To travel at the same speed as the .32, the .45 needs more energy to launch it. Of course it does have more energy, because it has a bigger case with more powder in it.treadlightly wrote:
There is bound to be more of an "oh, crud" factor to getting hit with 240 grains of .45 ACP than, say, the 80 grains of lead Granpappy's .32 rimfire pushed out of the muzzle at about the same velocity. The .45 ACP can be said to have more je ne sais quoi than the .32, and those who stoke their 1911's with clips call it knockdown.
I read an interesting "knockdown" some years ago, but dang it I can't find the article any more. An off-duty cop in Chicago was providing security at a McDonalds that had been robbed more than once. One night a robber came in and the officer came out of the back to confront him. The cop reported that the robber fired a round at him, the cop felt it hit (abdomen I think, and this was before body armor became common) and he went down. But he had always told himself, mentally rehearsed may times, to "keep fighting." The cop fired from the floor, and killed the robber IIRC.
Anyway, the cop started examining himself, and was very surprised to find NO wounds. The robber's bullet had missed. Apparently in programming himself to keep fighting, he had also accidently programmed in that when someone fired at him, he would be hit and go down. And keep fighting.
