WellI hate to be the bearer of bad news but - my best friend was shot with a .380 to the gut from about 5ft away. It didn't put him down at all. We walked all the way to my house to call 911 since this was before cell phones. This was about a half mile - he wouldn't even sit down until I forced him. The bullet went in and out. It really messed him up inside He had to be life flighted to the hospital, but it didn't immediately incapacitate him at all. We were 15 at the time.
We were robbed on the way home from school. He wouldn't give them anything so they shot him and took off. They were caught and I think the guy did about 3.5 years for aggravated assault and some weapons charge not sure exactly.
If you needed verification that a .35 cal FMJ to the gut is not a fight stopping wound, you have it here. I am curious, had the shot been an " or two right or left, and severed his spine, would you be saying how great a stopper .380 is?
The devil is always in the details.
Manco:
And why is that? Make your case.
Ammo selection. There is no round in .32acp that shows anything near the performance of a round like .380 corbon DPX+P in tests. I've seen 3 tests of it, and the expansion has been between .645"avg-.70+" avg in all of them. Penetration has been in the 9"-11" avg range, depending on the test.
Buffalo Bore flat nose is the one load in .32 acp i really liked, but it rimlocked on me even with KT mag spacers installed, several times. I don't trust it, so i couldn't use it. That means the only real choice in .32acp is FMJ.
So, .380 = much bigger hole (and a jagged bleeding hole at that thanks to the DPX cutting petals) with the right ammo while still getting 10" avg penetration. 10" is more than enough in a frontal shot, which as a CCW citizen, is by far the most likely shot i'll be taking. So, to me, the extra pen. of a .32acp is wasted. What's more, the .32 acp FMJ wound channel is most akin to an icepick.
So to me, there is a pretty clear advantage for .380 here.
I think the 9mm has a big edge over the .380 because the same DPX round weighs more, delivers more than double the energy, and drives deeper into the target. And there are just countless top ammo selections available in 9mm, some delivering over 500fpe of energy.
Eh, in my opinion, there's hardly any jump between 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP at all, as they can all penetrate well enough while expanding a fair amount, and there's only a small fraction of an inch difference between them.
I agree that .357 magnum, 9mm, .38spl +P+, .38 Super, 40 and .357 sig are pretty much one as good as the other. I don't see any real difference in terminal performance between them at all when top loads are compared. However, the .45 can get nearly 1" expansion in a lot of tests. A 1" hole is a 1" hole. I think that sets it apart to a degree.
But i think any of them will work. I truly believe that stopping power has far, far more to do with the will to fight in the bad guy (or the good guy) than it does with caliber, bullet selection, or even shot placement.
Some people will get hit with a fatal hit and keep fighting regardless until they bleed out. Doesn't matter what they get hit with. 12ga shotgun, .50bmg, there are unbelievable accounts of people soaking up massive punishment in battle and still fighting on.