Originally Posted by Piwo

It has been said many times on this forum that handguns stink when it comes to stopping power, whatever that is. I have always felt that way. Either they stop the fight or they don't...and you wont really know until such time as you need to.
This was driven home to me years ago. It was one of the last shootings I investigated while working basic patrol. A man attempted to break into a home in the middle of the day via the front door. He was putting the boots to the old solid oak door when the homeowner yelled at him to go away. Our burglar ignored him. The homeowner was on the other side of the door with a Marlin 30-30 loaded with Federal 170 grain bullets. As the door lock gave way the owner fired from the hip at the bad guy. The bullet hit the door frame, traveled through 6 inches of wood, expanded nicely (judging by the big hole in the frame) struck the burglar in the chest completely penetrating his chest and exiting his back. The burglar did not fall. He was not blown back like in the movies. He spun and ran like a deer. He covered a good 8 blocks (as I remember) and slowed to a walk. People sitting on their front porch saw him bleeding and sat him down on their steps and called an ambulance. They did not know the circumstances of him being shot. The ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital. He made a complete recovery. Investigation revealed that the burglar never lost consciousness. If he was armed and of a mind he could have put more than a few rounds into the homeowner. He kept trying to kick the door in because he didn't think the homeowner was armed. He didn't know what kind of gun he was shot with, he just knew he was shot. At the hospital, the ER doctor said that it was a miracle that the bullet struck nothing vital. It hit the mid/upper right chest and exited the upper back, punching a large hole in his scapula. The Doctor said he was lucky as an inch or two in another point of impact it would have been a different story.

In my simple mind, any advantage gained by bullet design, power, velocity or caliber is negated by poor shot placement. I'm sure a 30-30 round looks real good in gelatin tests and then some. I'm sure it exceeds any portable handgun made. But it can still fail. And as I have witnessed, effectiveness is directly related to bullet placement.

Bottom line for me is I want ammo that is dependable, accurate and penetrates. Depending on caliber, that may be accomplished with a hollow point, or maybe a SWC. These new "trick" bullets don't even rate my attention. I try to carry what others have carried and worked as well as can be expected from a handgun. If one round doesn't stop the fight, keep shooting, keep hitting until it does. Carry a gun that allows you to keep shooting and hitting, within your abilities. Then practice, practice, practice.