Lynn1130
Well-known member
You might take a look at the "Hatcher Rating Chart". It gives the person making a decision on caliber an idea of which will do the damage needed to stop the threat. It was developed a long time back but is still useful as it measures kinetic energy. While you hear the term "knock down power" it really is subjective and not a term used as much as stopping power or even more important, kinetic energy. While they might seem interchangeable they are not really.
The choice of a carry weapon is a very personal thing and depends upon the size of the person, the ability to control the weapon, the ability to quickly reload (which should be practiced alot) and most importantly the faith in that weapon. A 45 ACP many times does not work well for women but a 40 or 9 does. So firing a 45 ACP through a magazine creates more misses from a person with smaller wrists than a 9 will. More hits means the target should go down faster but then as we have seen in some police shootings a person on meth just keeps coming.
Choose what works best for you. Try different guns and different calibers.
Just a side note, my former agency has switched to the 45 GAP and it seems to be working well for both female and male officers.
The choice of a carry weapon is a very personal thing and depends upon the size of the person, the ability to control the weapon, the ability to quickly reload (which should be practiced alot) and most importantly the faith in that weapon. A 45 ACP many times does not work well for women but a 40 or 9 does. So firing a 45 ACP through a magazine creates more misses from a person with smaller wrists than a 9 will. More hits means the target should go down faster but then as we have seen in some police shootings a person on meth just keeps coming.
Choose what works best for you. Try different guns and different calibers.
Just a side note, my former agency has switched to the 45 GAP and it seems to be working well for both female and male officers.