Or it’s NOT the Gun Stupid, It’s the Bullet!

Owning a firearm for self-defense is politically and culturally risky; even though the number of armed Americans increases almost daily, STILL the popular conception of a firearm-owner is some kind of paranoid “red-neck” gun-nut who is more danger to his family and neighbors than to any criminals. Of course, the statistics that show firearms being legally used millions of times a year to prevent assaults, rapes, burglaries, etc., never enter the mainstream consciousness because the media refuses to acknowledge that private ownership of firearms serve a vital function in ANY society. But the reality is that more often than you think, owning the RIGHT kind of firearm can mean the difference between life and death.

This was brought home to me recently by a friend who lives “back East.” Moving from the crime infested big city to a friendly rural area where the biggest story on the evening news is the moose walking down Main Street, my friend “Bob” has never felt so secure. However, not too long ago, it seems that he was awoken in the middle of the night by one of his dogs barking outside. Usually, just shouting “Stop that Noise!” is enough to make his well-behaved dogs shut up and go back to sleep. This time, one of the dogs refused. Wearily he got out of bed to see what the problem was when he heard a “chuffing” noise near his garbage; sure enough, a six hundred pound black bear was rooting through the rubbish.

Now “Bob” grew up on a farm and is not unused to wildlife of various sorts. And let’s admit it, a bear in your backyard is really kind of “neat;” so while he was watching the bear, his wife got the camera and took some interesting pictures that would make a great story for friends and neighbors. However he was a little concerned, he has small children and bears CAN be dangerous (see my essay, “Wild Animals”). But at that point, he didn’t think too much about it other than the excitement of seeing some wildlife in his front yard.

Well, bears are some of the smarter animals and they soon learned that “Bob’s” house was the ursine equivalent of MacDonald’s; every night a different one would show up and sample the latest gourmet offerings of the trash cans; annoying but still, kind of “neat.” A few nights later, they heard the dog barking again and so my friend and his wife went out on the deck to take some more pictures.

As they stood on the deck overlooking the trash bin watching the bear rooting around, suddenly, the bear noticed them! Rather than running away (as one might expect), the bear reared up and started climbing OVER the deck rail (about 6-8 feet off the ground) coming directly towards “Bob’s” wife. Now just think what COULD have happened here; and what HAS happened many times before. Say all you want that “the wildlife was here first;” this was an extremely dangerous situation. Wild animals are only cute and cuddly in Disney Movies or when safely observed from behind bars at a zoo. This bear was not making a false charge to threaten or intimidate but insisting that HE was going to have dominion over “Bob’s” property and “Bob” and his wife were seen as a threat to that dominion; a threat it was perfectly willing to “neutralize” with gruesome force. “Bob” and his wife were in imminent and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grievous bodily harm. Furthermore, he had less than a second to make a decision and act. Should he run and try to get back inside the house? Should he wave his arms and try to out intimate the bear?

Thankfully, Bob understands some things that a lot of people do not. First, because he knew bears are dangerous, he had picked up his handgun BEFORE he went outside. He wasn’t looking for trouble, just taking precautions.

Secondly, and in this case, even more importantly, he understood that guns are not magic devices that when waved in the general direction of a problem will make it go away. The average person purchasing a firearm for self-defense is more likely to have developed his understanding of the function, purpose and usefulness of a weapon from television and movies. Hollywood creates all sorts of myths about the destructive effects of magical guns that blow massive holes through walls, make cars explode or throw a 200 pound man ten feet backwards from the shock of being hit with a bullet weighing a fraction of an ounce.

In reality, a gun is simply a device that uses the application of certain basic principles of physics. It is a way of concentrating force. For example, if you hit a man in the chest with your fist, you might hurt him, but will unlikely cause him any serious injury because the force of the blow is spread out through the knuckles and fingers and across his chest and ribs. However, if you hit a man in the chest with a knife, you will seriously injure him, possibly even fatally, because the same force is concentrated in the point of the blade to a specific point on his body. That’s the reason why sharp blades are more effective than dull ones; sharpening something allows more force to be placed on a smaller area. The more that the force is concentrated the more effective it is in penetrating or cutting.

