9mm vs .45 ACP (Gold Dots, HST) Ballistics Test

After seeing a video of an HST failing to expand and completely passing through the gel block after passing through bone, I was immediately concerned about my carry ammo. The HST is known to perform very well in denim/gel tests so this immediately sparked my interest of other methods of ballistics testing. I've decided to create a test where the bullet has to pass through (in order) 4 layers of denim, pork ribs, the first inch of the gel block, a few inches of pork meat, and the rest of the gel block/water jugs as a backstop. The reason I embedded actual meat is because the FBI determined long ago that actual tissue is much more elastic than ballistics gel, and that pistol cartridges don't have the kinetic energy required to cause damage wider than the path of the bullet. I am looking to test if this is true (which I believe it is). If true, it could imply that kinetic energy is a poor measurement of a bullet's effectiveness in stopping a target. I say could instead of would because more kinetic energy may lead to faster expansion, resulting a larger entrance hole to a vital organ, where a slower heavier bullet with less kinetic energy might open up a bit later, causing a smaller entrance hole. Both entrance and exit should be considered because the ultimate goal is a decrease in blood pressure large enough to induce the unconscious state. (Note that I am not referring to an exit hole in the back - that would be an undesired characteristic and a possible hazard). Most attackers will be pumped up with adrenaline or even narcotics so this is the most reliable way to cause a stop to the attack as fast as possible. It is extremely important that your ammo performs well through bone, considering most, if not all of the areas that are likely to induce rapid incapacitation are covered by it. This test's main purpose is to observe the damage done to actual tissue after passing through bone and heavy clothing. The gel is just there to compare penetration depths after passing through the denim, bones, and meat.I decided to make this a 9mm vs .45 ACP test because the FBI is now saying that with modern hollow point technology, there is no distinguishable difference between the service calibers. There are a lot of things that make me question that statement. Back in the day 9mm hollow points expanded from around .45 to .55 while .45 ACP hollow points expanded around .60 to .70. Nowadays, you have 9mm commonly expanding from .50 to .65 and .45 ACP expanding anywhere from .65 to 1.00. If the bullet fails to expand, then even more power to the .45 ACP. What I get out of those results is that the best 9mm is about the worst .45 ACP. 9mm HST is usually .60 - .65 while the .45 ACP is about .85 - .95 depending on barrel length, so it seems to me that statement doesn't add up and may have something to do with justification of a less costly round that is easier for those less competent yet is still highly effective. In my opinion, the 9mm benefits seem to outweigh the .45 ACP, but when I look at the statistics of civilian shootings (most shootings are within 3 feet, and over with less than 3 seconds and 3 bullets. Commonly known as the 3-3-3 rule) the .45 ACP seems like a logical choice as well.And for you shot placement folks, of course shot placement is the greatest factor of stopping an attacker, but that doesn't change the fact that a bigger hole does cause a more immediate and larger drop in blood pressure. For you guys, and my own curiosity, I am going to test the Seecamp .32 ACP, which is known to penetrate up to 14 inches in gel. If hole size doesn't matter then surely the Seecamp with it's .32 inch wide hole should be sufficient since it penetrates past the 12 inch standard.Test guns will be the S&W Shield .45 ACP (3.3 inch barrel), the Springfield XDs 9mm (3.3 inch barrel), and the Seecamp .32 ACP with a short as shit barrel (lul).Ammo tested will be (notice the 9mm and .45 ACP loads are comparable by weight and brand. I chose Gold Dots for light for caliber results since they seem to do best in gel at lighter weights while the HST tends to do well at heavy for caliber weights):9mm 147 gr Federal HST.45 ACP 230 gr Federal HST9mm 115 gr Gold Dot.45 ACP 185 gr Gold Dot.32 ACP 73 grain WWB Flat Nose FMJIf you're lucky I'll test my carry ammo last to see how +p affects the 9mm: 124 gr +P short barrel Gold DotThe video should be posted in a few weeks, but the actual results will be posted here, and other places by next week. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2xzqnlE