The Best Handgun Caliber - A Real World Study

[trikerdon]

This video uses the data from Greg Ellifritz's 10-year stopping power study of real-world gun fights to shed the light of actual data on several common beliefs about handgun calibers including: 22 rifles are the best bug out guns, 45s have the best stopping power, 380s are too small to be effective, 410 guns are gimmicks, and more. Here is the link to the original data and study by Ellifritz: http://www.activeresponsetraining.net...

YouTube

 

[GKC]

There are just too many variables to conclude that any one caliber is the "best." I think the best caliber is one that you have with you when needed, and one that you (personally) can shoot effectively and accurately.

 

[Telecaster]

I've read that study many times, it's as good as a study can get. He admits its flaws and lets the data speak for itself. Shot placement is king!

 

[URIT]

Who sponsored the study? I sleep well at nights knowing what works for me.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Many years ago I removed 'caliber' from my CC/SD lexicon.

I have been blissfully ignorant ever since.

 

[Funflyer]

Interesting video, thanks for sharing. It reaffirms why I'm never too worried on those days where I can only carry my Bodyguard .380.

 

[vegasgunhand]

As a LEO firearms instructor since 1980, I have always professed that bullet placement is the key to winning a gunfight. No caliber can "make up" for bad marksmanship.

 

[Mrnurse]

I get a little sick of all this nonsense myself... as a ER RN/NP I have seen MANY GSW from a wide range of weapons at distances mostly 12 yards and less...a .22 LR will kill a person as will a 12 Ga.. Location Location Location as the real-estate folks say. Some of these studies are ridiculous. Who Draws first and places a Fatal shot wins.

 

[gwpercle]

" Boy , It doesn't much matter what you shoot them with .... the secrete is where you place that bullet !"

Quote from my Paw-Paw when I questioned his use of a single shot 22 LR rifle to hunt hogs with... the secrete is shot placement . An aweful lot of men have been killed with a 22 LR .

Mom said if not for the game he killed during the 1930's Depression, they would have "starved slap to death" . He used that rifle on all manner of small game and I would bet he took more than a few deer and hogs with it. I saw him kill 6-7 hogs and always with one shot , through the ear hole and into the brain...dead right there.
Gary
That old man could shoot .

 

[RGVshooter]

I guess I should have chosen the P3AT 380 instead of my Kel Tec P32.

 

[hkcavalier]

" Boy , It doesn't much matter what you shoot them with .... the secrete is where you place that bullet !"

Quote from my Paw-Paw when I questioned his use of a single shot 22 LR rifle to hunt hogs with... the secrete is shot placement . An aweful lot of men have been killed with a 22 LR .

Mom said if not for the game he killed during the 1930's Depression, they would have "starved slap to death" . He used that rifle on all manner of small game and I would bet he took more than a few deer and hogs with it. I saw him kill 6-7 hogs and always with one shot , through the ear hole and into the brain...dead right there.
Gary
That old man could shoot .

Largest moose in ID history was taken with a .30-30. Scads of deer and elk back in the day with .44-40s and .32-20s. Modern Alaskan natives are known to kill polar bears with .223s and .243s. Bull elephants killed with frontal shots from a 7mm Mauser.

On the flip side, we've all heard about the gut-shot elk that was never found, usually by a .300 or .338 Win Mag as the story goes.

 

[silentflyer]

Whatever you can shoot well is the best. A 50 cal is no good if you miss...

 

[gwpercle]

I guess I should have chosen the P3AT 380 instead of my Kel Tec P32.

Not at all...just become proficient with that KTP32 , load it with some modern self defense ammo and don't look back.
It will do just fine with proper shot placement.
Gary

 

[Funflyer]

Not at all...just become proficient with that KTP32 , load it with some modern self defense ammo and don't look back.
It will do just fine with proper shot placement.
Gary

Just not hollow points. In 32 the best you could hope for is not going to be much better, if any, than FMJ ball. Rip and tear would be much better with these,
https://www.lehighdefense.com/products/32-acp-50gr-xtreme-cavitator-ammunition?variant=13337135428

 

[SATX]

1. Shot placement
2. Penetration
3. See #1

 

[kgpcr]

Lets not forget a bigger hole lets the air out faster!! I have shot deer with everything from a .22 to a 12ga .44 mag and yes there is a difference big time

 

[eb07]

A 380 to the heart beats a 44 to the arm all day long.

 

[zzclancy]

Following

This video uses the data from Greg Ellifritz's 10-year stopping power study of real-world gun fights to shed the light of actual data on several common beliefs about handgun calibers including: 22 rifles are the best bug out guns, 45s have the best stopping power, 380s are too small to be effective, 410 guns are gimmicks, and more. Here is the link to the original data and study by Ellifritz: Active Response Training | Providing Reality-Based Solutions to Resist Criminal Violence...

YouTube

I've been following Greg Ellifritz for several years. Good stuff and he actually knows what he talks about.

 

[SOS24]

Thanks for sharing. I thought it was a good summary of many of the important points. It shows being proficient with what you choose is more important than choosing the “best caliber”, which in reality there isn’t one.

 

[rwsmith]

I don't close the books.....

I don't close the book on data like this. If the studies are done well, lumping the info together with past studies can show more. 9mm is pretty much my mainstay, and I've already decided that if I HAVE to pull the trigger, I'm not stopping with just one shot. I just need to practice to make sure that I can do that. I'd like to do that with revolvers, too.