A gun works the same way; it is not REALLY the type of gun that is important, as the type of round that is being used. Sure there are differences between makes and models of firearms; some are more inherently accurate, some more reliable, some more ergonomically designed, etc., but whether some people like to admit it or not, the LOOK of the gun actually has more influence on their perception of its effectiveness, than anything else. How else to explain the “assault weapon” ban in America? The so-called “assault weapons” are simply semi-automatic rifles that are otherwise perfectly legal, EXCEPT they look, really, REALLY mean. (See sidebar #1 on the Assault Weapon Ban)

Because certain guns LOOKED bad, then therefore some people were convinced that they must BE bad! They unconsciously adopted a myth about firearms and then enacted that myth into law. But many others on the opposite side of the gun-issue also believe in pretty much the same myth. All one has to do is peruse a random copy of any gun magazine to see various companies capitalizing on the “look” of the firearms they offer for sale. The naïve buyer assumes that the effectiveness of a weapon is tied to its appearance.

For example, I have known a number of gun-owners to spend a lot of time and money deciding which pistol to buy, but never give ten seconds of thought as to which rounds they are going to use in it. I have known some otherwise very smart, well educated people spend a small fortune for an expensive pistol for self-defense, and then only use full metal jacked rounds! (See side bar #2 for the history of bullets…). At best, they simply ask the gun store owner for his advice, or the advice of the “gun store cowboys” who always seem to be hanging around. But too often, they go to Wal-Mart or such and just pick up the cheapest box of ammo they can find.

Full metal jacketed rounds are the LEAST effective bullets ever devised and were only “invented” in the first place to make guns LESS lethal! British soldiers had discovered in one of their colonial wars that if they cut a cross-shaped notch in the tip of their bullets, it would literally blow a hole in the enemy. The notched bullets expanded upon striking, increasing the diameter of the bullet, thus making a significantly larger hole and obviously increasing the possibility of catastrophic damage. These bullets, called “dum-dums” (possibly because they were developed at the “Dum-Dum” arsenal in India) were horribly effective; so much so that international law forbid their use in military conflicts. Thus modern day military weapons are required to have “full metal jackets” (bullets composed of a soft composite core surrounded by a thin copper jacket). These bullets will not normally expand when hitting something; in fact, they will often pass right through a body leaving only a small hole. Now as they enter and exit something, they WILL impart a portion of their energy to that body, causing serious damage. But they are not the instant killing devices as commonly supposed.

During the battle in Mogadishu, dramatized in the movie, “Black Hawk Down” some American soldiers reported firing entire magazines into attacking Somalis gunmen before they would go “down.” The high velocity M-16 bullets are small and punch nice, neat little holes in a person that eventually, may kill them, but often will not stop them when they are pumped up with adrenaline and drugs (as many of the gunmen were). Full metal jacked rounds are politically correct, but are not terribly effective.

Americans should know better; after all we faced a similar problem in suppressing the Moro guerillas in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. More than a few US Army officers armed with .38 caliber revolvers were killed after emptying their revolvers into machete wielding fanatics hopped up on drugs. The bullets simply lacked sufficient force to stop an attacking adversary. As a result, the US Army developed the .45 ACP which was our standard pistol round until the 1980’s-when it was replaced by the Beretta 9MM. Actual battle use has shown that the 9MM is not an adequate caliber in its military format; the high velocity 9MM full metal jacketed round simply will not stop an attacker. While the target may later bleed to death from his wounds, those wounds will not stop him before he does a little wounding of his own.

