In laymen’s terms, the bullet hole the tissue physically destroyed by the bullet’s passage. The other major factor for measuring handgun bullet performance is permanent cavitation, or the wound track. A bullet that maintains its mass instead of shedding it before or after striking the target will attain the desired depth more reliably than one that breaks up or fragments either incidentally or by design. A shot at an extremely oblique angle will also have farther to travel in the body to strike critical targets.Ī bullet of sufficient mass and velocity will reliably achieve this level of penetration. If you consider the thickness of the human torso and think that figure seems excessive, remember that a bullet will need to reach vital organs in the body after possibly piercing glass, heavy clothing, or an intervening limb. The FBI has determined that penetration is a crucial metric pertaining to handgun bullet performance, and has further determined that a bullet should penetrate ideally to a depth between 12 and 18 inches to ensure vital anatomy can be struck. Understanding Valuable Performance Criteria Jugs or bottles of water or other fluids, novelty 3D torsos or heads, melons and other such targets do not offer any value in the testing of bullets unless one is after entertainment. While not perfect, when precisely prepared and carefully implemented in testing it allows reliable collection of data, as well as a glimpse at what one can expect when a bullet is shot into a human.Īny serious laboratory or agency will conduct performance testing of projectiles using this gelatin, as the FBI’s Firearms Training Division has. This gelatin is currently the best medium devised for measuring the penetration, cavitation and other behavior of a bullet in flesh. To better gather useful data on expected bullet performance, testing is accomplished in controlled laboratory testing by shooting a given load into specially calibrated ballistic gelatin. This means that all reports of “live event” bullet failure, success and efficacy are by nature anecdotal, provided by those who participated in the shooting or witnessed it.Įnough anecdotal evidence can provide significant insight into bullet performance, but too often anecdotal accounts are not codified into usable data, being instead passed on orally and then passed around, with important details regarding shot placement, bullet behavior in the target, number of hits tallied and so on either completely unknown, omitted or altered until any valuable info is lost or degraded. ![]() 45 ACP among its fans is nothing short of mythical while the same people revile the 9mm, even today, as marginal or wimpy in comparison.Ĭonsider also the fact that there is no ethical and repeatable method of testing bullet performance in a live human. ![]() Folklore, legend, casual recommendation and tradition influence a shooter’s choice of caliber far more often than analysis of testing data. When discussing caliber choice in a handgun, a simple answer is seldom easy for most folks to accept. This article will detail some of the considerations and conclusions reached by modern scientific analysis of both wound ballistics scientists and the FBI that support the use of the 9mm as the current ideal service round, and will also provide a list of recommended cartridges for self-defense use. The use of older, legacy hollow point and FMJ bullets will as a rule not yield the same effectiveness. This greater performance was made possible by advances in the design and construction of high quality expanding (hollow point) ammunition. 45 ACP in most scenarios since at least 2007-2008. The 9mm, contrary to popular opinion on the topic, has been the performance equal of both the popular. ![]() ![]() After rigorous testing and examination of all bullet and shooter-performance metrics, the FBI, long one of the most dedicated professional agencies in evaluating firearms performance, decided back in 2014 to switch back to the 9mm. The 9mm’s combination of low recoil, good terminal performance and greater capacity in the same size handguns than its peers affords more advantages for more shooters. As of 2018, thanks to continuing research in wound ballistics and ongoing advancements in the fields of projectile science and manufacturing, the 9mm Parabellum is currently viewed by many professionals as the best all-purpose defense or service handgun cartridge for most applications.
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