# CCW - accuracy (.32-.38) vs. stopping power (9mm-.40)



## S.T.A.R.S. (Jul 18, 2012)

whats your thoughts? of course if some crazed person is charging at you (and no one else is around) the bigger cal bullet will put them in their place without having to be all that accurate. what about in a crowd of people where its not a one on one thing? this person needs to be taken down and fast but without hitting someone else. is it possible for your .40 to go through your target and then hit someone else? just asking. so do you have 2 CCWs. one bigger cal for your vehicle and one smaller cal for in public?


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## berettabone (Jan 23, 2012)

Lots of questions.............a larger caliber bullet MAY NOT put someone down, if you're not accurate......a .40 cal COULD go through your target. depending on distance and ammo........you CAN be just as accurate with all of those calibers, with practice, of course......If you are going to carry, it's very important to be comfortable and accurate with your firearm....like has been said many, many, many times, it's not so much the caliber, it's the placement.....in a crowd of people, who knows what the end result will be...in a crowd of people, someone could be carrying a .45, and if he's accurate with it, better for him, and the rest of the crowd, unless he's on the wrong side. I only have one firearm that I carry, at the present time...doesn't mean that it won't change......it is what I am comfortable with.......and I think that it is manufactured for just that type of scenario, shorter distance, and crowd. I do not carry a firearm at this time, that I am going to be able to use in a fire fight....just for closer distance protection. Sometimes, it is wiser to use those two things that are attached to the botton of your legs.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

S.T.A.R.S. said:


> whats your thoughts? of course if some crazed person is charging at you (and no one else is around) the bigger cal bullet will put them in their place without having to be all that accurate. what about in a crowd of people where its not a one on one thing? this person needs to be taken down and fast but without hitting someone else. is it possible for your .40 to go through your target and then hit someone else? just asking. so do you have 2 CCWs. one bigger cal for your vehicle and one smaller cal for in public?


In all scenarios "shot" placement is crucial, and to get there at least you need to shoot alot and much preferably train in different scenarios, drawing the pistol, looking for cover etc..... I only have 9mm pistols as a preference, car, carry, range..etc. I've likewise shot and would carry a 38spl, 40 or .45 as well. Of the calibers mentioned shooting any good hollow points your over penetration issue is moot if you hit the target center mass. In other words it's not the caliber (especially 38spl and up) but you do have the 380 fans as well, but the training and practice being the most important, rookies talk caliber whereas pro's talk training and tactics.


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## S.T.A.R.S. (Jul 18, 2012)

denner said:


> In all scenarios "shot" placement is crucial, and to get there at least you need to shoot alot and much preferably train in different scenarios, drawing the pistol, looking for cover etc..... I only have 9mm pistols as a preference, car, carry, range..etc. I've likewise shot and would carry a 38spl, 40 or .45 as well. Of the calibers mentioned shooting any good hollow points your over penetration issue is moot if you hit the target center mass. In other words it's not the caliber (especially 38spl and up) but you do have the 380 fans as well, but the training and practice being the most important, rookies talk caliber whereas pro's talk training and tactics.


nicely put


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

S.T.A.R.S. said:


> ..._f some crazed person is charging at you...the bigger cal bullet will put them in their place without having to be all that accurate..._


_
Forum rules keep me from using the word that immediately leapt into my mind. However, it began with "bull..."

Accuracy is all there is.
If you don't hit something vital or painful, you won't stop the fight.
A central hit with a .32 S&W will beat a peripheral hit with a .44 Magnum, every time.

Bullet placement always trumps ballistics.

And, yes, it's possible for your .40 bullet to go through the bad guy and harm someone else, particularly if you hit the BG only peripherally and not centrally.
There are well-established methods for minimalizing that possibility, the most important of which is practicing to be dead-on accurate, even under the pressure of a save-your-life panic.

Pistol shooting is not merely a matter of owning a gun and thinking that the Hollywood movies you've watched were instructional.
You need to learn real-world, real-life technique, and then you need to practice it. Endlessly.

*denner* said it very well indeed: "[T]raining and practice [are] the most important, rookies talk caliber whereas pro's talk training and tactics."_


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## shakinghorizons (Apr 20, 2012)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> There are well-established methods for minimalizing that possibility, the most important of which is practicing to be dead-on accurate, even under the pressure of a save-your-life panic.


Any specific suggestions?? (You can PM me if this is deemed thread jacking)


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## genesis (Jun 18, 2012)

denner said:


> training and practice being the most important, rookies talk caliber whereas pro's talk training and tactics.


I couldn't have said it better.

Don <><


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ...And, yes, it's possible for your .40 bullet to go through the bad guy and harm someone else, particularly if you hit the BG only peripherally and not centrally.
> There are well-established methods for minimalizing that possibility, the most important of which is practicing to be dead-on accurate, even under the pressure of a save-your-life panic...





shakinghorizons said:


> Any specific suggestions?? (You can PM me if this is deemed thread jacking)


Specific Suggestions:
1. Take a self-defense-shooting class. Actually, take several-take a whole series of them.
2. Practice, as I originally wrote, to be dead-on accurate, even under pressure. Then practice some more. And more.
3. In a crowded venue, think ahead about what you might do if threatened, or if someone else were threatened or actually attacked. For instance, retreat is good.
4. In that crowded venue, think ahead about what you might do if actually attacked, or while someone else is being attacked. Maybe duck and cover?
5. Learn to shoot quickly and accurately while in strange and contorted positions, for instance from behind a garbage can or from under a table.
6. Since you're already under that table, shooting upwards into the attacker may send misses and pass-through bullets up above the heads of bystanders.

Start with those.
Oh, yeah-and did I mention that you should practice?


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## jm38 (Jun 30, 2012)

Don't load with Hardball in your EDC weapon. Hit the target you shoot.


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