When I was a full time police officer I carried a .357. After moving on and going into another career I picked up a part-time patrol job (just to keep a badge) I’ve been carrying a 9mm for 12 years. Now I’m thinking of moving up to a .40. To my shock I’m having a hard time finding decent data regarding stopping power of the .40. I’m assuming it’s because there haven’t been that many police involved shootings with the .40. But there must be some kind of data somewhere. The only info the firearms tech. could give me all had to do with tests into jello. I don’t want that. I want real stories about shootings involving the .40S&W.
Evan Marshall wrote a book about stopping power in real world situations.
http://www.evanmarshall.com/books/stopping.asp
He mentions the .40 in his book description.
FWIW:
Fish and Wildlife officers here in Alberta carry a Glock .40 as their sidearm. While it may be used more as a self protection piece against hunters armed with rifles, it will also be used against the odd large rampaging animal that needs to be destroyed with good results.
I will attempt to post again before this POS board logs me out and loses my post (again),
Pkbites,
I carry a .40 (Beretta 96 Brigadier) for personal protection (CCW), all of my research and experience says that a .40 is about 94+% of a .45 as far as stopping power, the extra capacity of the .40 is the deciding factor for me (commonly .45’s are 7+1, my .40 is 12+1 with a Mec gar preban hi cap), I will not carry a 9mm as I had a hard time getting through a car window with one (short barreled, admittedly) years ago, but I am not a LEO so I do not have to worry about multiple targets (if that was a factor then capacity would be king and I would carry 9mm +p’s, and a lot of them), as far as real world stories, I can’t help, but I would be interested too.
unclviny
Right there. That’s the kind of info I’m looking for. But…do you have a cite for this statement?
All of the information I came up with (mostly from the FBI/DOJ) had stats comparing 9mm/.45//357/.38 and very little for the .40.
By now there must have some police shootings with a 40 that I could get some stats on. The only stat I have is a case out of georgia where sheriffs deputy shot a perp in the stomach. Not only did it not stop the perp, but the perp went on to kill the deputy. Thats not a good case for the 40, but it’s only one measly case.
I’m an FFL but none of the info I get from my suppliers has any real back up for the cliam of how powerful the 40 is. I would think by now DOJ would have some info. They have a million pages on other calibers.
Marshall’s work is suspect at best. He relies on anecdotal statistics to compile his notorious ‘stopping power’ lists.
Visit Ammolab, and look at the particular load that you are going to carry. You want maximum expansion (without fragmentation), and ~12" of penetration in calibrated ballistic gelatin. Find the .40 load that does that, and you will be good to go. Black Hills 155gr .40 seems to do the trick reliably, and I believe that they use Speer Gold Dot bullets in their loads.
FWIW, I carry Black Hills 147gr 9mm in a 226 or Federal 230gr Hydrashok in a 1911. Both are reliable loads that expand well, time after time, and achieve the required ~12" of penetration in calibrated ballistic gelatin.
[hijack]
Oy vey. I knew I was selling mine for a reason [sub] and it’s called ‘accuracy’.
[/hijack]
I’m currently looking for a Sig Sauer .40. I like 'em. Wouldn’t carry anything else (if I had the choice).
Tripler
Damn 9mm pieces keep jamming on me. [sub]Don’t ask. . .[/sub]
But then again, I’m more damning the “Preview” button than anything else. :mad:
What is meant here by “stopping power”? I’ve seen this term used for “knocking the target down/away by force of impact”, but if that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t find it in any man-portable weapon, contrary to popular belief. Assuming that the bullet does not penetrate the target and that air resistance is negligible, it’ll impart exactly as much momentum as the gun imparts on you, in recoil. If that amount is enough to throw your target around, it’ll throw you around, too.