A Comparison of the Wounding Effects of Commercially Available Handgun Ammunition Suitable for Police Use

    •» f-'T' w' C  /r.C C r  i. ' ~r/i-

C/t i>7' A  ^  n  . ... 3 l

- - a F c /  rrAo: -r'. ; - >

r
k  P  e>. I Mf ;fr: fj s î* H .i |j j r. f. 8 :; ,T» r?
i n  I d u e i  L m  [fctc^ y y y y y U E i i i | ^  L i i y s ^ j i d  0

r n m m j i r n b p y  B ^ / > ^ ? b h ! o  k* |J  S 21' t !.  ̂ t j  I  y  i! it-3 a 3 V  a ^ I '  i s  i  J  ^   ̂L f k t' £ s  3 a y  w  r u  ii

fpi»? fi*
1 : i L a :l 0  •  ,

I
/Tfe "  " F 5 If B» S H

L y i i j ' i i y  f e u i  s U i j y i j y  y y y

■'. . . tJic ■'̂ cvciity of (i icouikJ ks dirccih related 
to the amount of Idnctic eneri’:y lost hy the bullet 

in the body."

By
VINCENT J. M. D! MAIO, M.D.

J. ALLAN JONES 
W. W. CARUTH III 

LOUIE L. ANDERSON 
CHARLES S, PETTY, M.D.

Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences 
Dcrilas, Tex.

Q
t j  election rif a r.eic caliber or type 
of aniinunitioa is a niatter of great 
importance fri both police officers ami 
ia\c enforcetnent creani/rition?. Ideal­
ly, selection slir.iild ire madr on'\- alter 
extendi',e e\ aliialion of the Uinindin;' 
eflcct.-. o) the a\aiial>!c ■.ceaj)on,s and 
arnimmition. Crinducting sue!, te.sts. 
lio'.veve:', is iaijiraetisa! for most police 
dcpai tiuents. It ii.A.s uiilv ]'•( cn since the 
iiiili’ary serv ices, in l',)f>2, juihli^hed 
the n-.ults of theii rc.-j'arcli i.’i uoimd 
hallistlc; that such cv aluation.- have 
l.r-eomc j>os-i!ilc.' The same theoiv 
and tccluii,jii>'s of tc>'ing devi-p.l hv 
the military ca:i he used with some 
niodifi.-ation to c\alu:Ue the \soundini:

effects of dilTerent calibers and coni- 
meieiall)' available ainmuiiition for 
use hv I'olice.

The .SiiUthv.estern Institute of Fo­
rensic .''cis-nccs at D.dla- has a contin- 
'.i!!ig progiain to e\aiuate the wound­
ing etTectivenes.s of dilTerent calibers 
arid t\ pes of amnuiiiilion. so as to pro­
vide this information for Ijoth law 
taifoicemeiit oiaani/ations and indi- 
'■idua! j'oliee uincers.--’  Tliis articis! 
presciits a comparison liv tlifr institute 
of tlie wounding etTects of diif'-rent 
calil)er.s ami commerciaiiv uvaila!>Ie 
cartridges used lo- law onforcenient 
orga.'ii/ations or considered snitahle 
for police jsf.

Theory

Hcscarch in tlie field of woit.’id bal­
listics during and c.ftei o'.ld \\ ar II 
revealed lliat tiie se\entv- of wound 
is directly related to tiic atmmnt of 
kinetic energy Irut liv tlie i-u’del in 
Itie iiodv.' '! ids meaii= ttiat tiie gieatcr 
tiie loss of kinetic ener_\. tlif; greater 
li’ t' damage to tlie tisstic.--. ihei-sfore, , 
tlie itioie severe tlie ivouml. i'roi'i this 
it was concluded di.;-. tie: I'lc.ind'iig 
eil'ctiveness of dilTerent t\ pcs ami 
Oii'iher.s of carlrid..ts could be evalu­
ated and cotnp.ired I '.' dc!en;iii-'ng 
tiie amount of energy lost by each 
I'uilet in pa ing througli tis'Ue. Tnis

