Thursday, May 7, 2015

.45 v 9mm

The Terrists in Garland Texas were dispatched to the hereafter by a .45 caliber Glock.  Glock 21?

It would have been over sooner if he had used a 1911.  When you have a lotta ammo in the magazine, you get in a gunfight and go, "Whelp.  Might as well keep shooting since I have the bullets." And you get all those superfluous shell casings at the scene.   With a 1911 you just take care of bidness.

The cop would still be firing if they were armed with 9mm.  We all know the .45 is like the thunderbolt of God.

Saw a picture of a conscious man with a wound over his right eyebrow.  There were stitches around it.  He had stepped into the hall and raise a pistol at a SWAT stick.  Got shot in the head with a MP5.  9mm out of a 16 inch barrel.  His head jerked back, recovered, and he started to aim at the cops again when the guy in front with the shield rammed into him, ending the fight.

The stitches on his forehead are from the bullet splash.  Fragments that burst from the point of impact on his skull.  It didn't actually penetrate the skull.

He didn't look old enough to be a Nam vet with a steel plate in his head.

A 9mm at room distances out of an unsuppressed 16 inch barrel and nigh perfect shot placement.  Bupkis.  Sheesh!

You never see that with .45ACP.

But seriously, I am sure the .45 can and has done something similar.  (Aside from that one cop that ran into a bullet sponge, so now he is switching to 9mm.  The thinking:  if they are gonna be a sponge might as well get em really wet.)  Not hearing about shaken off .45-to-the-head stores is probably a factor of the round not being as prevalent as the 9mm.  If most MP5s were in .45 there would be guys like Armor-Head with pictures circulating among gunnies and the call for "We need something smaller and faster like a 9mm to drill through the thicker bad guy skulls!" resonating throughout the land.

And 1911 shooters only seem more economical with their rounds in action because they have to be.  At least that is my theory.  The fight is over by the time some old fashioned old timer like me can reload after 7.  Plus we don't have the wind we did at 24 years of age.  Naw, let's take our time and use what we have.

Guys that carry just the J-Frame would have to be downright glacial...

5 comments:

Robert Fowler said...

I've got 8 round mags for my 1911. 8 plus one in the pipe and 8 rounds of reloads for 17 rounds. Hopefully that would be enough unless I run into a dozen jihad turds, then it could get dicey.

I would hope that if the need ever arises, I would be as cool under fire as the Garland cop.

David said...

I carry a 1911 commander in .45 ACP, loaded with 8+1 and a spare 8-rounder. I don't feel under-gunned.

I also shoot a .45 ACP 1911 in steel matches and in USPSA single-stack, so I get plenty of trigger time. I can hit what I'm aiming at.

I think I'll be OK.

burkdoggy said...

Would there be better results from a nine with a heavier bullet? like 147 grain or something? I am thinking that bullet splash might be from a too light bullet going too fast. I dunno. Pure speculation.

Tam said...

If it makes you happy. :)

Barrentaiga said...

I seem to hear/read a lot about 1911's being Less Than compared to others chambered in .45 ACP, because of their mag capacity. I like the 1911, in many of it's iterations. Some may call this blasphemous, but there is such a thing as a double stack. ;)