"I see an average of 8.2 autopsies per day/365 days per year, and I can tell you that when the chips are down, there's nothing that beats a 12-gauge. As for handguns, the name of the game is not only shot placement but how a properly-placed bullet acts once it gets there. I've seen folks killed by a bb to the eye and others survive after being hit by several well-placed rounds with a 9mm.
As for me, I'll take a slow-moving .45 to a gun fight any day. I absolutely despise a 9mm for defensive situations (yes, they will eventually kill but often not quickly enough to prevent the BG from doing you in first)and a .380 as well. These are probably the two calibers I see most often on the autopsy table.
The .357 (magnum) is gloriously effective. It's just that semi-autos are much more common than they used to be, so we see far more 9mm and .380 rounds on the autopsy table than we do the .38 and .357. Particularly among the gangbangers, the 9mm and .380 are the weapons of choice. The .357 is a wonderfully effective round for self-defense from what I've seen, but it's rare that we get them in anymore.
Again, this is from experience that I've made my calls on what works and what doesn't. I have no use for mouse guns like the .32, although it's a lot better to have a mouse gun than nothing at all. Personally, I'll never carry anything smaller than a .40 and prefer the .45. Day in and day out, results from the autopsy table show me that the .45 is the gun to have in a gun fight, provided you can shoot it well. If not, it's better to have something you can shoot well, even if it's a mouse gun, than something you can't."
Moral of the story? Big and slow whenever possible, if you do not have a .357 handy.
As soon as more results arrive from .357 SIG shootings, and remember, this will be from law enforcement discharges and not bad guys versus bad guys or sheeple, I'll be sure to pass it along. In the sandbox, various 40 caliber rounds have been put to use with marvelous results. Winchester Ranger-T's are taking their toll of sand fleas, and the Federal HST has made it there as well.
And, just to confuse you just when you thought you had a handle on things...
The glaring caveat to go along with these results from a coroner's assistant is the fact that boys from da hood aren't what one would call gun-savvy, and that of course extends to the ammunition they employ. It's extremely doubtful that modern, state of the art 9 mm ammo is the fodder of choice for our minority wonder-killers. Still and all, I'd never rely on a 9mm as long as there were other choices.
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