stopping/knockdown power, hydrostatic shock

Don't mean to monopolize the topic, but I was looking at the Cor-Bon ammo videos (www.corbon.com/Products-Demos.html) the .380 had the deepest penetration except for the .45 ACP and .44 Mag. Even the .308 was less, but with an impressive "explosion" an inch or two into the gelatin. The 9mm and .357 were mighty close, but the .38 Special +P was a bit off and the mighty .40's were not there either.



I am not trying to lobby for the .380 being superior to a .40 S&W, but it shows what good engineering can do.

 

If you are ever attacked by the Blob or any other gelatin based threat, the .380 would be great. I kind of take all of this ballistic stuff with a grain of salt. Hydrostatic shock requires velocities that are unachievable in handguns. I know the videos of ballistics gel show huge cavernous holes but the human body has muscle, fat, sinew and bone. Not gelatin.

The statistics of actual shootings, to me, are more useful that anything else in determining the stopping power of a particular round. Although I do enjoy discussions about ballistics. I carry a .380 with CorBon Powerballs, I'll put 7 in the Blob in a heart beat

 

Will, I agree on the gelatin blob's inherent weakness in the stopping power debate, but the penetration should be consistent across all but hardened targets. I noted the PowerBall lead slug was very nicely mushroomed. The lead used for that was very ductile, and showed no apparent fragmentation. Excellent performance, now if they could only keep the core and jacket together...but then maybe that would sacrifice that pretty mushroom.

 

The Corbon Powerballs were all I could find, that and PMC Starfires. They cost a lot but are worth it. I also have some Federal Personal Defense Low Recoil loads that I have no shot yet. The .380 gets no respect from some people but it is a wicked little round. I carry it in my little pocket pistol.

 

hey i love the 380 but don,t conpare it to the .40 s&w apples to ornges,approx 200# of energy and 400# of energy and 950fps as aposes to 1150fps and 95gr to 165&180gr.......

 

But thats what makes the discussion a discussion - few will say the 380 is equal to the 40 S&W, then the 40 S&W is not equal to the 44 Magnum. Yet in a properly placed (read lucky) CNS hit they are all one shot stoppers, as is the lowly 22 LR.

 

pastor tru,but what if i don,t get the perfect shoot... and hit the bad guy in the shoulder,or what ever, witch happens alot in hi pressure situations,you tell me 40cal or 380,the 40 will have a way better chance of knocking him down.....

 

Uglydog - That is why I "discuss" for a .44 or .45. If 380 was that good T/C would have made a Contender for hunting with it



I observed the relative similarity of many calibers engineered to a single standard. That standard is gelatin and a specific penetration. The standard does not take diameter into account.



With self defense the "perfect" shot rarely occurs, so we compensate with greater ability to create large, long holes in the target. Speed helps, but so does initial diameter and a heavy enough bullet to drive the mushroom through the target.



The best gun to have is the one you have available and can shoot accurately. For many the 380 is that gun and Cor-Bon and others have engineered a bullet and powder combination that will give a good chance the 380 will reach deep enough to hit a vital organ. To be honest the 380 was the only Powerball I observed tumbling in the gelatin, that costs it penetration and may even reduce the wound channel width.



The concept of a plastic tip to give reliable feeding, and reliable expansion because the deforming force is not dependent on the composition of the target as much as in a hollow point. Hornady has developed a round specifically on this principle.

 

yes this i know, and i carry a .380 quite a bit 4 warm weather,then a .38 and in jacket weather a .40 ,hey for deep cover when i,m in a monkey suit I,ll where a naa .22 ankle revolver with hollow pts. it beats throwing rocks...........

 

Now that's a possible topic - .22 rimfire - hollow points or solids?

 

hi vol hollow points , i want to max out the die of the little bullit as much as possable for personal defence......

 

What sort of penetration can you get out of the little revolver?

 

1&1/8 in" pipe on the gun ,you tell me ? i guess i put it up to the bad guys forhead and pull the trigger..... 5 times,hey a .22 long beats the crap out of nothing.....its deep cover..when i have nothing else on myself it gives a good feeling to have the little belly gun......

 

It does beat nothing, and low velocity can actually increase penetration with some bullets. .22 LR is responsible for many fatal (often accidental) shootings. I don't face badguys routinely, and so my personal opinion is worth what you pay for it here...but on woodchucks my experience with .22 LR hollowpoints is usually no exit wound and that is at much higher velocities than a 1 1/8" barrel will produce. That would translate into way less than adequate penetration on an adult human torso. I would think solids would give more reliable incapacitation particularly where bone may be encountered.



Maybe stick it in the BG's eye?

 

paster i should have said jacket hollow points ,cci velocters,they say its the way to go if you have to use a .22 for p.d..................................

 

Those bullets look similar to the old CCI CPHP .22 Mag bullets. They are heavy for caliber and are designed to hold together well. Sounds like they fit the bill for PD in a short barrel, still I wonder how they would work if bone is struck?

 

what ever it maybe it a last dich weapon.........