Personal Defense for Women

by Gila Hayes

  Instructor Jim Jacobe oversees a gun cleaning session at his shooting school in Salem, OR.4

  In addition, magazines that review guns sometimes include a description of how that gun is disassembled for cleaning. Over the years I have also made extensive use of the National Rifle Association’s book The NRA Guide to Pistols and Revolvers and their NRA Guide to Rifles and Shotguns3 for shotguns and rifles, too. I have gone so far as to put photocopied pages from this straightforward source of disassembly and reassembly directions in my cleaning kit, while learning the inner workings of my Remington shotguns and AR-15 rifle.

  When I bought my first gun, the clerk assembled a list of cleaning supplies, which I dutifully bought on his recommendation. I went home and for the next month or so cleaned my revolver after each practice session without realizing the cylinder could be removed for a more convenient and thorough cleaning. My first basic shooting class included instruction in gun cleaning, and I was thrilled to learn the easy, correct way to clean that gun. The lesson? Find an instructor who will help answer your gun cleaning questions and demonstrate that skill in the course curriculum.

  Notes

  1Grant Cunningham Custom Revolvers for Sport and Defense, http://www.grantcunningham.com 503-307-9746

  2Glock grip reduction, Burns Custom Pistols, 700 NW Gilman, Issaquah, WA 98027, 425-391-3202.

  3The NRA Guide to Rifles and Shotguns Revised and Expanded, and The NRA Guide to Pistols and Revolvers, NRA Publications, 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030, 800-672-3888.

  4See www.jimjacobe.com for contact info and class schedules by this fine instructor.

  CHAPTER 18

  All About Handgun Ammunition

  Handgun ammunition comes in so many varieties that the beginning shooter may feel overwhelmed by the task of selecting ammunition for self defense. It often falls to a clerk in the gun store to recommend ammunition to the first-time gun buyer. The men who worked at a now-defunct Seattle-area gun range are probably still snickering about the woman who asked for a box of Federal Hydra-Shoks by requesting the “cartridge that causes a great hydrostatic shock if it is fired into a body.” The clerk grinned and replied, “Lady, that describes most of the ammunition behind this counter.”

  Oh, well. We all have to start somewhere! You see, that woman was me.

  Selecting a defensive handgun caliber is an exercise in compromise, because in reality handguns are the least powerful of common defensive weaponry. If available, a rifle or shotgun would serve far better in most defense emergencies, yet the larger guns are rarely accessible beyond home, ranch or business locations. We carry handguns for convenience, mobility and legal concealed carry—not for superior ballistics. When choosing a handgun for home or self defense, caliber is one of the first variables addressed, for confined to its limited power, we earnestly pursue the maximum effect reasonable.

  Ammunition selection is a task complicated by the new shooter’s ignorance of terms and vocabulary with which to communicate their needs, concerns and desires. Let us, then, begin with a little vocabulary session.

  Ammunition Terminology

  Ballistics: The science that deals with the motion of projectiles.

  Cartridge: One unit of ammunition, composed of a bullet, a case, a primer and gunpowder (also called propellant). You will also hear the word “round” or “load” used informally to describe a cartridge of ammunition or a variety of ammunition.

  Caliber: The diameter of the bullet at its base, measured in 100ths or 1000ths of an inch. Thus, a .22 caliber bullet is approximately 22/100ths of an inch in diameter; a .45 caliber bullet is approximately 45/100ths of an inch in diameter. Bullet diameter is also measured in millimeters. The European-born 9mm ammunition is a good example of bullet caliber expressed in metric units: its bullet is 9mm wide at its widest point (around .356"). Note that the caliber designation of many cartridges is a product of marketing rather than of actual measurement. For example, the .38 Special bullet actually has a caliber of about .356", not .38".

  In general terms, caliber refers to the diameter of the bullet and the bore of the gun it will be fired through.

