The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - 9mm vs .357 Sig (penetration, expansion, armor piercing)

nobody_special · December 12, 2006, 03:17 PM

OK, I goofed. First, the 90+/-5% for 9mm is a 2-sigma error, not 1-sigma. That makes the argument (that .357 magnum is a better 1-shot stopper than 9mm) a bit stronger, but it's still not a hugely significant difference.

And I ignored the .38 special result, because I don't know anything about .38 special ballistics. There clearly is a very significant difference between .38 special and .357 magnum in the M&S data. Again, I avoided this one because I don't know anything about the .38 special round. One possible comment, though... the .38 special data specifies a 2" barrel, so there may be insufficient power or poor accuracy compared to the data for other calibers.

December 12, 2006, 03:17 PM	#21
nobody_special Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2006 Location: Southwest US Posts: 277	OK, I goofed. First, the 90+/-5% for 9mm is a 2-sigma error, not 1-sigma. That makes the argument (that .357 magnum is a better 1-shot stopper than 9mm) a bit stronger, but it's still not a hugely significant difference. And I ignored the .38 special result, because I don't know anything about .38 special ballistics. There clearly is a very significant difference between .38 special and .357 magnum in the M&S data. Again, I avoided this one because I don't know anything about the .38 special round. One possible comment, though... the .38 special data specifies a 2" barrel, so there may be insufficient power or poor accuracy compared to the data for other calibers.