What originally got me thinking about this whole thing was an incident I heard about earlier this year when it was still cold outside.Lots of local officers here in Columbus have/carry/use Sig P220's/P245's, as there's never a shortage of these models traded in at local gunstores. Apparently a local officer was forced to deploy his .45 caliber weapon and fire on a bad guy for whatever reason. Not surprising news around here. Apparently he stopped whatever crime was in progress with one shot, but the victim survived. Upon further inspection after being taken to the hospital in handcuffs, etc., not only was the guy alive, but he hadn't even really been shot. The JHP .45 round had completely stopped within the mans clothing before it even broke skin. Broke a couple of ribs, left one hell of a bruise and it obviously hurt like hell... bad enough for him to stop fighting because he thought he was shot. Which is good for the officer, but I don't know if I want to bet on having his same luck, God forbid I ever find myself in his situation.
Of course, this whole story could be a load, but considering my source, I doubt it. I have a few leather coats that are extremely heavy, so I could really see how such a thing could happen given the way people dress up here in the winter. You can definitely count on having to penetrate several layers of clothing if you find yourself in an outdoor encounter up here in the colder months.
If there's one thing that I truly disagree with, it's mcoopers point that "it's not about making sure your round penetrates enough." (not picking on you buddy, but this is JMHO) - I believe that penetration is essential. Vital organs are usually protected by bone, and at the very least a few inches of muscle, fat, skin, etc. Penetration is the difference between a superficial wound, which enables the BG to keep fighting if he's determined... and a hit to the central nervous system which will win the fight for you instantly. You can't hit the spinal cord, heart, lungs, liver or other vital organs if your cartridge gets stuck somewhere in the ribs, skin, or especially clothes. More penetration = more crushed tissue, which bleeds more. More blood loss = quicker incapacitation. As said previously on this board, .45ACP in FMJ has been working pretty well for the past 100 years or so. Excuse my sense of humor, but I have to wonder... how much talk of energy deposit, expansion, and "Magical XYZ Brand" Super-Death-ray bullets came into play back then?
When you count local stories like that, with the well-documented facts of the things JHP does sometime in the human body (like shedding the jacket and penetrating less than 3" into the target, fragmentation, failures to penetrate and/or expand), it's enough to make you think. Recent bullet technology is a wonderful thing, and I'm sure it will get better with time. But, I would prefer a more accurate testing medium be used than a cube of ballistic gelatin for testing something as important as pistol-caliber defense ammunition. I just don't know if I can trust that a hunk of mixed metals flying at 800-1400 fps will perform the same in a moving, live human body as it will in a big block of stationary Jell-O.
I like Working Man's idea of one magazine of each, or maybe even mixed magazines. I've heard that called "ghetto" and everything else, but maybe there's an advantage to this one. Double-tap, and if the first one didn't do the job, the second one will
Just thinking out loud, but I appreciate the input from every side. I'd also like to hear more about these semi wadcutter rounds.