December 1974



lu’fame more workalile v̂■̂ en 
?ulisc(|urnt re.-carcli icsealed tluU for 
pN[ierinicntiil |)urjio~es ' lock? of 20 
j erct'iu "clatin al 10  ̂ C could be &u’h- 
?ti!ulcd for human tissue.' At tlii? 
|»ciiul. it should he pointed o\it that it 
is m.t the total amount of kint'-ic 
energv that a l)ullet lose? in tissue that 
is of importance; rather, it is the on­
er,cv dcliM'ied to vital organs, i.e., 
brain, hcait. hings. and liver, th.at 
cau?c‘s iiicai'.acitalion. In view of tiu?, 
blocks of gelatin lo  cm in depth are 
used for testing. Penetration by a bul­
let be\ond 15 cm ( a[i])roximately 6 
inchest is not important, because L̂e- 
vond this de])th the bullet v̂ould have 
struck or bypassed the major organs 
or would have exited from the hody.-'  ̂
Using the aforementioned research 
tlieories and techni([ues, it is now jios- 
sihle to compare the wounding effect 
of different calibers and types of car- 
tridues hv dt|termining the amount of 
kinetic energy lost by bullets passing 
through a gelatin block.

Molhods
The tests were conducted at a range 

of 15 feet from mur/lc to gelatin block, 
usina weapons of the type commonly 
earrie<l by jjolice officers: a Smith & 
\\ esson 9 mm. Model 39 semiauto­
malie pistol; a Colt .3f! Super semi-

TAHI.E I

Kinatir. Encipy Lost In Cfdatin Jilochs by I'nrious Brands o j  9 rnni
ParabrUmn Cm tridnes ■

nuilet .Mozzle Kinetic
Mamiraetorrrr w t St\ tc ’ % clouit V encrfTv lost

(firairi'i) -1-1 SI)I s I SI)
(ft/s) (ft-ll.)

W ineho.stcr........... 11.5 F.MJ 1,132:1; 37 107±.15
Aiorma................... l i e lA U 1,I65-J:3() 110.-U13
R em in gton ........... 121 F.M.T l ,1 0 8 ± l l 110+22
Stnilii & W os.son. ICO FAU 1,2192:18 129:r9

D o ................... 115 ICM.J 1,175 1:36 130 +  21
D o ................... 115 F.M.T-SWC l,160i-28 176-J;27

W inehesler ’ ........ 100 SP 1,305±21 271 ± 60
Smith tS: Wesson. 115 JHP 1,156±30 323;t21
R em in gton ........... 115 JUP 1,196 ±18 330 ±  11
Super \ e l ............. 90 JUP 1,382+17 .377 ± 1 5

* F.MJ— full fYicta! j a c k f l ,  F.M.f-S'i\C— full  
S F — so ft  p o in t ,  J l lP — ja r k e t o d  l io l low  p o in t .

-  S I )— starulard <leviation,
 ̂ ‘ 'IV>’.vcr jK>int,”

m eta l  ja ek et -sem i^ v a d cu Iter

TABLE II

K inetic  Enemy Lost in Gelatin Blochs by I ’uriotis Brands o f  .38

automatic pistol: a Colt .15, Model 
1911 A-1 semiautomatic pistol; a 
Smith & Wesson .33 Special revolver. 
Model 15 with a bin barrel; a Smith 
k Wesson .357 .Magnum revolver. 
Model 23 \\ ith a 1-in barrel: a Smith.?; 
W esson .11 .Me.gmim revolver, .Modd 
53 'Ailh a bin hanel; and a Smith X 
W esson .1 f Magnum revolver, Model 
29 witli a bin barrel. Firing.? were 
made through 20 jiereent gelatin 
blocks 16 cm in height, 16 cm m 
width, and 15 cm in depth which were 
kept at a tempe.ature of 10  ̂ C. Gela­
tin speeifiealK' ])rodueed for such 
.-ludli'- was ii-ed.' I Iw \elocily of each 
hnllel prior to entering the block, a? 
well as on exilimr, Acas determined.