My favorite story about the 9MM comes from an Israeli army officer during one of their wars against the Arabs whose command bunker was attacked by a suicidal fanatic. He said, “I don’t know why you Americans are so against the 9MM. Why, I shot him 7 times and he went right down!” He was using an UZI, a 9mm machine pistol with a large capacity magazine. I do not know about you, but if you HAVE to shoot something, do you really want to have to shoot SEVEN times before you can stop the attack? Will you even have TIME to shoot that many times?

Special Forces in the US military and Police SWAT teams have now gone BACK to the .45 just because though they are still restricted on the type of bullets that can be used, they know that a BIGGER bullet, means a BIGGER hole; it ain’t rocket science. While bullet placement is ALWAYS important, the simple fact is that a bigger hole means a quicker stop.

Now having said that, the 9MM CAN be quite effective with the right round, and careful bullet placement; even a 9MM full metal jacketed round in the head or heart will most likely cause instant death. But no matter how good one may be punching holes in paper targets on the range; few shooters in the real world can achieve that kind of accuracy in the stress of a lethal force encounter. I have seen numerous police gunfights caught on the dash-mounted video-cameras of patrol cars where officers, extensively trained, emptied 14-18 rounds of 9MM at point blank range at armed felons, and MISSED! Not for a moment am I disparaging these brave men’s professionalism or expertise; it is a whole different world when the target is firing back!

But if you are involved in a lethal force situation, you do not have the luxury of having a platoon of men surrounding you with rifles, machine-guns, tanks and artillery. And now thanks to our gun laws, you probably do not have a high capacity magazine available, either. All you have is what you are carrying on your person. You do not necessarily want to KILL your attacker, but you do not have the luxury of wounding him in order to demoralize his comrades. You have to STOP him, and the cowboy myth of shooting the gun out of his hand, or wounding him in the arm or leg will get you killed (nothing makes a bad guy angrier than being shot; they tend to take it real personal).

Therefore for self-defense you must have three things; a caliber that is large enough, with enough power behind it, and a bullet that will dump the energy into the target to stop the attack as quickly as possible. Granted, people have been killed by even the smallest calibers like .22’s (a weapon designed for shooting rabbits, squirrels and other small varmints); but there are enough cases on the book to show that men have been shot 20 or more times with a .22 and still killed their victims; better not depend on “mouse guns” in an emergency. (See Side bar #4 on Non-Lethal Use of Force)

Thus when purchasing a handgun, forget the looks, instead focus on the caliber (how large a round it fires) and the type of bullet you plan to use. For the average person, that means some sort of “hollow-point” ammunition. A hollow-point is a bullet with the center scooped out; essentially capitalizing on the “dum-dum” concept invented by the British. When a “hollow-point” round hits a target, the force makes the edges peel back, increasing the diameter of the bullet, thus making the hole larger in the target larger as well as increasing resistance and imparting more energy. You do not want a bullet that travels through the attacker, exiting out the back and then possibly hitting someone standing behind them. You do not want a bullet that will expand too quickly and thus not penetrate deep enough to cause disabling damage. You want something that will if possible, impart sufficient energy into the attacker to increases the likelihood of the wound being catastrophic enough to cause unconsciousness or death almost instantly.

Now I could get really graphic here and describe from my research library, all the gruesome details of what happens when a bullet hits a human body; but what is the point? I enjoy a good steak, but have little interest in the details of how beef goes from the feedlot, to the slaughterhouse, to my grill. I just would rather not know. In the same way, I’d rather not know all the medical facts behind bullet injuries; all I want to know is that if I ever HAVE to use my firearm for self-defense, it will do the job quickly and effectively with minimum risk to me, my family, or my neighbor down the street. We all pray that we will never be placed in a situation where we have to use lethal force, but sometimes, we simply do not have a choice. Either we take the shot, or we, or someone we love, is going to die.

Which brings us all the way back to “Bob;” Bob never hesitated. Before coming to look at the bear, he took his .45 caliber pistol out loaded Federal Hydra-Shock bullets. He jacked one in the chamber, and was ready. He was not looking for trouble, but just taking a sensible precaution. Federal Hydra-Shocks are well-tested hollow pointed ammunition, and in a .45 caliber round, have a well deserved reputation for effective stopping power.

