One-Shot Stops!

Note: The following information was taken from Gun World Magazine, March 2001, written by Evan Marshall.

This discussion often gets very lively and I'm not interested in defending one method over another. I’ve included this chart because I find it fascinating. I would probably give more credence to http://www.ammolab.com for a better understanding of bullet effectives in general.

Selected top performers of various duty calibers

Total = Total street incidences recorded.

Stops = Successful one-shot stops according to Evan's defined limited scope.

% = Effective percentage

ARD = Average Recovered Diameter

AP = Average Penetration

NOTE: The 357 Sig Ranger T bullet expands up to 0.75" but was not used in the above chart.

I found the chart interesting because the main duty calibers (9mm, 357 Sig, 357 Mag, .40, 10mm, & .45 were all fairly close. The effective one-shot stop percentage ranged between 90% and 96%. The bullet penetration ranged between 11 and 14. The average recovered bullet diameter ranged between .62 and .82.

All of these kinds of charts have to be taken with a grain of salt. A bullet might have a large mushroom that folds down on itself by the time the bullet stops. Does that mean the bullet is less effective than another bullet that ended with a larger mushroom? There are so many factors involved such as: Shot Placement; a person who might be hyped up on drugs or extreme emotions; trained in martial arts or not; how well they might be feeling; how sensitive to pain one is; energy; momentum; the will to survive against all odds or not; confidence level; afraid of noise or not; body types; personality types; sometimes one shot can stop and sometimes multiple shots do not; acupuncture points; solar flares; good or bad hair days, pure luck, grace of God, plus many, many more.

There are a number of factors that cannot be evaluated, or at least evaluated easily, in a lab environment. Several of these can lead to a stop, yet cannot be accurately predicted in a lab. This does not mean we should therefore take the easy way out and just rely on gelatin tests and/or various well known partially accurate formulas. We all need to look at the big picture and put all the pieces together in the best way we can.

The bottom line is that using a very flexible, high-energy, compact caliber like the 357 Sig with its wide array of velocities, penetration, pistol sizes, as well as its amazing consistency and accuracy, are all excellent attributes for the continuing improvement of this round. Please see my "Why the 357 SIG Is Catching On" article: http://www.HandGunInfo.com/Archive/www.Pete-357.com/357.defend.htm

Here are a couple quotes from Evan Marshall regarding the 357 Sig caliber. Please note that many writers change pistols and calibers on occasion. So the following information is based on Evan's words from the magazine issue, Gun World Magazine, March 2001:

"It took me awhile, but I finally bought a SIG P239 chambered for this round [357 Sig]. After extensive testing, I replaced the compact .40 auto that I carried on a daily basis with the SIG. It is light, flat, compact and shoots a 125-grain jacketed hollow point at close to 1400 feet per second, with none of the drawbacks of its .357 Magnum counterpart."

This second quote relates to a picture of two 357 Sig bullets recovered from a shooting:

"The Black Hills 125-grain 357 Sig load uses the excellent Speer Gold Dot bullet to produce good results in an actual shooting. These two penetrated the drivers's side door and then penetrated deeply enough in the driver that they were found under the skin on the far side!" Note: I was informed by the ammolab that the above quote is inaccurate and that instead of Black Hills ammo, it was actually Speer ammo.

I’d like to discuss some excellent information from the www.ammolab.com forum group. This ammolab site specializes in testing ammo and is one of the top 9 firearms sites on the planet:

He has tested several thousand rounds of the usual 9, 40, 45, etc. When he tested the 357 Sig Winchester Ranger and Remington Golden Saber ammo, it did something only the 10mm Silvertip has been able to do. Both of these rounds cracked the top plate that holds the gelatin blocks in place during testing. It’s obvious that these 357 Sig rounds dump more energy into 12 – 14 inches of gelatin than most other rounds he has tested.

When he reinforced the top plates, the same two 357 Sig rounds mentioned above then cracked the lower plate. The best 9mm loads, such as the Ranger 127gr +P+ barely created a ripple in the gelatin in comparison.

[A 357 Sig carbine with a 16” barrel does not push a bullet near the dubious and partially out of date magical 2200 fps for energy to supposedly make a difference. Although at 1600 to 1700 fps, the 357 Sig round is absolutely devastating and I will not describe the effects here. At 1325 – 1450, the 357 Sig is downright impressive with duty pistols.  It’s important to not only look at what the bullet did to the gelatin media (penetration, bullet expansion), but what the bullet does during actual impact as well. Both sides of the coin are important and one side will not disappear even though it’s ignored. This is not a vague plea since the bullet impact affect on gelatin can be seen, photographed, and measured.]

As we know, the United States Secret Service, the Department of Public Safety, and the Delaware State Police, to name a few, use the 357 SIG caliber, and the gentleman I’m paraphrasing has contact with a member of the shooting investigation teams of these three agencies.

His contact, an officer, stated that the Texas DPS troopers love the .357 Sig because it has produced the highest fatality rate of violent criminals, much better than anything else they have ever been issued ( including the .45). The 357 Sig has operated at 100% for every single shooting so far.

According to the annual shooting review board files, the 357 Sig is working at 99% for the Delaware State Police, which uses .357 Sig Speer GD ammo.