. iti t o , *3o Super, and .13 in to  . inirnnnilion

Hlillct .Mii/,/,te Kinetic
Cal iber/ c i:;! 11 StNie '■ M‘locil> encr^v lost

mamj faeJ urer (,'Z rains) s 1 Sl)2 s o
(ft/s) (ft-lh)

.38 Auto
R em ington . . 130 FM.1 1,0312:11 !01g;5

.38 .Super
W inefi>'ster. . 130 F.MJ 1,208 +  21 138 +  76
Sujier \ i,d . . . 107 JllP 1,281+20 376 ± 1 7

.15 .Arilo
(^ /f lem in gton . . 230 F.AI.I 8 I2 ± 8 117±6

.\orma........... 2,30 J1FP 812±2 l 170.+ 18
\ m r o n ........... 180 ■Mlenii” 979±21 1882:11
R em in gton . . 185 JHP 91 f ± l l 272:1; 11
Super A e l . . . 190 JHP 1,0.53±17 319±51

----------- ----- ---------- _  --------- ..— —----- ---------
' 1M |—ftifl mtlal jarl ,el, — jai-kotrd lioIloA> point, Humi" —lu minpher-

leal J a e K e l  I il -o f t  p o i o l .
" ,*sI)— s ta o i !a r< !  iIo\ ra t io n .

It
li
tl
h.
I
i!

b
hi

F
If

u
a I
9
T
j-
10 
th

in
in
rc

FBI Low Enforcement Bulletin



lisin;’, t'vo rliionoginph-'. The kinetic 
enci';:> was couijaiti'il, using the 
foinmla kE- II I ■“/ 2 .,., witli II' being 
ti’f  'aeight of the ljullel. I tlic vefocity, 
aiifl g the gravitational nrceleration. 
Ihilhls were recovercil and weighed 
to determine any loss of weiglit in 
passing through the hlock, as this 
would alter the detei inination of the 
exit kinetic, cnengy.

Ilcsidis

9 inm PurnheUum iLugCT)

Idle 9 mm is truly an international 
round, used hv more military and j)o- 
lice grou])s throughout the world 
than any other caliber. Onh recently 
has it begun to gain [)opularity in the 
I'nited State.', with, the introduction of 
the Sjiiith & \\’esson Model 39 and 
Model 59 semiautomatic pistols. Table 
1 gives the loss of kinetic energy in 
gelatin blocks by the 9 mm Parabel- 
lum cartridges tested. The six full 
metal jacket (F.MJ ) loadings tested 
were equal or superior in wounding 
effectiveness to the 230 grain (gr) 
FMJ .15 Automatic loadings (table 
II) and markedly superior to the tra­
ditional 153 gr round nose (KN) .33 
Special loading.- i table 1111. This su­
periority is slniwn by the greater 
amounts of kinetic energv lost bv the 
9 nun bullet.- in the gelatin blocks. 
The 9 mm .Smith & W'esson full metal 
jacket, semiwadcutter (FMJ-SWCl 
lor'ding lost the most kinetic energv of 
die full mcial ja.cket rounds, equaling 
some of the .3i.l .special jacketed soft 
point and imllow point loadings. The 
9 mm Winchester ft)0 gr "l^ower 
Point’ " jacketed soft jroint (J.FP) 
showed even better jierformance, be­
ing .siirpas.-ed in the .33 Siiecial loatl- 
ings by only three of the hollow point 
rounds. The 9 mm jacketed hollow 
jjoiiit (.HIP) loadings make tiiis car­
tridge su[)erior to most .33 Special 
loadings and a number of the .357 
Magnum .soft point and hollow jioint 
loading.s.

T AP.i .i : m

Kinrtir  Kncray Lost in CfInliii fllocks by ,3H S[><‘rial . ini rnnni lion

liollet Mu//h‘ Kirulic.Mami fad iir<*r >V4M̂Kt Sl\Ic ' A cloci tA t'n<T;:A lo*.t(liraiii-) ±1 SD- ■ i .S,'»
(I't/s) (It-l!,)

lî .‘m in g lo n ........................ 200 KN 061 ± 10 57 ± 7
\̂\ inchixsler........... 153 KN 789±13 72 sc 5
Kom itigton ........... 153 SAAC 775 ± 16 3'3 ±.3

