Chuck Taylor – Handgun Stopping Power


“Were I to “play the percentages,” or base my opinion on a more narrow examination such as (for example) a review of the files of the law enforcement agencies with which I have been associated or draw from my own personal experiences alone, I could legitimately state that .45 ACP 230 gr. “hardball” fired from a M-1911 Colt auto, is 100% effective!

How? Simple — in all of the departmental shootings in which it was used, it worked. And because in five of the seven pistol fights in which I have been a participant, I used a .45 with ball ammo — and it worked. I won all five with my first shot, my opponent collapsing before I could fire again. Five center hits, five one-shot stops, five DOS (dead on the scene).

Perfect, right? 100% effective. See what I mean about percentages? It’s all in your perspective, isn’t it?

The first handgun failure-to-stop (FTS) I experienced was…

… with a 4-inch .357 Magnum and 158 gr. JHPs. My adversary panicked upon realizing he had been hit in the chest, abandoned his weapon and ran a full sixty yards in the opposite direction before he became incapacitated, collapsed and died.

My second FTS was with a 9mm Browning P-35. The subject, a terrorist (who was “rockin’ ‘n rollin'” an AK-47, fortunately with the stock folded, at me during the entire encounter) was struck under the left nipple by my first shot with no effect. Luckily — and coincidentally — my second shot, while it struck within two inches of the first, penetrated sufficiently to shatter his spinal column, both incapacitating and killing him almost instantly.

Were I to take the limited view of the writers in question, I could claim the .357 and 9mm to be completely ineffective. But we both know that such a claim would not only be rubbish, but actually insulting to your intelligence.

http://www.chucktayloramericansmallarmsacademy.com/stoppingpower.html

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