Thus, when the bear jumped over the railing of his deck, at a range of literally 36 inches, Bob shot the bear once in the head; settling once and for all the .45 vs. 9MM debate- the bear dropped down dead. OK, maybe someone could find fault with a man taking pictures of a bear eating his garbage. Maybe he could have called the county animal control officer (though where he lives, they would have probably told him to shoot the stupid brute and not bother them over such trifles). But remember, he has little children who play outside all the time, and now a family of bears had determined that his home was their new picnic area. Furthermore, all the myths of “Gentle Ben” went out the window when that bear charged his wife holding the camera.

But “Bob” didn’t believe the myths; either about wildlife or the magic stopping power of guns. He had enough “gun,” and enough “bullet” to do the job. He had practiced with his weapon and knew what to do when there wasn’t enough time to think. He saved himself, and his wife, from a vicious mauling or even death.

That makes him a hero in my book; and a smart one at that. Did I mention that he had a friend staying over that night-a friend who was armed with a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with triple ought buckshot to back him up? “Bob” is no fool; if something went wrong (as it did), even his .45 might not be enough to stop a charging bear so he had “back-up.” Even a .45 is no GUARANTEE against something as large as a bear (see Sidebar #5 on the most effective handgun rounds).

If you are going to have a weapon for self-defense, make sure it can do the job you need it to do, when you need it to do it. I hate to think what would have happened if “Bob” had been like certain people I know, carrying a small caliber pistol with full metal jacket ammunition. This story might have had a far different ending; and a more gruesome one. As it is, “Bob” survived a lethal force situation, protected his family, and even has a great “war-story” to tell because he understood the difference between gun myths, and reality. Do you?

Sidebars: Interesting Stuff

Sidebar 1: Assault Weapons

Technically speaking, an “assault weapon” is a fully automatic rifle that allows the gun to continuously fire when the trigger is pulled. The weapons banned under the Clinton Régime are “semi-automatic” rifles that require the trigger to be pulled for each round fired. These weapons are perfectly legal to own in America just as long as they do not LOOK like their military counter-parts.

The Germans developed the “Assault Rifle” concept in World War II to counter Russian human wave attacks. The Russians had armed many of their troops with bulky “machine-pistols” which were high capacity, automatic weapons firing a pistol cartridge. This means that though the range very short, if the Russians could get close enough, these weapons were devastating because of the sheer number of bullets they could fire; especially since the German soldier was armed with a bolt action Mauser rifle that had been in use for almost fifty years.

Thus the Russians could overrun German positions because the Germans could just not fire fast enough to stop them; not even with “machine-guns.” Technically speaking a “machine-gun” is an automatic weapon that fires a rifle round; a “machine-pistol” (or “sub-machine gun”) fires a pistol round. Rifle rounds are larger, with more powder and heavier bullets, but they also have more recoil. Though it might look really “neat” in action movies to have the hero man-handle a machine-gun and mow down hoards of enemies, in reality, you just cannot reliably control a machine gun unless it is resting on something as you fire. Pistol rounds are usually much more controllable but because they are smaller, do not have the energy needed to reliably stop an enemy. Also, machine-guns are expensive, bulky and there is usually only one for every 5-10 soldiers. Machine pistols are cheaper, easier to manufacture, and do not require so much training to use effectively. But because of their short range, they only have a limited use on the battlefield. But put LOTS of machine-pistols in a numerically superior enemy (as the Russians were in World War II), and the sheer volume of fire can overwhelm a defender.