D o................... 153 KN 713 ± 9 T7±18
T’fdt-ral ........................................ 158 KN 810 ± 8 79--3
AN iiK'lie.ster........... 200 KN 078 ±11 3fri-5

Do.................... 1.58 SAAC: 801±10 9 1 - 5
R em iiiu t 'm ........... 1.53 KN 989±18 97 ± 8
AN iaehosicr ........... 1.53 SAAC 930 ±27 1 3 0 ± n
AN o l e r n ................. L50 MI" 972 ± 2 0 I30±22
Ivem inglon.......... 118 AVC 719 ±17 1 n ± 7
iSorma................... 158 JHP 792±21 H 0 ± 2 9
SjH’cr ...................... 125 JSP 1,093 ±37 159 ± 3 2
Smith & Wesson. 158 JHP 909 ±19 3 i  1

D o.................... 110 JHP 1,077 ±11 188 ± 8
Su{)cr A e l .............. 110 JSP 1,M 7±42 195 ±21

iMlt ( 'min'.'ton........... 125 JHP 9 n ± 1 5 239 ±  8
Super AT‘l .............. n o JHP 1,089± 12 2 5 9 -1 1
AN im lic.sler.......... 158 HP 951 ±11 261 ± 3
Smith iN AA esson. 125 JHP 1,189 ±37 295 ± 3 2
R c m in " lo i i .......... 95 JHP 1,2 i0 ±  15 312±3
N orm a................... n o JHP 1 1 3z 3 9 i ; - n

 ̂ KN—rmiml ( . — tfm 11 r, MT— nutal 1, \vc—V.U.I-
riiUer, .IH!'—iiU'kcUd hollow jloint, JSI*-—jarUeled >oft jn.int. i i ! * — ho I loAv'
j>oin t.

* S I ) -—sliiu(Jar<l dc\ ia l ion .

.38 Super ami .38 Automatic

1 he .33 .Super cartridge .should be 
u.sed In jnefercnce to the .38 Auto­
matic ill all modern .38 seniiaiitomatic 
pistols f table 11). Ih.th cartridges are 
loaded with. 130 gr F.M.T hiillets. Roth 
of those .38 auto cartridges are imuph- 
ly conqiarable in wounding elective- 
ness to the 9 nmi F.MJ-KN hullets, 
with the .33 Supiir .-omewhat superior 
to the .38 auto cartridge. The Sniier 
Vel 107 gr .HIP rnoie than douhle.s the 
wounding effectiveness of the .33 
Su[)er cartridge, making it as effective 
as the 9 mm hollou point loading-.

.45 Automatic

This has been the ofhrial U.S. ,\rmy 
carliidue îiu'c 1911, and nia.nv nn'lis 
leave arisen concerning its effective- 
ne.ss. Contrarv to these st.iiics. the 
standard mililarv loading witii a 239 
■jr I .MJ hiilirt is no more . fl-.-ctive 
'nan the traditional 9 mm IM.I rnund. 
iioth of these li'adings !o-e about tlie 
'.mic kinetic cncig'. in gri.itin hi"cks. 
The Aorrna JlIP and .Amron ■■Itemi"’ 
1 .1 jacketed soft point' are somewhat 
more efreetive llian the tradilii.ma! .15 
FMJ loading I table II). The Norma 
JHP does mt exp-and in e ither gelatin

December 1974



■ir the iuimjn t'0(h. It m;iv cause fuiif'- 
ti'Uiiiig iliiriciilties in some cutis, he- 
catisc of tile exjioscd lead tip. d lie 
,\niron lajund may also cause func- 
tiouiiic diinrullies, liecause of tlie 
sltort. stubbv nature of the bullet u itli 
tin exjH'. r̂tl lead tip. The .15 Super \ e! 
j l lP  i ' three times as effectiie as the 
FMJ military rnnnd. The Super Vel, 
like the .\orma liollow point, does 
not expand =icnificantlv in either gela­
tin or tile bndv. The increased uound- 
ing elTectiveness of this round is due 
to its increti'ed velocity and the blunt 
nose diape. necessitated by the hollow 
point at the tip. Tlie Iveniington 1R5 
gr JllP fulls between the Amron and 
the Super Vel rounds in its wounding 
effectiveness. The amount of kinetic 
energy lost by the Super Vel .-1-5 JIIP 
load and that lost hy the three 9 mm 
JllP loadings tested is essentially the 
same. Thus, the wounding capability 
of these cartridges is also equal.

