Pistol cartridge power comparison

[CJ]

I've done a lot of reading on handgun ammo, and pretty much all of it is about equal as far as man stoppers go. If you watch a video I posted where a doctor was explaining his experience with with people coming into his er from gunshot wounds. Basically he said 1 in 7 die from handgun wounds. He compares from 9mm to .45 showing there really isnt much difference in the two as far as lethal damage.

Im no expert, just going off what I read and feel the most comfortable with. Just remember one shot stops are rare

BTW thanks CJ for taking the time to make this chart, really cool to see the break downs side by side. I can only imagine the time involved in all of this.

It wasn't that bad. But I did learn something from it, primarily there really is very little difference between ALL of the popular calibers. Revolvers obliterate semi autos for power as expected, 10mm and .357 sig set themselves apart from the main pack, and .380 sucks. I was surprised to see .41 mag so damn close to 44 mag as well.

[War Machine]

It wasn't that bad. But I did learn something from it, primarily there really is very little difference between ALL of the popular calibers. Revolvers obliterate semi autos for power as expected, 10mm and .357 sig set themselves apart from the main pack, and .380 sucks. I was surprised to see .41 mag so damn close to 44 mag as well.

After reading your chart, Im going to start carrying my 640 .357 a lot more. Im not even going to bother shopping for a pm9 as I was. I never knew .357 was as much of a bad ass as it is.

[Geor!]

.327 didn't perform nearly as well as I had thought it would. Oh well, it's still one of my favorites that I've ever shot -- when the fucking yoke screw stays in.

If the power factor is closely related to felt recoil as Tony stated, that .327 I have kicks harder than any subcompact .45 I've ever shot.

[CJ]

.327 didn't perform nearly as well as I had thought it would. Oh well, it's still one of my favorites that I've ever shot -- when the fucking yoke screw stays in.

If the power factor is closely related to felt recoil as Tony stated, that .327 I have kicks harder than any subcompact .45 I've ever shot.

There is a lot of factors that go into perceived recoil, such as the length between the firing plane and your grip, as well as weight and barrel length. It's very difficult to positively quantify.

That was the hottest load I could find within max pressure for .327.

I have found some more loads for .327 that seem out of place, and there is no pressure data with them. Federal is showing a 100gr projectile @ 1500fps - 500ft/lbs , but those rounded numbers always make me suspicious.

[Geor!]

There is a lot of factors that go into perceived recoil, such as the length between the firing plane and your grip, as well as weight and barrel length. It's very difficult to positively quantify.

That was the hottest load I could find within max pressure for .327.

I actually just dug an old box up that I couldn't find yesterday. It's showing 500ft/lbs energy and 1500fps.

The two boxes of "personal protection" ammo I have are 1380/486 and 1400/370.

Seems to be quite a bit of variation between those two JHP rounds and both use the same grain projectile... What could explain that? If it was powder load, wouldn't the velocity be lower on the round with the lower energy? Learn me up dude!

[CJ]

I actually just dug an old box up that I couldn't find yesterday. It's showing 500ft/lbs energy and 1500fps.

The two boxes of "personal protection" ammo I have are 1380/486 and 1400/370.

Seems to be quite a bit of variation between those two JHP rounds and both use the same grain projectile... What could explain that? If it was powder load, wouldn't the velocity be lower on the round with the lower energy? Learn me up dude!

Haha, did you see how I edited my last post. Who makes that 1500fps 100gr round, what is the load info?

[Geor!]

Haha, did you see how I edited my last post. Who makes that 1500fps 100gr round, what is the load info?

It's that Federal load you mentioned for sure.

[Nash B.]

energy (in foot-pounds) = bullet weight (in grains) / (7000 * 32.174 to convert from grains to pounds and from weight to mass) * velocity (in feet per second) ^ 2

What weight are the personal defense bullets?

[CJ]

It's that Federal load you mentioned for sure.

That has to be a legit load, I know Federal would not exceed max pressure, and I've verified it on 3 sites now. Updated on chart, moved it up two places.

[CJ]

energy (in foot-pounds) = bullet weight (in grains) / (7000 * 32.174 to convert from grains to pounds and from weight to mass) * velocity (in feet per second) ^ 2

What weight are the personal defense bullets?

I can add the formula and recalculate all the energy in real time, but I'm using manufacturer specs which I presume are done correctly. I've been considering recalculating.

[Rick Modena]

All of my pistols are .40 and .357 sig. And I've owned/shot just about every caliber out there. As far as cost (.357 sig excluded) the .40 has always been my favorite all around caliber.
Now the .357 sig to me has just as much power as a 10mm, .357 mag or even .44 mag (and this chart confirms that, thx CJ!)









And 9mm, me la pela!

[CJ]

energy (in foot-pounds) = bullet weight (in grains) / (7000 * 32.174 to convert from grains to pounds and from weight to mass) * velocity (in feet per second) ^ 2

What weight are the personal defense bullets?

Are you sure that's right?

I'm using

=B3/(7000*32.174)*C3^2/2

for my data to render the correct info, your formula gives me double the correct energy. I recalculated and mostly it just rounded up or down on a few loads but nothing changed as far as placement.

edit: yes it's 1/2mv²

[Geor!]

energy (in foot-pounds) = bullet weight (in grains) / (7000 * 32.174 to convert from grains to pounds and from weight to mass) * velocity (in feet per second) ^ 2

What weight are the personal defense bullets?

I was mistaken. One is 115 and the other is 85. I thought they were both 115.

[CJ]

All of my pistols are .40 and .357 sig. And I've owned/shot just about every caliber out there. As far as cost (.357 sig excluded) the .40 has always been my favorite all around caliber.
Now the .357 sig to me has just as much power as a 10mm, .357 mag or even .44 mag (and this chart confirms that, thx CJ!)


And 9mm, me la pela!

10mm has a pretty big increase in energy over a .357 sig, you're going from a 115gr to a 155gr projectile in the comparison, and it's 20% more powerful. That's pretty substantial in comparison to all the other cartridges. .357 is a lot more stout than I had originally thought, but it's also a bitch to reload.

[Nash B.]

Are you sure that's right?

I'm using

for my data to render the correct info, your formula gives me double the correct energy. I recalculated and mostly it just rounded up or down on a few loads but nothing changed as far as placement.

edit: yes it's 1/2mv²

Yeah, I forgot to add it on at the end.