jeff & Maria
Active member
The key is maximum tissue damage which is the quickest way to stop someone/something. Example, .223 is a small caliber but it's extremely high velocity causes it to spin upon entering the body. A friend of mine was shot by a Vietcong with a captured M-16. The round hit the stock of his rifle which was in the firing position, it went through the buffer, out the back of the rifle, into his shoulder, around his back and came out his left shoulder. That's a lot of spinning! A large caliber flattens, peels and usually smashes bone which will also tear up tissue. I've killed deer with a precision placed shot using .22 CB's so a .22 is nothing to laugh at but for personal protection at close range, bigger is better. That's why a lot of police agencies opted to go to .40 cal.