.38 Special

\elocily round is commerciallv avail­
able and sold to the general public, 
dhe high velocity round is signifi­
cantly .superior to the rounrl nose 
Imllets and other semiwadcutter 
bullets. ,\n unexpected finding, first re­
ported in our previous study, was the 
e.xcclleiit performance of the target 
wadcutter bullet, which lost IT)- ft-lb 
of energy in the gelatin block, making 
it one of the better of the all lead load­
ings.'

Two jacketed soft point loadings 
were evaluated, the Speer 125 gr J5P 
and the Super Vel 110 gr JSP. The 
latter one showed better performance, 
losing a greater amount of kinetic 
energy in the gelatin block.

The JHP cartridges showed great 
variation in performance, depending 
on the brand and bullet weight. As a 
general rule, the higher the velocity, 
the better the performance. The Nor-

shoot, however, lipcausc of jmcoiL.(lil
p~f'oMn'|s Mm'y th-'-- Pemington 1*>.5 

gr J11P rvas the .sccoiid nio.st elTective 
round/ During the present tests, it
dropped from second to sixth place. 
This was a^narentlv due to ihe fact 
that the mu/./le velocity was reducejj
from 1155-/21 feet per second fft/^) 
to 9T1±15 ft s, Tn addition, the
quAiaier ap|ears to liav>- been rli.any-cd 
from hall to (lake. T lie I’ eininetnn 0.5 
gr J11 P loM all it' enerev m [lip. 
l̂ toc’kT'ihe only hnllmv
point bullet tested wa~ the V inrhester 
loR jrM IP. Thi- round showed ex­
cellent t>erfornialTce~and was~~iileasant_ 
lQ_£ilQi>t.

.357 .Magnum.

The standard 158 gr lead SWC load­
ing in this round lost 166:^19 ft-lh 
of energy in a gelatin block (table 
IV). The hollow points, with two ex-

The .38 Special is the cartridge 
most widely used hy police in the 
United States. In tlie past few years, 
many laiv enforcement organizations 
have expressed dissatisfaction with 
the wourulitig effectiveness of this car­
tridge. Ilevause of this dissatisfaction, 
many organizations have begun using 
the new high velocity .38 Special load­
ings or have shifted to the use of other 
weapons, such as tlie .357 or .11 Mag­
num. The traditional 158 gr round 
nose i’R\) loadings for the .38 Sjiecial 
are rela!i\elv ineffective, losing only 
72 to 79 ft-lh ( foot-pound.sl of energy 
in the gelatin block (table f i l l .  One 
brand of the 200 gr PN is less effec­
tive than the 158 gr KN, ivliile another 
brand is .-̂ liglilU' more effective. Win- 
clipster oilers a 158 gr lead semiwad­
cutter iSWCl cartridge in either a 
stand,ird velocit'’ or a high velocity 
loading. 1 lie standard velocity round 
is apparently a special loading for 
some police ageneies. while the high

J S I '—jiirlvutcil M>ft point. 
 ̂ S I ) —'St iunK ird

\s
it

.M

in 
a I':

in

m:

Vi
in
tlie
Sp-
loa
roi

formance of all the .38 SpCyipl c.Tr- hlncl'< The most elfective round test- tioi
tridges tested. It was unpleasant to ed was the Remington 125 gr JHP, ant

TABLE IV

K in et ic  En ergy Los t in  Gelatin Bloch 'S 357 .Magnum . i mm unit ion /•:/;

nuiict .Muzzle Kinetic
Manu f.icturfr \v <*i;iht Stj le ' volocit V cner<!v lost

(praiiis) ± i  SD
(ft/s) (ft-ii,)

K em in gton ........... 1.58 SW'C l , I 9 1 i l 9 166±19 —

cstern ................. 158 .5 IT l,206i:51 209 ±-44 .41
Sniiili lit Wesson. 158 . m r 1,060 ± 2 3 212;::15

