FBI's new take on handgun calibre selection

[mundaire]

Courtesy "the Judge"

http://p2t2solutions.com/fbi-finally-de ... r-its-use/

The link didn't open for me so I read the article via a google cached copy of the same.

Interesting article, though not so relevant for India, where we don't have much choice of calibres or ammunition/ projectiles.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[ckkalyan]

Neat information, thanks for sharing mundaire. So, the 9mm Luger gets another stamp of approval from a fabled organization.

Conclusion

While some law enforcement agencies have transitioned to larger calibers from the 9mm Luger in recent years, they do so at the expense of reduced magazine capacity, more felt recoil, and given adequate projectile selection, no discernible increase in terminal performance.

Other law enforcement organizations seem to be making the move back to 9mm Luger taking advantage of the new technologies which are being applied to 9mm Luger projectiles. These organizations are providing their armed personnel the best chance of surviving a deadly force encounter since they can expect faster and more accurate shot strings, higher magazine capacities (similar sized weapons) and all of the terminal performance which can be expected from any law enforcement caliber projectile.

Given the above realities and the fact that numerous ammunition manufacturers now make 9mm Luger service ammunition with outstanding premium line law enforcement projectiles, the move to 9mm Luger can now be viewed as a decided advantage for our armed law enforcement personnel.

The main link doesn't open for me either!

[captrakshitsharma]

9mm wins

[xl_target]

There is little to no noticeable difference in the wound tracks between premium line law Auto enforcement projectiles from 9mm Luger through the .45 Auto

This seems to be one of the key findings.
Good find Abhijit.

[aadhaulya]

Kindly excuse my ignorance.
This is about the ammo selection and FBI seems to settle for 9 mm for various reasons and I am sure that they would have done a proper analysis before settling on the same.

Now here in India .38 pistols are easily available and at a reasonable price. Though the ammo is not so easily available and quite expensive where available.
Therefore, is it reasonable to presume that the best caliber in India is .38 ACP and that is comparable to the one used by FBI??

Regards

[xl_target]

Kindly excuse my ignorance.
This is about the ammo selection and FBI seems to settle for 9 mm for various reasons and I am sure that they would have done a proper analysis before settling on the same.

Now here in India .38 pistols are easily available and at a reasonable price. Though the ammo is not so easily available and quite expensive where available.
Therefore, is it reasonable to presume that the best caliber in India is .38 ACP and that is comparable to the one used by FBI??

Please note that I have no intention of busting your chops here. I'm just trying to inform you.

I'm not sure what you mean by ".38 pistol". When talking about ammunition, terminology is very important as there are many similar names.
Inadvertantly interchanging some of these cartridges, could lead to injury and in some cases could have fatal consequences for the shooter.
The .38 ACP is considered to be 9X23 and is not commonly available. I have never seen it at any gun store. Do you mean .380 ACP instead?

I don't know about the "best" caliber but the FBI looks for a minimum of 12" of penetration in ballistic gel.
They also would want to use a projectile that expands properly
9mm Luger is 9X19
9mm Makarov is 9X18
.380 ACP is 9X17
On paper they seem very similar but in reality, there is a big difference between the two ends of the spectrum.

Two of the popular choices for concealed carry in the USA are 9mm and .380 ACP. However, I don't believe any law enforcement agency today would consider using .380 ACP as their official duty round.
Traditionally, people who were looking for a small, easily concealable pistols bought .380 ACP pistols or revolvers in .38 Special.
Today, however, there are many small 9mm pistols that are about the size that .380 pistols were ten years ago so there seems to be a move to shift from .380 to 9mm.
Certainly the 9mm compact pistols are selling very well and easily surpass the sales of .380 ACP pistols.

Some people consider .380 ACP to be marginal. For that matter, some people consider 9mm to be inadequate.
However, the chart posted in the article to linked to by Abhijit, shows very similar penetration with the most popular self defense cartridges.
9mm, being the most common pistol round here is the cheapest to purchase. It is way cheaper than .380 ACP and this is another factor in its popularity.

Here is an article that might give you some food for thought.
9mm vs 380 ACP For Self-Defense: Which one is Best?
Remember one thing; all pistol rounds are low powered and cannot compare to the power of a rifle round.

Here is a list of handgun cartridges

In the indian context, pretty much any .38 caliber handgun round will be preferable to .32 S&W Long or .32 ACP which are the commonly available rounds there.

[aadhaulya]

Dear XL_target,

No offence taken. I apologized in the beginning itself as I was not aware. I suppose, I meant .380 ACP and I found some Llama's in that caliber that were reasonably priced.
Let me confirm again that at this time I am at a very basic learning stage. Hence, I am asking too many questions, that sometimes irritate the senior members for asking dumb questions.

Regards

[xl_target]

aadhaulya,
We prefer that you do ask questions. I, personally, am more than happy to answer any of your queries.
When we are dealing with firearms, asking questions first is certainly better than just trying it out.

[aadhaulya]

Thanks

Regards