her a month later. Little disfigurement visible, some slurred speech. Glad she wasn't killed and really glad he wasn't using a .45 or she would have been. The .40 has got to show me a whole bunch more before I retire my ACP.
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  • mballai
    Pretty sad when those who are called to serve and protect forget their mission...

    There are some pretty spectacular failures of handgun ammo to stop an assailant. Suffice it to say that there is little reason to shortchange yourself. A lot of 40 users tend to upgrade to a .45 but I don't see much of the reverse. I added a Glock in 40 and decided I liked the Glock but just didn't see why I was bothering with the 40 when the same basic machine was available in .45--a couple of ounces and millimeters in the package was hardly a consideration.

    Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead
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  • BoltactionMan
    There was a dirtbag here in Missouri who shot a deputy sheriff to death 2 weeks ago. In a subsequent gun battle, he took one .40 through the teeth that traveled down his jaw line and exited. He took two more to the thigh that slid off the bone without breaking it.

    Unfortunately, he is still with us and sitting in our county jail right now.

    This is not an indictment against the .40 just relaying the story. As for me, I'll stick with my 10mm and my .45 just in case.

    KC
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  • Darrell
    There is NO statistics on how handgun bullets perform. NONE. The feds ahve NEVER put such a base together and in fact complain law enforcement doesn't collect such data. All you get is assorted war stories at best. IF such a data base exists I'd love to see it. I hope nobody take serious the Marshall crapola. See www.firearmstactical.com. Enough bad info without buying into this type stuff. A class case of someone telling us what we WANT to hear vs the facts. Efforts are being made by the DOJ to start to gather such data, but so far law enforcement for a variety of reasons won't share it and often the medical community doesn't care about such things. You can keyword search Oklahoma emergency room gunshot statistics and find a great study that is very revealing but nothing to tell you what caliber works and what one doesn't. They don't care either.
    Closest you will find is DOJ "workshop" on wound ballistics in January of 1993. Pretty interesting, but again NOTHING about one vs the other. It don't exist.
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  • rsnyder55
    I have both the 40 and 45 and cannot help but realize that the 40 was a compromise round. The 45 was an adequate stopper, but the grip was too large for many when in a high capacity magazine along with the 10mm which also was too large for many to handle. The 9mm configured pistols were comfortable to most but did not have the stopping power. Thus the 40 was developed.

    In reviewing shooters, other than LEO, the 45 and the 38 super seem the two most popular calibers of choice among the most experienced combat shooters. This includes courses of fire where a minimum energy level is required.
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