XD Talk

hillbillychia · 04-20-2010, 06:21 PM

winchester bonded, i will investigate these rounds. thanks for the tip, it is greatly appreciated. how pricey are they? the ranger's didnt seem so bad. i guess when it comes down to it, if it saves my family from harm it is worth any price.

SwampCracker67 · 04-20-2010, 06:37 PM

Found this while doing a search for more info...may be of some interest ymmv: Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

hillbillychia · 04-20-2010, 07:07 PM

wow!! super article, a must read for novices (such as myself) lol, thank you swamp cracker.

hillbillychia · 04-20-2010, 07:22 PM

found winchester bonded on ammunition to go for 18.95 for 20. i will be getting a couple of boxes.

jj79 · 04-20-2010, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillbillychia

wow!! super article, a must read for novices (such as myself) lol, thank you swamp cracker.

most of the info in that article is from Dr. G.K. Roberts. you can read more of his stuff here:

Terminal Ballistic Information - M4Carbine.net Forums

all of the "sticky's" are from Doc Roberts...some of the best info available on this subject.

-JJ

hillbillychia · 04-21-2010, 06:26 AM

great forum, thanks for the tip jj79!

Keltyke · 04-21-2010, 07:21 AM

"Cuda66" tells it straight. Any of the larger rounds will do a good job to the limits of the gun and the round. There are two caveats attached to that statement:
1. Shot placement is everything. I'd rather put a .32 ACP in the BG's eye than a .45 ACP in his arm.
2. NO handgun round is a reliable "stopper".

**mongoose33** · 04-21-2010, 07:22 AM

Like everyone else who is relatively new to handguns, I ate up the stuff on effectiveness of various bullets w/r/t one-shot-stops, thinking that somehow, this really mattered a great deal.

But at some point I wondered about all the focus on it--it seemed far too focused on one thing, when there are so many things that influence one's self-defense prospects.

Things like accuracy, how many shots (why don't we see information on two-shot-stops?), circumstances, etc. etc. etc.

That is, who on earth shoots one time, and waits to see if it's a one-shot stop? It seems likely that if you don't hit the CNS or perhaps the heart, there's little reason to expect a one-shot stop out of any caliber.

It strikes me, after reading all these threads, and having background in statistics and probability, that the type of ammo--so long as it's hollow-point of decent quality--and the caliber--so long as it's at least 9mm--is far less important than these things:

1. Doing your best to stay out of circumstances where you might find trouble.

2. Avoiding dark alleys (use that as a metaphor for all the other situations one might encounter).

3. Having had enough practice that one can reasonably expect a bullet to go where you point the gun, more or less.

4. Having practiced followup shots enough that one has a reasonable chance at a second shot if needed.

These things, IMO, will affect your prospects far more than the type of ammo you carry or the caliber (again, so long as it's a decent quality).

In the final analysis, while there have been a few documented instances of people who have taken several rounds and kept going, the reality is that this is the exception, not the rule.

Obsessing over the 1 in 10,000 chance that this might happen to me doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather focus my energy on the things that matter more, like practicing, and avoiding bad situations.

Now, I won't be surprised to hear "yes, but..." in rebuttal. And if people want to get their jollies over endless debate as to which handgun bullet or caliber is truly best at one-shot stops, more power to them. I just think that, in an objective sense, assuming decent SD ammo, they're focused on the least important thing.

One more thing: I have an XD-9 and an XD-45, both service models. If I had to pick one to defend my life, I'd pick the XD-45. But I can tell you this: I wouldn't want to be shot by my 9mm. And I suspect I could do all right with it, if that were all I owned.

**agalindo** · 04-21-2010, 09:11 AM

Actually the rule is people keep going even after being shot, the one shot one stop is the exception. Also consider that statistics show that in a gun fight 90% to 80% of your shots will miss the bad guy. Percentage of shots hitting the target is 10-20%. That number is just hitting the target not center of mass hits.

fredj338 · 04-21-2010, 10:20 AM

It's about the margins. There are so many things that are going ot determin the outcome of a gunfight. Your shooting ability is maybe 50%. The rest; caliber, BG state of mind, clothing the BG wears, how fat or muscled the BG is, etc. So choosing "the best" ammo, like going to a larger caliber, is only giving you a margin of increase in your ability to end the fight. Then again, gunfights are often won or lost on the margins. The imfamous Miami FBI shooting was just one of those events. It lead to the FBI wound balistics study & that drives most handgun bullet developement today.
So if I can get "the best" by some experts opinion, great, as long as it functions 100% in my gun & shoots w/ a level of accuracy I am happy with. If not, then I am quite happy to carry "old" school, proven designs that maybe don't give me quite as much margin, but will get the job done if I do my part.