So, some bright German engineer decided to go the Russians one better by inventing a weapon that shot an intermediate round somewhere between the ones traditionally used in a pistol and the ones in a rifle; and still accurately fire on full automatic; hence the first “assault weapon.” You could “assault” a position by overwhelming the enemy with the sheer number of bullets being fired that were longer ranged than machine-pistols. Conversely, you could stop an assault on your position by the same means. Today’s militaries across the world have largely adopted the assault weapon concept and the rounds used today are significantly smaller than the rifle rounds used in World War’s I and II.

And in CERTAIN situations, an assault weapon might be a good idea; American forces in Korea also faced human wave attacks when the Chinese entered the war. We were a little better prepared than the Germans had been because our troops had semi-automatic rifles (meaning that a round was fired with each pull of the trigger). However, even that was not enough, because American soldiers found that they ran out of bullets faster than the Chinese ran out of bodies. So the US military eventually ended up with the M-16; an “assault weapon” that originally could fire on full auto with a round that was light enough not to cause TOO excessive recoil.

The point is of course (we DID have a point with this historical digression) is that it is perfectly legal in America to own a fully automatic weapon, provided one pays the proper license fees. But 99.9% of the “assault weapons” that were banned are NOT assault weapons; they are simply semi-automatic rifles that LOOK like their military, fully automatic counter-parts. To meet the new regulations, they simply have to take off some of the “military” features such as a bayonet lug, pistol grip, flash suppressor, etc., NONE of which affects the lethality of the weapon in ANY way!

Sidebar 2: A Brief, Over-Generalizd and Not Too Technical History of Rifles and Rounds.

For the average person who doesn’t pour over the latest edition of “Guns and Ammo” magazine, a full metal jacketed round is the type required by the Geneva Convention for military forces. In the old days, bullets were made of soft lead. When fired from the black powered firearms of the 19th century, this meant that the bullet traveled relatively slowly (when compared to modern firearms) and therefore had less kinetic energy. To make up for the low kinetic energy, the bullets were larger. The soft led balls deformed on impact, creating a large hole, but usually stayed within the body.

Interestingly enough, (if you have a gruesome bend) the bullets used in those days frequently did not directly cause death. Instead, when the bullet entered the body, it often carried with it bits of cloth from the victims clothing; clothing that was usually dirty. Granted, these bullets could be lethal enough, but people often died of gangrene and infection from the dirty clothing rather than from their actual wounds. That’s why the only hope for a wounded man in those days was amputation; surgeons cut off the wounded limb before the infection could spread and kill the patient. People suffering from otherwise non-lethal chest or belly wounds invariably died of infection.

As an interesting side-note, if you saw the movie “Gods and Generals” Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally shot by his own pickets when coming back from reconnoitering the lines. He actually survived the many wounds he received (though losing an arm) but died a few days later from infection.

Thus, the older, black-powder guns firing soft lead bullets could be deadly if they hit a vital spot; but were not necessarily all that effective. Which by the way of another interesting tangent, explains why American marksmen, who had grown up with hunting as an important source of food, were so much hated by the British during our war of independence.

American units could often not afford to be equipped with the smooth bore muskets that were all the rage for civilized countries. Instead many soldiers had to use their own smaller caliber, rifled weapons that were developed for hunting. British troops were used to standing about fifty yards from their opponents firing in volleys; while no particular musket could be reasonably expected to hit much beyond that range, the sheer volume of fire was guaranteed to eventually wear down the enemy.

Furthermore the British trained their troops to fire an unprecedented three rounds a minute and hold their ground even while taking enormous casualties. No army in the world could stand up to the British in a “fair” fight. Every time the Americans met the British in such a battle, we came out the worse for the experience (with only a couple of exceptions to prove the rule).

Where we Americans really excelled was at using rifles; weapons that had a thin spiral groove cut on the inside the barrels that imparted a spin to the bullet, thus stabilizing it in flight. The bullet therefore could travel further and hit targets accurately at unheard of ranges. When combined with wearing buck-skin clothes that blended into the trees and forests, and shooting from behind stone walls and trees at ranges the British could not hope to hit anything at, one can see why they were so upset with us; it just wasn’t playing fair!

