Very interesting look at handgun stopping power. I’m actually working on something similar but this fellow presents the results of 10 years of data gathering, pretty impressive!
H/T to JD
Submitted by cbaus on Fri, 07/08/2011 - 14:00.
By Greg Ellifritz
I've been interested in firearm stopping power for a very long time. I remember reading Handguns magazine back in the late 1980s when Evan Marshall was writing articles about his stopping power studies. When Marshall's first book came out in 1992, I ordered it immediately, despite the fact that I was a college student and really couldn't afford its $39 price tag. Over the years I bought all of the rest of Marshall's books as well as anything else I could find on the subject. I even have a first edition of Gunshot Injuries by Louis Lagarde published in 1915.
One of the questions that people in my shooting classes frequently ask is “What gun should I buy?” The reality is that when they finish the class they don't know enough to know what kind of gun to purchase. However, I strongly believe that there are three guns everybody should have in their range bag and I like to talk about that a little bit.
Each of these guns performs a specific function and their purpose is to build the shooters shooting skills. The first is a gas powered air soft, the second is a Ruger 22/45 and the final one is a Glock 17. Let me talk about each of these and I'll share with you why I think they need to be part of everybody's range bag.
A new shooter is trying to learn a number of new skills and they're trying to learn these skills safely. That to me is where the air soft pistol comes into play. I recommend a gas powered one 
so that they can shoot more than one round without having to charge the pistol. The normal gas powered air soft as a magazine that holds 15 of the 6 mm BBs. And many of them have the same type of form factor as many of the popular handguns so that they'll fit many of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters (my favorite holster). This provides the perfect platform to practice stance, draw from a holster, weapon rotation and joining of the hands, acquiring a sight picture, and finally doing everything from 1 to 3 round engagement with the threat. The nice thing about an air soft is a shooter can practice all day long with little expense, without worrying about weather – especially if they do not have access to an indoor range and they can grab much more practice time by setting up an air soft range in their home.
The second pistol that I believe everyone should own is one of the Ruger 22/45s. This handgun can perform many different functions. It can be used for everything from a tra
il gun, to a range gun, to a beginner’s competition gun for rimfire events. It has a number of features that make it very valuable as an initial training gun for a new shooter. Its touch and feel is the similar as many semiautomatic pistols, in particular a 1911. Its weight is similar to a larger caliber pistols, the grip is the same as many of the larger caliber pistols, and its front and rear sides are similar to those used on larger caliber pistols as well. And of course, another big benefit is that the cost of ammunition is much less than that of a 9 mm or a 45 caliber pistol. I find they shoot very well and they're very accurate.
And finally I believe that every shooter needs what I call a range gun. And in my opinion the Glock 17 is proba
bly the best range gun on the market today. They're powerful enough to easily be used for self-defense, there easily available at prices around $500 so they're not really expensive, 9 mm ammunition is cheap, relatively speaking, their maintenance is very simple and straight forward, and they just shoot every time you pull the trigger. When you marry the Glock 17 with a Blackhawk Serpa holster, a good pistol belt, and a couple magazine holders, along with a half a dozen magazines -you have what I believe is nearly the perfect system to use for virtually any kind of training course you want to take.
So there you have it. These are the three guns than I believe every new shooter should have in their range bag: a good quality air soft gas powered pistol, a Ruger 22/45, and finally a Glock 17 with a total of six magazines, a Serpa holster, two magazine carriers and a good pistol belt. With these tools in their range bag, a new shooter is ready to take the next step to really begin learning their shooting craft.
I’m working on a number of posts, one of which is about gunfighting. Along the way, I came across this post about Drill Seargent Frick and some his “rules” that he shares. Pretty sound advice.
Petzal: The Rules of Gunfighting
By David E. Petzal
Normally, this blog is dedicated to peaceful pursuits. However, SFC Frick speaks much wisdom. I am giving him a meritorious promotion to Command Sergeant Major (E-9).
(For more on this subject, visit our list of the five best gunfights of all time).
Drill Sergeant Joe B. Fricks Rules For A Gunfight
1. Forget about knives, bats and fists. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. Bring four times the ammunition you think you could ever need.
A person’s EDC – Every Day Carry, is a fairly personal choice. It revolves around their environment, their type of threat, their training, their style of dress – to list just a few of the considerations that go into choosing the various elements of their EDC.
In addition to these considerations, I also divide my EDC into three different elements:
Personal Protection: This is the element I depend on to defend myself. This consists of items I ALWAYS have with me, my weapon (changes between a Ruger LC9 and a Glock 36) with three fully loaded magazines, a tactical knife - currently a Kershaw Skyline (model 1760) and a flashlight, currently a Surefire 6P Defender.
Survival Element: This element gives me a very basic survival ability to stabilize my situation so I can work up from there. It consists of a Leatherman Juice CS4, a small Bic lighter with two birthday candles taped around it, a spark-striker kit and a miniature frenzel lens – the last three items meet my requirement to always have three ways to start a fire in your pocket. Additionally, I wear a Casio Pathfinder PQW200-T watch which adds a compass, altimeter, barometer and a watch to my survival kit.
Personal Element: This element I just need to get through the day. It consists of my wallet that carries credit cards, cash, identification and carry permits. I also include my Casio Pathfinder primarily in this element and my Google Nexus One cell phone.
I have done a fairly extensive video review of my system. I start out with an overview and then tackle the individual elements. You can find a link to in on our company website -
e.IA.f.t. – EDC – Every Day Carry videos.
I’d be interested in your thoughts and feedback!
1: Always keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
2: Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
3: Do not load your weapon until you are ready to use it.
4: Make sure you know what’s behind your target.
Oh, and for good measure, don’t clean a loaded weapon.