D o ................... 158 .JSP 1,078 ±53 280 ± 5 0
D o .................... 125 ■JHP 1.153 ± 43 280 ±47

K en iin gton ........... 158 .JSP l,217±25 28 4 ± 29 .44

W estern ................. 158 JSP 1,180 ± 22 .334 +  31
RiMiiiiiglon........... L58 JllP 1,170 ± 2 5 369 ± 3  6 .14
Sii per V e l .............. no JHP 1,296 ± 74 371 +  36
Sm ith  tS; Wesson. 110 JHP I,.337 ± 5 9 393 +  36
W estern ................. 110 JHP 1,282 ±25 393±12

D o .................... 158 JHP 1,169 ±31 102±19
R e m in g ton ........... 125 JHP 1,331 ± 27 423±27

’ SVrT!-—.*;<*miwaflruttcr, MT—inctui lippe;). JII!'—j:u4ictiil ljol!o\»' point, I

j.ail- 
1 •,

FBI Law finforcement Bullatin Dec



c
it

'
j.-t
..:(i

'a') 
; i M

:' I u' 
-ti’ r 
cx- 
:,r.t

■;-lh
I [lie 
e:<- 
the 
est-
HP.

Vviiic'h lo.'l 123:t:27 fl-11) of energy. 
It is of interest that the Smith & \\ es- 
?on ].5;i gr JSP outjiei formed its liol- 
!o k  point version of the same weigiit 
and that the Smitli & W esson 12.3 gr 
JlIP cartrirlgc in .'I!! Special and .3.37 
Magnum are equal in wounding ef­
fectiveness. The hollow and soft load­
ings for the .337 rartridges as a group 
are otdy slightly superior in ^̂ •cû d- 
ing effer liveness to the 0 nitn and .38 
Sjteeial hollow ])oinl cartridges.

.41 Magnum

This round rvas developed to fdl the 
gap hetween the .357 and .'I-l- -3Iag- 
iiuins. Two loads are available, a 210 
gr lead SWC and a 210 gr JSP (table 
V ). I'he seiniwadcutter load is inferior 
in wounding cfi'cctiveiiess to almost all 
the .357 cartridges, most of the .38 
Specials n i ’ 's, and all of the 9 mm HP 
loadings. The jacketed soft point 
round is superior to all the aforemen­
tioned calibers: horvever. it is unpleas­
ant to shoot, with its heavy recoil.

.44 Magnum

In wounding elTertix'eiiess, niensurcil 
by loss of kinetic energy in gelatin 
blocks, this is the most rdfecti\'e ealilrer 
tested ( tahk' Vl. Lnforinnately, the 
availalile loadings are extremely un­
pleasant to shoot, because of the heavy 
recoil. Rased on tlie high exit velocities 
and energies from gelatin blocks, this 
cidiber rvill prohaldy jjass through a 
body, endangering innocent hvstand- 
ers. Because of excessive recoil, this 
caliber should he used only by an ex­
perienced shooter. The, .4d- Magnum 
as piesently loaded is essentially a 
hunting round, rather than a police 
load.

Some police officers, to avoid the 
excessive recoil of the .-l-l Magnum, 
load their weaj.'on witli .44 Sjiecial 
rounds. Our tests revealed, however, 
that this latter cartridge, factory load­
ed with a 246 gr bullet, is less effiective 
than almost all .33 Special cartridges.

TABT.E y

K inetic  Energy Lost in Gelatin Blocks by Various Brancl.s o f  .41 
Magmiin, .44 Special, and .44 Magniun Cartridges

C alt i jer /  
r ra m u fa c lu  rrr

r.uUvt 
M ci<i:h I 

(t;rains)
8 l> 3e *

Mu77.1o
>eIocilv

.SIP
( f t / s )

K in e t ic  
enerfrv lost

-i;TSl>

,41 IMagiuini
Uonungt o n . 

D o .......
, 1 1 .'Special

I io in ington .
.11 -Magnuru

llon iingtoti . 
Super \ c l . . 
W in d ie s tc r . 
R em in g to n . 

D o .........

