Dave Spaulding on Stopping Power

[MoJo]

This is about 8 minutes. Dave Spaulding discusses stopping power. Click here.

[youtube][/youtube]

[carlson1]

Thank you. That is a great video that actually has some wealth of information.

[GWE Chally]

Very good information!
Thanks!

[fm2]

He makes some very good points.

On caliber, I wish he would have added to his recommendation to factor in the cost of practice ammo. Not only the money for ammo, but also physical cost of the practice with the carry gun.

[Robert*PPS]

Being fairly new to the handgun world, I found this clip to be very informative. Thanks for posting it!

[ryouiki]

Before I looked at carrying, I spent significant research on the topic of caliber, and I think he covers most of it pretty well. If everything else is equal, then pick the largest caliber... but since it generally is not (cost of training, recoil management, 1-handed shooting, magazine capacity, etc.) pick whatever you can shoot best (9mm/.40/.45).

That said the other notes I picked up on that he didn't go into detail about here:

Ammo Choice - Penetration should be over 12 inches, but not so far as to totally pass-through (let the bullet dump as much energy in to the target as possible, and not hit something behind the target)
Training Ammo - Train with ammunition that has properties similar to your carry ammo (grain/fps/energy/etc.)
Reliability - Whatever your platform choice (handgun model/caliber), the weapon should be capable of running 1000 rounds without a malfunction before you carry it.

The one thing I never see covered (and I don't know how relevant it is anymore), came from a Ayoob video many years ago, talking about how clothing affected bullet expansion. The premise at that time was that .45 was better in cold weather, since the target would be wearing thicker clothing, and that clothing would bunch up inside the hollow-point, essentially turning it into ball ammo (no expansion). This may not be a problem with more modern rounds though, I never really looked into it further.

[thatguy]

The perfect gun is the one you have when you need it...

Practice and training, I prefer a 9mm primarily due to cost and muzzle control.

Shot placement.

Nice video, short, spot on and to the point.

[OldCannon]

On a slightly similar topic...interesting thread here comparing the new Hornady Critical Duty vs Speer Gold Dot. Cool to see how these two rounds respond to different barriers and media.

http://www.gunslingerlounge.com/showthr ... m-flexlock" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HenryAKirk]

On a slightly similar topic...interesting thread here comparing the new Hornady Critical Duty vs Speer Gold Dot. Cool to see how these two rounds respond to different barriers and media.

http://www.gunslingerlounge.com/showthr ... m-flexlock" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I love the results from that Critical Duty ammo, it's my EDC. Another good overview of the Critical Duty is in the September 2012 issue of American Rifleman. It got some great results for them.