"...The retarding force is the most important quantity in determining the pressure wave magnitude, temporary stretch cavity size, and prompt damage.
If a bullet has a lot of kinetic energy, but does not lose the energy rapidly as it passes through tissue, it will not have much potential for injury or incapacitation."
Michael Courtney
In other words, an FMJ with 800 ft/lbs of KE that zips right through a target is in no way preferable to a mushrooming projectile (that also sheds some mass) of the same ballistic signature.
Basically, but with many caveats, Dr. Courtney has "proven" that light and fast is better than slow and heavy, as long as the other half-million variables involved in a man-to-man shoot are the same.
BUT...be aware, be VERY aware that self-defense shoots are not always wide open shots into the upper center of mass. Arms, hands, and implements often get in the way of a bullets path to Hi-COM, and lighter projectiles simply do not have the necessary mass to overcome incidental contact. For hunting purposes this is another story. Encountering an armed deer is quite rare so one or two bad hits is not the end of the world.
He posts some interesting info over at Glock Talk. I force myself to link to them because this is important information that can be used to save lives.
Even if his works all but stamps a seal of approval upon the infamous Strasbourg Goat Tests. But that's another story.
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