210
210

246

210
lao
210
210
210

SWC
.JSP

R.\

.ISP
.DIP
Jfli*
SWC
.]!TP

961 ± 20  
i , 239 ± 33

660 ±18

1,2,31 ± 30  
1,112 ±13  
1 .268-23 
1,263 ±31 
1,221± 13

188 ± 36  
300 ±  -1.8

69:r;3

5 !3± 60  
365 ± 89  
621 ± 3 9  
636 ±-15 
639 ± 38

' S W C — .-enviwaOi'uUer, .T-Sl’— ^^jucKelcO so f t  p o in t ,  f ! \ — roiirnl no-;c, j I H ’-  
ja c lsc ted  p o in t .

3 — f j i i i x l a r d  ( leN ia t ioa .

December 1974

('onchision

The cartridges tested for this report 
are a good representation of currently 
available commercial handgun ammu­
nition. Choice of a ['articular caliber 
or cartridge by an individual or de­
partment dcjjends not only on the 
wounding effiectiveness of the purticu- 
kir ammunition or caliber, but also 
on: the weapon to be used; the aver­
age police oflicer’s tolerance to recoil;

“ The problem of re­
coil and muzzle hla.sts 
and its effect on officers 
should be considered 
nhen choosing u nexc 
caliber or cartridge."

the duties to be [terformed: whether 
(he new ammunition will endanger in­
nocent bystanders; public relations; 
and the economic question of a 
changeover in caliber or ammunition. 
Our research was concerned princi­
pally with the effectiveness of differ­
ent calibers and brands of ammuni­
tion. In our testing, we did collect 
some additional data and lm[jiessions 
that might influence the choice of a 
weapon and caliber. .An example is 
tb.e severe recoil of the .41 Magnum 
and .44 Magnum, which, we feel, 
make them unsuitable for general 
police use. In addition, these rounds 
t?;id to overpenetrate and tlms are 
capabie. of injuring iaiiocent by­
standers.
/ 'in  the semiautoinatic [dsiol field, 

j  we found that the 9 mm loadings are 
pleasant to shoot, Iti view of the wide 
range and the excellent [)crformances 
of the 9 i7im loadings, as well as tl.e 
equality in wounding effectiveness 
with the .15 .Automatic, the 9 mrn is 
j uM̂ jably the be.st a va i la hi e call her for 
}x>lice use, if a semiautomatic [listiil 
is to he used. In revolver.-, the ,38 

is still the best ov r̂.-i!! cajiher



the new liiizli velocity loaflitiL’ ,̂ 
t!ii< toiiml can nou' ilujilicatc the i)cr- 
forii’.auces of many of the .357 cac- 
triilye.'. Some of tlie liitrli \elocity 
loadin;rs for the .‘Aii should not be fireJ 
in at}J 'or alloy frame revolvers
due to the extremt* pressure de\eloped.

Fne {)rnblem of recoil and muzzle 
blasts and its effect on officers sliould 
be coii'idered ’.vhen choosinc: a new 
caliber or carlridae. Beginning with 
the .357 Magnum and jirogressing to 
the .1 1 Magnum, there is an increas­
ing tendency towards flinching, pro­
duced by tlie greater recoil in these 
weapons. Fear of the weapon and/or 
ammunition used in the magnum 
cartridge class works to neutralize any 
added benefits from these rounds. If 
a jiolice officer fears his gun, he is 
unable to fire it well and any advan­
tage gained by new high velocity- 
loadings or a larger caliber is lost.

The problem of public relations 
may come up, ^sjiecially with the use 
of hollow point ammunition. Myths 
have arisen about the terrible wounds 
caused by hollow point ]>istol bullets. 
Such stories arc complete nonsense. 
Pistol bullets, even the new high 
\elocity loadings, are in reality low 
%ciocity [trojectiles. At autopsy, one 
cannot -[.'ecifically tell from the extent 
of th e injury if an individual has been 
shot by a .-33 Special 153 gr R\ lead 
bullet travelling at 789 ft/s or a 110 
gr Norma HP at 1334 ft/s.

