09-17-2011, 09:02 PM
The .45 ACP's biggest problem is its mass...it tends to not perform in many hollow point loads, since the mass maintains bullet shape as it slowly flies through soft tissue mediums after filling with clothing, and also deflects off lighter bone than most would think.
There are two primary schools of thought on bullet performance related to stopping a human threat:
1) Exsanguination
2) CNS Severence
I don't adhere to either as the route by which to approach stopping a lethal human attacker, since exsaunguination doesn't bleed people out fast enough to keep them from being able to still inflict injury or death on you (recall Miami 1986 & Platt), and 1st-round CNS shots are more for precision rifle marksmen. I do know of actual scenarios that were exceptions to the "head shot first" with a pistol, but they are rare.
The school of thought I personally subscribe to currently is explosive precision violence to psychologically and physically stop dead a lethal attacker. Basically think of something more along the lines of a very quick Bill Drill with a head shot follow-up in reserve if necessary, in a closing engagement, with trapping range contact shooting and hand-to-hand as the next stages in a worst-case.
Out of the numerous people I pester about such things, one particular scenario sticks out to me: I interviewed a shooting survivor last year at SHOT who was a cop in Florida. He had chased down this 18-year-old kid who had just shop-lifted some petty merchandise at the mall. Upon reaching him after jumping over several fences, he grabbed the kids sweater, from which a fist fight ensued. The officer flew back into a landscaping pool at a self-storage property they were on, and began spitting out his lower row of teeth. "Damn that kid hit me HARD!" was what was going through his head in that moment. The kid stood over him with a Glock 21 .45 ACP, which he had just used to shoot the officer in the face. The kid then placed three more shots into the officer's chest and turned to get away. The officer was wearing his armor...
The officer propped himself up on his right hand, drew his Glock 22 .40 S&W and proceeded to fire into the kid with a single hand position, at which point the kid turned and re-engaged the officer. The fight ended with the kid on top of the officer and the officer made the final shot, which was a contact shot to the skull, ending the fight. They both had run to slide lock...
The fight started with a .45 ACP to the head and ended with a .40 to the head. A total of 27 rounds had been expended. What I would hope for those evaluating their personal protection posture is to understand the psychological aspect of the will to survive a competition for life, the different training techniques and procedures that could be involved, and lastly, the tool selection considerations, particularly, magazine capacity.
There are two primary schools of thought on bullet performance related to stopping a human threat:
1) Exsanguination
2) CNS Severence
I don't adhere to either as the route by which to approach stopping a lethal human attacker, since exsaunguination doesn't bleed people out fast enough to keep them from being able to still inflict injury or death on you (recall Miami 1986 & Platt), and 1st-round CNS shots are more for precision rifle marksmen. I do know of actual scenarios that were exceptions to the "head shot first" with a pistol, but they are rare.
The school of thought I personally subscribe to currently is explosive precision violence to psychologically and physically stop dead a lethal attacker. Basically think of something more along the lines of a very quick Bill Drill with a head shot follow-up in reserve if necessary, in a closing engagement, with trapping range contact shooting and hand-to-hand as the next stages in a worst-case.
Out of the numerous people I pester about such things, one particular scenario sticks out to me: I interviewed a shooting survivor last year at SHOT who was a cop in Florida. He had chased down this 18-year-old kid who had just shop-lifted some petty merchandise at the mall. Upon reaching him after jumping over several fences, he grabbed the kids sweater, from which a fist fight ensued. The officer flew back into a landscaping pool at a self-storage property they were on, and began spitting out his lower row of teeth. "Damn that kid hit me HARD!" was what was going through his head in that moment. The kid stood over him with a Glock 21 .45 ACP, which he had just used to shoot the officer in the face. The kid then placed three more shots into the officer's chest and turned to get away. The officer was wearing his armor...
The officer propped himself up on his right hand, drew his Glock 22 .40 S&W and proceeded to fire into the kid with a single hand position, at which point the kid turned and re-engaged the officer. The fight ended with the kid on top of the officer and the officer made the final shot, which was a contact shot to the skull, ending the fight. They both had run to slide lock...
The fight started with a .45 ACP to the head and ended with a .40 to the head. A total of 27 rounds had been expended. What I would hope for those evaluating their personal protection posture is to understand the psychological aspect of the will to survive a competition for life, the different training techniques and procedures that could be involved, and lastly, the tool selection considerations, particularly, magazine capacity.