He also had an opportunity to review the USSS shooting files. They use the Ranger 125 grain load and report it’s the most effective pistol cartridge the USSS has ever been issued. The USSS has had four failures, all with Speer practice ammo. They are now using Winchester clean fire practice ammo.

From testing several thousand rounds of handgun ammunition, he believes that the statement, “Energy Transfer with handguns is a myth”, is only partially accurate. A few handgun rounds such as the 357 SIG caliber, actually transfer noticeable energy to the test medium, which can be seen, photographed, and measured by the distance gelatin blocks are moved, using an equal size and weight of gelatin block for each test. [These facts are observable and verifiable. The long skinny 9mm bullet using the “357 Sig engine” does indeed cause damage that the results of recovered bullets from gelatin cannot completely explain. Some of the more savvy agencies using the 357 Sig cartridge understand this.]

He stated that the .357 Sig is very close to becoming one of the finest auto pistol cartridges ever made.  It works consistently over and over again. Police agencies from coast to coast are switching to it in droves because it truly offers everything that the 9mm +P+ had going for it, plus the penetration of the 147gr 9mm along with the capabilities that the disappointing .40 S&W "wonder cartridge" was supposed to have. In a medium frame/medium sized service pistol it offers everything that the .45acp can in terms of penetration and "stopping power" but it does it in a smaller package.

[Let’s look at a .40 and 357 Sig loading of somewhat equivalent ft-lbs of energy

"Federal .357 Sig JHP 125 grains - 1,352 fps velocity, 507 ft-lbs. energy, 169 power factor (momentum)
Winchester .40 S&W Silvertip 155 grains - 1,205 fps velocity, 500 ft-lbs. energy, 187 power factor (momentum)"

Well, if you look at the power factor of the two above loads in 357sig and .40, the .40 round is much harsher to shoot than the 357 Sig round, assuming the .40 and .357sig rounds are launching from pistols of similar size and weight.]

Summary

[Using a stronger jig to hold larger amounts of gelatin in place, as some do, can hide pertinent data. The purpose of bullet testing is to see the impact of the bullet in the medium as it happens, as well as view the end results of penetration and bullet expansion. Unlike clamped down gelatin in a lab, the body is not constrained by super strong immovable plates. So designing a jig and gelatin mix which is too strong and too large provides only partial data results and may hide other important facts.]

The 10mm is an excellent all-around auto pistol caliber, from plinking to self defense to hunting. Yet, the smaller and easier to shoot 357 Sig still offers penetration advantages for skilled law enforcement officers similar to the best 10mm ammo. And the 357sig has an excellent balance of size and ease of use for non experts as well.

Both the 10 and 357sig (at least in some loadings) produce excellent shock value (rapid energy transfer into the first 3” – 6” of gelatin), which caused the above mentioned plates to break.

Winchester spent well over a million dollars developing the 357 Sig RA357T design. Is the 357 Sig a wildcat cartridge? I think not. This ammo provides the excellent penetration of the Ranger T, but relatively shallow penetration of the previous USSS issue 9mm 115 gr. +P+ loads. Essentially, the bullet expands very consistently and does not over penetrate. And what makes this bullet stand out is the ability to send a major shock value (rapid energy transfer) into the first 3” – 6” of gelatin, resulting in a severe “pressure spike punch” that exceeded the load capacity of the 1” plywood plates, causing them to break. The 10mm round in question did the exact same thing.

[Agencies that have been using this round for years like it, even after firing millions of rounds. The newer agencies give it high marks. I’ve received emails from law enforcement officers attesting to the satisfaction of using the 357 SIG, along with some of the best shooting they’ve ever done with an auto pistol caliber. I’ve seen the effects of what the 357 SIG does at a practical pistol range. When it’s loaded with low recoil ammo in the 1120 fps range, an amateur can shoot just as fast and accurately as anyone else; yet, the loud boom (low supersonic range) has an interesting psychological effect on the crowd that screams, “Be afraid even if I miss”. Lower velocities below 1000 fps with a 147 grain bullet can of course cut down on blast if so desired. The 357 Sig has been known to gouge metal pepper poppers. The special bottlenecked funnel effect of pushing the 9mm bullet down range can develop a major quick transfer into the first 3 – 6” of media to create a major “pressure spike punch” into the target. The street stats of agencies and my own observation at the range show that the 357 SIG doesn’t care what detractors say. It just works really well. In fact, all the duty calibers do well with one or more excellent loads that are available.]

The ammolab has stated in their forum that the best loads in 9mm, 40 S&W, .357 Sig, .38 Super, 9x23mm, .357 Magnum and .45acp loadings, all perform well. Here’s a list of some preferred loads:

124gr +P 9mm
127gr +P+ 9mm
147gr 9mm
125gr 357 Sig
115 & 125gr .38 Super
125gr 9x23mm
110, 125, & 140gr .357 Magnum
135gr jhp +p & 155gr, 40S&W
165gr jhp .45acp
135gr 10mm jhp +p

(Each of the above loads creates virtually identical temporary and permanent wound cavities.)

I’ll end with just one more paraphrase from the ammolab to confound you:

The 357 SIG is fun to shoot and actually offers advantages over both the .40 and 9mm that neither can match independently.

End of ammolab.com Section