Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

gunderwood wrote:I think the 9mm/.357Mag question summed up is:

Why does approx. 150-250fps velocity difference cause such dramatic differences (according the morgue link, no first hand experience), all else being practically equal?

Take a look at http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/results.html.

9mm 4" bbl, Federal 124 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP 1115 FPS ( beretta 92fs as an example)

Now they measured the barrels a bit different from how revolvers are measured. In a revolver the maker generally does not include the cylinder in the barrel length measurement. So to get the equivalent barrel length in a real revolver you have to goto a slightly longer barrel length for their test.

If we look at the 4" S&W 686 with a Federal 125 gr. JHP we get 1436.

321 FPS different. If we use the 357 as the base line the 9mm is almost 25% slower. That is a considerable energy difference.

There is little doubt that the .357 blows away the 9mm and .45 in energy and terminal performance. IMO the recoil is the big reason its not more popular as an EDC gun. That or some folks merely dont realize the difference in the performance factors...

Personally, and that is all it is is just personal, I go for the bigger hole of the .45. Holes are exponential. Double the diameter and you quadruple the surface area.

I favor the .45 for a similar reason. A bigger bullet moving a little slower has advantages too...

zephyp wrote:I favor the .45 for a similar reason. A bigger bullet moving a little slower has advantages too...

230gr X .45 X 800fps = WALLOP


WALLOP X Double tap(WALLOP) = WALLOP3 or

Glen,

While I do fancy the idea of handing out a wallop to a scumbag thats somethin I'd rather do to one of my little dogs when they pee on the carpet. I would much prefer to send the scumbags "elsewhere" permanently...