Very interesting article, I agree a lot that it's not as much caliber as it is shot placement and bullet type can help compared to ball ammo. But I would like to see stats like that for the 500 sw. I blew a decent size tree in half with one single hollow point. I'm certain that will stop in one shot.
One thing to think about carrying something like that is the rule, "be sure of your target AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT." A .50, whether AE or S&W, is absolutely going to go all the way through a human, unless they are morbidly obese. I've personally seen a .50AE 350 gr JHP out of a 6" Desert Eagle barrel go through the front of a 300 lb bear's skull, through the back of the skull bone into the neck meat, and then lodge in a neck vertebrae, breaking it. 13.5" total travel, through two heavy layers of bone and then lodging in bone. Also seen the same round/same gun go fully lengthwise through a very large 100+ lb stray dog that was killing livestock and chasing people. It went through the dog, around 30", hit the frozen ground, ricocheted up and went through a barn window about 20 yards away, then went almost through a 2x6. I would personally never carry a round like that for defense in a populated area. Way too much risk from virtually guaranteed over penetration.
As for "stopping power", I've seen someone walking around after being shot in the torso with 12g 00 buck. Also seen people shot in the face with 9mm and .38 still functioning. I know of a guy who took 6 full power .357 Mag. JHP rounds to the torso, including in the chest, and he was still able to fire back, killing the Trooper with one shot from a .22. And he survived.
Handguns with ball ammo make nice little holes in and out, and will go through a lot! I saw a 9mm ball go clear through a very large man, left to right between the belt and bottom of the ribcage. Probably about 28" from in to out.
At the end of the day there are only two ways to stop a person who is trying to kill you. Option A is to make them change their mind, and option B is to kill them. Or I guess there's also option C, just give up and accept your fate. [emoji33]
Sometimes just active resistance, screaming, or just pulling a weapon will make them change their mind. If so, then awesome! However, if the person is totally committed and has the will power and determination to never give up, then you are only left with option B. In that case there are only two ways to make that happen:
1. You have to shut down the computer, i.e. central nervous system, the brain
2. You make them bleed out. This is obviously much slower.
This is why shot placement will always trump cartridge/bullet for hanguns. No matter what you shoot someone with, if it doesn't shut down the brain, then whether or not they stop is determined entirely on their mindset and how fast they are bleeding. Barring limitations from structural damage, like broken bones, they can still function until the brain runs out of blood/oxygen. Think about how far a deer can run after a perfect shot destroys their heart and lungs. And that's after being shot there with a high power rifle, which no handgun round can even begin to compare with.
For clarification, I am talking about the normal range of defensive handgun rounds, like .380 through. 357.
Oh! And the old Ruger Mk II is still a darn good little plinker!
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