■Similar stories concerning mutilat­
ing injuries hn\e arisen about the

magnum calibers and the ..15 .\uto- 
matic. These cartridges and calibers 
again do not cause jiarticularly mu­
tilating injuries. The wounds pro­
duced usually cannot be differentiated 
from those of the traditional 153 gr 
BN .33 Special bullet.

A final point to be made in dis­
cussing our evaluation of different 
lirands of ammunition has to do with 
( hanges in manufacturing of ammuni­
tion. Many of the ammunition manu­
facturers will change the type of 
powder and powder loadings in their 
cartridges rvithout any notice. I.ess 
commonly, they rvili alter the con­
struction of the bullet loaded in a 
cartridge. Such changes can alter the 
ballistic [lerformances of the fired 
bullets. This was demonstrated in the 
case of the .33 Special Remington 125 
gr JHP cartridge, mentioned previ­
ously. Therefore, before adoption of 
a particular cartridge, it would be best 
to check with the manufacturer to see 
if he has made any alteration in the 
loading for this particular cartridge. 
Any loading change in which there is 
a decrease in velocity may cause a sig­
nificant decrease in performance.

REFERENCES

’ Ri*y**r, J. r .  (i^ilitor): “ Woiiii'l nalli-tirs.”  
of Ini'* 5 ur?'’ o;i General, Department of the .Army; U.S. 
Cov<*rnmr-nf Printin;: Otfu-p, Washington, D.C., 1962.

-DiMaio, V. J. M., J. A. Jones, ami C. 5 . Petty: 
“ Ammtinitlon for Polit-e.’ * A comparison of the woun'I* 
ing ctTrcts of cornrnircially available cartrlilgcs, J 
Police Sri and Administration, 1 :26f*-27S, 1973.

-■*niMain, V. J. M.. J. A. Jones, W. W. Caruth, 
I-. f.. An'l'Tson, and C. S. Potty; “ The Effcctivrncsi 
of Kevolvrrs and Small Automatic Pi*tols”
(in nrep.irjtion).

LD! l Oli'S ?\OTK: Malrrud and arli(drs piihlislipd in tlw 1'1>1 
!.(ur ]-.ttjorcvnu‘ nt Ihillnlin arc solely fo r  the informalion and 
assistame o f  laiv enforcem ent ineinhers. ]\ hile brand names 
and companies may he mentioned from  time to time, this is 
done in a strictly ohjeeliie  manner to help present stories iti 
their entirely from aathorilalire sources. In snrh inslanees, 
l/iildii alion o f  the article in the HI should not. under
an\ ( hull rn stances, he const rued as fin enilorsement or an ap- 
proval o f  any partii iiliir iirodiict, s<>ri iri'. or eniiipmenl hy tin' 
} HI.

LAW ENFORCEMENT 
OFFICERS KILLED.

According to informalion col­
lected through the FRFs Uni­
form Crime Reiiorting Program, 
five law enforcement officers 
were killed due to criminal ac­
tion in Sejilemlier 1974.

During the first 9 months of 
1971, 95 local, coimtv. State, 
and F ederal law enforcement of- 
fic ers were killed due to crimi­
nal action. In the same period in 
19i,3. Ril olficers were slain.

FMrty-two otlicers \sere killed 
in the Southern States, 26 in 
the North Central States, 14 in 
the Western Stales, 9 in the 
Northeastern States, and 4 in 
Puerto Rico. Twenty-eight of­
ficers were slain handling dis- 
tiirhance calls, 18 while attempt­
ing arrests for crimes other than 
robbery or burglary, 17 in con­
nection with rohherv matters,
11 rvhile investigating suspi­
cious jicrsons, 6 in connection 
with burglary matters, 5 while 
making traffic stops, 6 in un­
provoked or premeditated am- 
Inish-lype attacks, and 4 while 
handling prisoners.

All hut two of the oflicers j 
were killed hy firearms. Hand­
guns were used in 65 of the 
killiims.

AGGRAVATED
ASSAULT

During calendar year 1973, 
there were an estimated -116,270 
aggravated assaults in tlie Na­
tion. 1 his is a 7-percenl increase, 
or 27,300 additiomd olTcnses 
o\cr 1972.

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin