Unscientific expansion results(9mmvs.45ACP)

[ppcrusa]

The age old battle. 45ACP vs. whatever else.
I have some expanded bullets. Just recovered the 9mm's today from my shoot yesterday. I have a lone 45ACP Hydrashok 230gr for comparison.
Bullet Info:
9mm Winchester 115gr. Silvertip fired from Glock 26.
45ACP Federal 230gr. Hydrashok Fired from Glock 36.
Both in same medium which is very moist soft dirt. Almost mud.  Unscientific, yes.. But same medium same range.
Pictures are here:
http://www.netjunky.us/bullet/
I like a 45ACP and I always will. It's hard to think something could just walk away from being hit with it.
I also like a 9mm because it is more affordable to shoot and you can get a very small handgun to carry for that round.
I feel equally safe carrying either one. As can be seen in the photos, the 9mm expanded just as large as the 45ACP.
The hydrashok is supposed to be a very effective defense round for the 45ACP. And the 9mm silvertip has a questionable record due to a couple bad shooting incidents.
All in all, I'd personally trust either one to protect myself and my family. I sure would not want to get hit with either one of them.
Next up will be some .40S&W 180gr and 155GR. stuff. Big debate there as well on which is better. Some say the 180gr is not sufficient. Other say the 155 is not either. I even have some 135's IF I can I will shoot these here soon and post results. Same unscientific test medium too.
Enjoy

[Prisoner's Anvil]

FWIW I watched a rerun episode of "Cops" today on TV. One of the stories involved a man shot during an alledged drug buy. A man who "came to visit" got angry and shot him. What surprised me was the gun he used. A Colt 1911. This is a somewhat high quality weapon for "street work". A cheap gun you aren't afraid to throw away would seem far wiser as a choice to me.  

Considering that the victim was still moving and carrying on conversation, I thought perhaps I had mistaken a 9mm Colt 1911 for a .45, but when the officer recovered the shell casings, they were .45s. The officer asked the victim what happened and got a concise, but vague, story about the events.

The officer then told one of his companions who joined him that the victim had been shot "several times" (by the Colt 1911) and that they had the suspect in custody. The victim seemed to me to be lucid and was making some of his conversational points with hand gestures. If he could move his hands, he still had the power to point a weapon if he had one available.

I noticed that the only wound that I could identify was lower on the victim's back. Seemingly no chest shots. After being shot "several times" (I believe the officer said five times) with this .45, the victim was certainly not at his best, but not incapacitated either. It was a real wake up call for me.

[Japle]

Your average long-time drug user may not respond to being shot the same way your average straight-arrow computer programmer might.

Every time your gun comes down out of recoil, check to see if you still have a target.  If you do, shoot.  If you don't, look to see where your target went and if it's still dangerous.  If it is, shoot.  

Don't stop until you're sure that the threat is ended.

[LMM]

Doesn't matter what you use. Shot placement is everything!

[Dusty Miller]

Some guy loaded on the illicit drug of his choice can soak up a BUNCH of hardball if not hit in the spine or braind and still give his story to the fuzz 20 minutes later.  Let him try that with five Hydrashoks to the chest!

[Prisoner's Anvil]

Lately, I've moved away from the idea of a pistol as a good self-defense weapon. I use to believe that carrying a .44 or a .357 with hollow points was the way to go. Anything else was just half measures. Eventually a friend put the issue into perspective for me. He asked me if I'd ever heard of anyone being shot with a soft nosed bullet during deer season. I admitted to him that I had. He asked me if any of them were hit in the torso. I admitted that I'd heard of that. If a hunter isn't paying attention, it is not uncommon when you are moving weapons in and out of trucks to have the barrel pointed at someone's chest. Accidents do happen. He asked me if I'd ever heard of anyone surviving such a wound. I again admitted I had. He then asked me what made me believe that ANY pistol that I could buy would ever equal the power of a 30-30 or .30-06? If a person can survive a hit from a large caliber rifle, then they can survive a hit from a pistol.
  Yeah, I know. Those hunters didn't shoot their fellow hunter three more times until he ceased to be a threat because this was an accident. But in a shoot situation, there may be only enough time for one shot, or a malfunction may occur after the first shot. Your one pistol shot may be all that you get. After looking at the comparison photos posted here, I'd feel comfortable with either a .45 or a 9mm.
  If people can survive hits from wider, faster moving, and heavier bullets then no pistol (no weapon of any kind) is ever going to be 100% effective.

Now I don't buy pistols for power. I buy pistols for their easy of concealability and accuracy. I actually have come to the belief that WHERE the bullet hits is more important than what type of bullet you shoot.

Also, I don't keep a pistol by the bedside now either for self defense. I keep a 12 gauge.