Why Some Whine About Nine
The object of shooting a violent felon with a service pistol is to render him incapable of causing death or great bodily harm, as soon as possible. It follows the round causing the most damage will achieve this goal sooner and more efficiently, saving innocent life and limb. Some police entities remain with .45 ACP because they have been happy with how fast .45 rounds debilitated violent criminal opponents. These range from the northeast, such as the state troopers of New Hampshire and Massachusetts who carry S&W M&P .45s because their institutional histories include bad guys who stayed up and running after solid hits with smaller diameter bullets, to LAPD SWAT with their signature 1911 .45s.
Obviously, shot placement is the single most important element of so-called “stopping power,” but more damage per shot is also a consideration. Going back to the 1970s with the guy who took 33 rounds of 9mm (admittedly, poorly expanding misnamed “soft-nose” ammo) and, at the end, a 12-gauge shotgun to stop him, we hear more cases of 9mm stopping failures than .45. The classic case most often quoted of “.45s failed to stop, too” is the Tim Gramins incident. Some consider it a Black Swan rarity from 13 years ago.
That said, some departments have no complaints at all with 9mm stopping power. Illinois State Police had awesome results with 115-grain, 1,300 fps +P+ 9mm, as did DeKalb County surrounding Atlanta. Orlando, Fla. still fields the SIG P226 9mm they adopted in the late ’80s, with 127-grain +P+ Winchester, and I’m told Jacksonville, Fla. and Miami-Dade police have been equally successful with it. Orlando went to +P 124-grain Winchester 9mm a few years ago mainly because the +P+ was beating the hell out of some of the ultra-small off-duty/backup guns they approved, and still get good results.
The 9mm trend is a balance of scales, and perception of needs can tilt those scales either way. For now, the trend has tipped the scale toward the 9mm police service pistol.
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