#BEST 9MM AMMO FOR STOPPING POWER PLUS#

The 9mm round is one of the most popular rounds for good reason. Check out this video for rifle and pistol caliber stopping power. That’s the type of rounds we’re looking at now. They can become plugged with clothing, or other debris, and then they will act just like a normal ball round.Īll of this means that we need to pick the heaviest hollow point bullet that reliably expands to the widest diameter we can achieve, while still penetrating between 12-18 inches in ballistics gel. Some hollow points will not expand when shot. We also need to consider how reliable the hollow point round is. More penetration is not better, as shooting through a person only endangers other people, and does not increase stopping power. This insures that a bullet will enter the body deep enough to damage vital organs. The FBI protocol for ballistics gel testing requires that a round penetrate between 12-18 inches of ballistic gel. It has a lot of energy and mass, but it doesn’t penetrate very well. This is why birdshot in a shotgun isn’t a good home defense round. We know that we should use the heaviest handgun round we can find, but it must penetrate deep enough to affect the bodies vital organs. Lastly, we need to discuss what the bullet does once it strikes a person. I bet you thought 9mm vs 40 was going to be a little simpler than this! At a certain point you just can’t hold onto a round that is that powerful. You’ll find that increasing velocity directly increases recoil. Because momentum is conserved, the amount of force exiting the front of the pistol is equal to that going into your hand. You would also have to increase the amount of energy you put into the bullet to accelerate it to that speed. Moreover, that temporary cavity would have to do more damage than the permanent wound channel caused by the bigger slower bullet. If you were able to accelerate the bullet fast enough to create a temporary cavity, you might be on to something.

Given this, we should go for the faster lighter bullet right? This means that if you double velocity you quadruple kinetic energy, where as if you double the mass of the bullet you only double the energy. Those of you who remember high school physics might recall the equation for kinetic energy equals one half times the mass, multiplied by the velocity squared. Here is a shot of the temporary cavity from a high velocity rifle cartridge. We can’t accelerate pistol rounds fast enough to do so. The only reason to accelerate a bullet faster is to try and create a temporary cavity. We need to choose a heavier bullet because more of the energy from the bullet will be transferred to the target effectively. This is an important factor why rifle rounds work better than pistol rounds. Sure, there is a temporary cavity for both 9mm and 40 cal bullets, but it’s a paltry thing compared to that from a high speed rifle round. Only rifles can create a significant temporary cavity, because the bullet must be traveling at a much higher velocity to develop the required pressure wave. The second way is by creating a temporary cavity using a high pressure wave behind the bullet. The first way is mechanical crushing damage of the bullet displacing tissue. This is because there are two ways a bullet actually damages a person. It certainly isn’t as widely used as 5.56mm, and as a result, most agencies would never consider adopting that caliber, even though it’s arguably one of the best.Īs a good rule of thumb, you should seek to shoot the heaviest handgun bullet weight for your chosen caliber.

#BEST 9MM AMMO FOR STOPPING POWER PLUS#

If you’ve read my article reviewing my POF Renegade Plus in 300 Blackout, you’ll know what a great caliber that cartridge is. The 300 Blackout is a perfect example of this. There are amazing calibers that no department will issue due to logistical considerations. They have budgetary considerations that we may or may not have, and they have to be able to purchase large quantities of guns, gun parts, and bullets for training. However, in recent years, law enforcement agencies have started to transition from the 40 s&w back to the 9mm cartridge. It’s important to keep in mind that police departments, and federal agencies, have more considerations in selecting their bullets and guns than we do. This is a very common question, and I think we should certainly use their decisions as a metric to keep an eye on. Should We Pick The Caliber That Law Enforcement Agencies Use?

Best 9mm ammo for stopping power