Americans also “cheated” by using “buck and ball;” they would load two .32 caliber “buckshot” with their regular bullet therefore sending more lead downrange. While the additional buckshot was not necessarily lethal, it did cause additional wounds which caused a serious morale problem for the British.

However, fast forwarding from the War of Independence to the late 19th century, eventually, “smokeless powder” (nitroglycerine soaked in cotton fabric) replaced black powder, and all firearms (apart from shot-guns) had rifled barrels; both developments meant that guns could shoot at longer ranges, more accurately and still hit their targets harder than ever before. Bullets could then be smaller because the “powder” was more effective; i.e., more force meant the bullets traveled faster and therefore imparted more energy even though they were smaller in diameter. For example, in the 18th century, .50 caliber musket balls were common; by the end of the 19th century, .30 caliber bullets were common. Today, .22 caliber rounds are standard for military purposes (caliber refers to the diameter of the bullet; e.g., a .50 caliber bullet is ½ inch in diameter).

Again, it is all a matter of physics; the effectiveness of any weapon is based on two criteria; the amount of energy produced and the kind of projectile that is fired. If you INCREASE the energy, then there is more force available and potentially, more damage can be caused; just think of the difference between being hit by the proverbial 90lb weakling and a 250 pound professional boxer. One definitely has more, potential power available than the other. On the other hand, if you “improve” the projectile, even though there is less force, you can actually increase the damage; give the 90lb weakling a pointy stick and put boxing gloves on the wrestler!

Sidebar 3: On The Philosophy of Wounding Rather Than Killing on the Battlefield.

Now to be fair, the military has a method to their madness; they understand that killing an enemy takes one man off the battlefield, but WOUNDING him takes two or three off the battlefield. Warfare is not about killing, really; it is about imposing your will on the enemy. The first one to loose their will to fight, loses the war (hence it can be said that we “lost” the Vietnam war even though we won all the battles; we lost the will to continue and therefore the North Vietnamese “won”).

Therefore if you demoralize the enemy, or remove his will to fight, then you win. Wounded soldiers scream, cry out, take up precious resources, and demand to be evacuated. They require doctors, hospitals, nurses, and medicine. There are few things as demoralizing as watching a friend die from his wounds in horrible agony because YOUR leaders do not have the time, resources or compassion to take care of someone who fought at their instruction. Therefore, the goal is often to wound as many soldiers as possible, rather than kill them.

Besides, soldiers rely on their machine guns as their primary weapons; the riflemen are there to protect the machine-gunner. And in all modern wars, artillery is the actual real “killer” on the battlefield. Rifles are often seen as a way of keeping the enemy pinned down until the artillery can finish off the job.

Thus in many armies, pistols are more of a badge of authority for officers and therefore their effectiveness (or lack thereof) on the battlefield is simply irrelevant. They simply do not care that their 9MM pistols are not terribly effective because it is not really intended to be used. You however, do not have a 105mm howitzer to come to your defense and hence YOUR pistol is all you have. Therefore choose wisely and try to get the most out of what you have.

Sidebar 4: Non-Lethal Use of Force

Firearms are used lawfully millions of times a year to prevent rapes, burglaries and other assaults. Clearly, in the vast majority of instances, the weapons are not fired, merely used to intimidate an attacker. If an assault looks likely (i.e., a person is in imminent and otherwise unavoidable danger of grievous bodily harm or death), then, simply drawing one’s weapon and pointing it at the attacker may well help him decide that “discretion is the better part of valor.” Thus even “mouse” guns can serve an important function in discouraging an attack. I certainly do not want ever to be shot with ANY caliber bullet! And since the myths we have been discussing are so prevalent, a case can be made that even “mouse” guns are better than nothing in certain situations because the bad guy fears the “magical” effects we have been discussing.