What happens if you don’t follow the basic rules – how about a dead 15 year old girl. Honest to God, if it turns out he simply discharged his weapon in the air to “empty” it so he could clean it, he should go to jail.
Sheriff: Ohio man cleaning gun killed Amish girl
FREDERICKSBURG, Ohio (AP) -- A man cleaning his muzzle-loading rifle shot the gun into the air, accidentally killing a 15-year-old Amish girl driving a horse-drawn buggy more than a mile away, a sheriff said Tuesday.
News from The Associated Press
What struck me about this article is that, at the very end, it states that no gun was found. I train my students to be “Thinking Shooters”. What that means is that they are in control of each and every decision they make and will be held accountable for those decisions in court in the event they do harm to another person. Obviously, the video tape is not presented here for our review. And certainly, for the robber to state clearly that he had a gun certainly crosses a huge line. Yet, I wonder if it will be enough to protect the shooter. He was behind a counter. I would assume it provided some level of cover. The robber did not brandish a weapon, even though he clearly stated he had one. The clerk chose to engage the robber, without seeing a weapon, rather than seeking cover and refusing the money. If the clerk can convince a jury that he felt in “mortal danger” – things should go fairly smoothly for him.
However, if he simply acted on the verbal threat with no physical evidence to confirm the danger, and he felt anything other than a “mortal danger”, I suspect the court will not be very forgiving.
Kansas City police today identified a man killed in a botched robbery attempt Friday at a convenience store as William Rees, 33.
Police did not have an address for Rees, but online court records listed an address from Ozark, Mo. Rees was paroled from a Missouri prison on Aug. 16 after serving sentences for stealing, drug trafficking and second-degree assault.
Investigators said Rees entered the store about 3 p.m. Friday, announced a robbery and indicated he had a gun, according to clerks at the store at 5712 Independence Ave. As Rees reached over the counter for the money, a clerk shot him, police said. The store’s video surveillance system recorded the incident, police said. Police did not find a gun with Rees.
I am always fascinated by folks who are genuinely surprised that an individual would actually choose to defend themselves rather than becoming another crime statistic. It would seem that progress towards sanity is being made.
Bloomberg News
In Print: Monday, December 12, 2011
Robin Natanel picks up a compact black pistol, barrel pointed down range. Gripping the gun with both hands, left foot forward, she raises the semiautomatic and methodically squeezes off five shots. The first one creases the left edge of a red bull's-eye on a target 25 feet away. The four others paint a 3-inch pattern around the first. If the target were a person's head or heart, he'd probably be dead.
My wife and I are at a restaurant having an amazing meal of Serbian food with her brother and his wife before a choral concert. We had traveled from Iowa to Wisconsin and had discussed my training company over the past few days as well as the new Wisconsin carry laws. My sister-in-law looks at me, bends over the table slightly and asks: “So, are ya packin’?”
My response was: “Ya know, that’s something I don’t answer.”
So let’s expand on this question a bit – Are Ya packin’?
The short answer is “yes” – I do “pack” – each and every day, everywhere I go. There are exceptions – I don’t carry in the Post Office when I pick up my mail, in schools of any kind or in those areas my county has determined I can not lawfully carry ( that’s a whole other post I may get into some day). Otherwise, if I have clothing on, I have a weapon on as well (including my home).
However, for those reading this to see if this life-style change is something that they may want to do, there are a number of other factors that come into play as well.
Are you willing to take a life? The only reason to carry a weapon daily is for personal protection – of your self, your family and your community. The act of defense may well require you to take a life – are you prepared to do that?
Are you trained? And that means much more than the 4-5 hour weapons safety course. Do you know your weapon? Your ammunition? How do you carry? Can you draw, acquire and engage your threat smoothly and accurately? How many rounds do you send down range monthly with your carry weapon? When was the last time you went to the range during a rain storm or a snow storm? Would you bet your life and those of your family on your carry weapon and your gun fighting abilities?
The phrase “with great power comes great responsibility” seems to have many parents – from Voltaire to FDR to Stan Lee. However, the truth of the phrase seems self-evident to me. If I, as a citizen, choose to put the power to take a life in my pocket, I have a responsibility to know how to use it to the best of my ability and to continue to grow in that knowledge.
As for sharing on whether I’m “packin” or not – I don’t share that. No one else needs to know. If the whole restaurant knew I was “packin’”, my tactical advantage of carrying concealed is gone. If I continually treat my carry weapon as a conversation piece, it would be easy to get sloppy – maybe take it out and show it off. That is the path to nothing good.
So, my advice – know your weapon, practice as many scenarios as you can find at your range (in all kinds of weather and at all times of the day), know your ammunition, find a carry system that works well for you – and then make concealed carry a part of your life style – for your own personal defense and for the defense of your family and community.
Eastern Iowa Firearms Training – e.IA.f.t. is dedicated to the training of the new or inexperienced shooter. Proper use of a firearm is accomplished through both education and use. A new or inexperienced shooter is presented with a wide range of unfamiliar challenges: What gun is right for me? How does it work? How do I hold it, aim it and shoot it? What are the basic rules of safety? How do I clean it? Which gun would work best for defending my home or to carry with me to defend myself? What steps should I take for personal defense outside the home? What is expected of me at a shooting range? When I go to the range to “practice” – just what should I practice?
The list of questions is long and can be daunting. The purpose is e.IA.f.t. is – in the words of the NRA – is to provide you with the “knowledge, skills and attitude” to answer these and many more questions and to turn you into a knowledgeable and skilled shooter.
Look over our courses, check our schedule. We are sure you will find something that will take you to the next level of shooting. Then, come join us for a class and some range time – we look forward to working with you! And, check our blog from time to time. I will post my thought on training, questions raised by various folks in our courses, comment on current news articles – anything I think you might find useful. Please, join in the conversations.
Bill
