Debates about defensive handguns love to spin around on the concept of stopping power, yet fights do not go on because a box flap said so. It does not matter whether a round can be shot in a straight line, cycles dependably and penetrates vital structures uniformly.
The most common place that trainers go to is the 12-18 inches of calibrated 10 percent ballistic gelatin used by FBI, since shallow wounds do not always provide a solution to the matter of life or death. It is based on that yardstick that these calibers (or typical loads options therein) continue to demonstrate some avoidable everyday carry trade-offs.
1. .22 Long Rifle
The range time of 22 LR wins is due to the fact that it is soft shooting and easy to carry in small guns, but has two defensive drawbacks of ignition and inconsistency. Rimfire priming is not as reliable as centerfire by its nature, and misfires occur frequently enough to count where there is no tap-rack-bang time. It is also load- and barrel-length-sensitive, and many typical loads an order of magnitude under 200 ft-lbs, finding it hard to achieve the penetration standard with heavy clothing. Other contemporary loads are made to creep deeper, although the margin of error of the cartridge is narrow: minor variations in velocity, construction of the bullet, or walls in a middle section can turn an acceptable load into an insufficient load.
2. .25 ACP
25 ACP is mostly a historical compromise of centerfire with reliability in a miniature pistol, but its terminal performance is infamously feeble. Normal energy levels are less than 70 ft-lbs and the hollow points of this caliber usually do not expand in a meaningful way and fail to reach depth at any rate. The caliber also has a tendency to exist in older, vest-pocket designs with few or no sights and very small grips–against which no good shot placement under stress would favor. The reality of the modern pocket-gun is quite straightforward; concealability no longer means a decision, a choice of a cartridge that begins behind the curve.
3. .32 ACP
32 ACP has low recoil and it can be fired fast, yet it often produces that soft impact as well as the soft shooting sensation. A lot of loads are ranging between 125-170 ft-lbs, and expansion is inconsistent using clothing and penetration may not always be deep enough to produce a consistent interruption of vital anatomy. The alternative practical disadvantage is platform and support: a large part of the.32 market is older-design, and defensive loading choice is less than mainstream service animals. Being a recoil-management option, it may be viable; being a performance option, it tends to be a compromise that goes too far.
4. .410 Shotshell Out of Handguns
Chambered.410 platforms of handguns offer the supposedly shotgun-like effect in a revolver-like package, but physics soon comes to the fore. Short barrels slow down speed, and dispersal patterns occur too fast such that pellets are likely to miss what counts at normal defensive ranges. Birdshot loads, especially, are under-penetrating and do not work well even on unexpectedly light intermediate materials, whereas buckshot patterns may be opened so much that they cause accountability issues beyond shooting range. Hogshells of handguns are a specialized tool that tries to pass off as a general purpose when their objective is repeatable penetration and predictable hits.
5. .380 ACP (When Choice of Load Is Incorrect)
380 ACP is possible but it is a cartridge that exists on a knife edge, particularly due to the short barrels with micro pistols. Most of the hollow points used in the market are expanding quickly and ending prematurely creating penetration which does not pass the depth test. Other loads penetrate satisfactorily and do little more, reducing the wounding mechanism to caliber holes. The product is not that.380 never works but that.380 demands meticulous selection and verification of ammunition. In the absence of that work, the cartridge has a low margin such that the improper ammo box can literally transform a carry gun into a liability.
6. 10mm Auto
10mm Auto presents legal horsepower – usually 600 ft-lbs and above and that is real capability in applications that require deep penetration. In defensive carry, which is common, the same strength forms common points of failure: heavy recoil decelerates accurate follow-up shots, muzzle blast punishes indoor performance, and certain loadings increase the risk of over-penetration. On paper great performance is useless when shooters cannot move the gun into critical areas in a short time (1). The cost of this caliber is paid in controllability and several carriers fail to train sufficiently to cash the check.
7. From Ultra-Short Barrels.38 Special
A long defensive history of 38 Special, but ultra-short barrels rob 38 Special of the velocity hollow points require to expand consistently and can also decrease the performance of penetration. In snub-nose revolvers less than two inches, there are loads that do not attain minimum depth, others that act like non-expanding bullets after being clogged by clothing in the cavity. The platform itself introduces its share of difficulties: tiny grips, bulky triggers, and rough recoil when loaded with +P may wear down real-world performance, not to mention that the snub-nose design requires precise loading and actual practice.
It is not that they are caliber snobs but rather that they are foreseeable. Handguns already are inferior to long guns, and the difference is bridged by trusted ignition, consistent penetration and accurate and rapid placement of shots instead of wishful thinking on the subject of knockdown.
As the cartridge option makes the game less reliable, less penetrative, or less forgiving of control, the shooter is left puzzling to solve a difficult problem with limited tools at their disposal.