However, this brings us to another situation: again, despite the myths; guns are not magic wands. If you draw your weapon you had better be prepared to use it IF necessary, otherwise, it is likely that the professional criminal will sense your doubt and risk the danger to take it away from you and then using it on YOU.

Therefore, BEFORE you decide to be armed, there is a mental preparation you must undergo; can you do what you are threatening to do? Granted, the situation you are facing must demand the lawful use of force, but just as important are you WILLING to take the next step.

Therefore, there are several things to keep in mind. First, stay out of “bad” areas. If you do not want to ever have to use a weapon, stay away from the places where you are likely to meet felons. Walking alone through strange cities or dark alleys at night is an invitation for disaster. Staying AWAY from trouble is infinitely preferable to having to draw a weapon to get you OUT of trouble.

Secondly, remember that you can and MUST walk away from conflicts, if that option is available. A man standing on a street corner making a crude remark about your wife or girlfriend does not justify YOU escalating the situation by getting into a fight which could lead to a lethal force situation. A minor loss of pride is nothing compared to the psychological guilt of wounding or killing a person; not to mention the legal problems.

Thirdly, never brandish your weapon JUST to threaten or intimidate. The weapon is there ONLY as a last resort to prevent grievous bodily harm or death. If you threaten someone, and do not have justification, they might well report YOU to the police and you could be convicted of assault.

Finally, if you HAVE to use your weapon, your primary purpose is to stop an assault. If drawing your gun does not work and you have to fire, you want to do everything you can to make sure that the attacker loses all interest in continuing the assault as quickly as possible. This is as much psychological as physical; an angry man full of adrenaline (or on Methamphetamine or PCP) might receive a lethal wound, yet never feel it until after he has pummeled or knifed you to death. On the other hand, some criminals might drop to the ground and cry like a baby with a minor injury to an extremity.

Since you are likely to get only one shot, you want to make sure that it will do everything possible to discourage further action; hence our disdain for “mouse” guns. Simply drawing your weapon might end the situation in SOME cases, but actually having to fire it, even multiple times might not be enough to stop a determined attacker.

However, having said all the above, an argument can be made that it is better to be dependant on carrying even a “mouse” gun, than having no gun available at all.

Sidebar 5: What Are The Best Handgun Rounds?

Trying to determine the “best” handgun rounds is a risky endeavor because EVERYONE has an opinion, usually with statistical tests, actual case-histories of police shootings and just darned prejudice to prove their point.

However, after doing extensive research (I called my friend “Dave”) here are my picks for reliable, effective rounds for the most popular calibers.

I have left out brand names instead focusing on the bullet weight. Bullets are weighed in “grains.” An ounce has 437.5 grains. So for example, a 240 grain full metal jacketed round weighs more than half an ounce.

As you will see, when you go DOWN in caliber, the choices become more important because the weight of the bullet is less, and therefore needs more power behind it to make it both penetrate and expand.

The +P designator is an American affectation which essentially means “high pressure.” Most ammunition sold in other countries would be considered +P in the United States. However, because of the high internal pressures generated, please make sure your firearm is in good condition and was built to handle +P ammunition.

.45 Any bullet weight as long as it is a hollow-point

.40 Any bullet weight as long as it is a hollow-point

9MM 115, 124 grain hollow points (+P helps but not required)

.38 158 grain semi-wad cutter hollow-points (out of a 2” barrel, 125 grain +P jacketed hollow-point)

.380 (9MM short) 90 grain hollow point (but this is getting risky-.380 is a marginal caliber)

.32, .25 .22, etc., are known as “mouse” guns because they cannot be relied upon to stop anything larger than a rodent. Hollow points will not reliably expand because the rounds are too small to propel the bullets with enough force. These can be fun guns to shoot, and if they are all you have, then you have to make do; but as we say, “mouse” guns are dangerous-you could put an eye out with one!” Or as Massad Ayoob, world expert on the use of lethal force puts it, “friends don’t let friends carry mouse guns…”