  Bullet: The projectile seated in the top of the case that is fired out of the gun barrel. Bullets come in a multitude of shapes for various uses. The most common are hollowpoint, roundnose and truncated cone, either lead or jacketed, plus lead semi-wadcutters and full wadcutters. Bullet weights also vary by intended use. (Note that the bullet is only one part of a cartridge—the projectile that exits the barrel of the gun. No matter what you may hear in the movies, “bullet” and “cartridge” do not mean the same thing.)

  Bullet weight: Bullets are described first by caliber (diameter), then by weight. Bullet weight is measured in units called grains: 7000 grains = one pound. It is common to hear discussion of a .45 caliber 185-grain hollow point bullet, referring to a bullet weighing 185 grains that measures approximately .45 inches in diameter at its base.

  Wadcutter: A cylinder-shaped lead bullet, some with flat ends on both top and bottom, others with a cavity hollowed out at the base. The bullet is seated flush with the top of the case and is used in revolvers for target shooting because it cuts nice, round holes in paper.

  Semi-wadcutter: A bullet that resembles the wadcutter (hence its name) that tapers to a small, flat top and when loaded as part of a cartridge extends above the case mouth. It is used in both revolvers and semi-automatic handguns as target and practice ammunition.

  Varied bullet types include (L-R) wadcutter, semi-wadcutter, round nosed and hollow point bullet with expanded bullet of same caliber shown at right.

  Roundnose: Also a variety of practice ammunition valued for its reliable feeding in semi-automatic handguns. It consists of a solid, round-nosed bullet, either jacketed or lead, and is less expensive than hollowpoint bullets. This is sometimes also colloquially referred to as “ball” ammunition.

  Hollowpoint: Hollowpoints resemble a semi-wadcutter or roundnose bullet with a deep recess cut into the top of the bullet. The hollowed out section allows the bullet to expand to a mushroom-like shape when it hits tissue or a similar medium. The expansion increases the size of the projectile, causing a larger wound channel and more tissue disruption for quicker physical incapacitation. This is the bullet you should carry for self defense unless prevented from so doing by law. Not only can hollowpoints cause quicker physical incapacitation, they are designed to stop inside the body of the assailant, dramatically reducing the danger that your bullet will go all the way through the assailant’s body then hit an innocent bystander.

  FMJ: Full metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition consists of a lead projectile fully encased in a copper jacket. This ammunition is free of the lubricant found on lead ammunition since the copper jacket slips easily through the gun’s barrel when fired. Since there is no lubricant to burn, it produces considerably less smoke when fired, and because the lead bullet is enclosed in the jacket, it reduces lead exposure substantially. Semi-jacketed bullets leave the tip bare to aid in hollowpoint expansion, especially at lower velocities.

  Case: The metal cylinder and base that holds the gunpowder, bullet and primer. Cases are generally made of brass, but also steel and one-use disposable aluminum. While the strength of the case is important, it is the firearm’s chamber that supports the case wall and keeps the case from rupturing while the burning powder is building up pressure to push the bullet out of the top of the case.

  Primer: In a centerfire cartridge such as the .38 Special, the primer is a small round “cap” seated in an indentation in the base of the case which, when struck by the handgun’s firing pin, sparks to ignite the gunpowder inside the case. The primer’s function could be compared to an automobile spark plug. In a rimfire cartridge such as the .22LR, the primer is contained within the rim of the cartridge case, out of sight.

  Powder: Also called propellant. Gunpowder, when ignited by the primer’s spark, burns rapidly, building gas volume and pressure inside the case until the bullet is forced ou
t the barrel of the gun at great velocity (usually around the speed of sound). The proportion of powder to airspace in the case, as well as its chemical composition, influences the pressures that build up while the powder burns and thus the velocity at which that pressure pushes the bullet through the gun barrel and out the muzzle.

  Dent from the firing pin is seen on the empty rimfire case (left) while the unfired cartridge to the right is still intact.

  Cartridge components include the primer, case, propellant (or powder), and the projectile (or bullet).

  ACP, S&W, Luger and Parabellum: These are caliber designations that give credit to the inventor of the particular caliber ammunition in question or its intended use. Examples: .380 ACP or .45 ACP = .380 Auto Colt Pistol, .45 ACP = .45 Auto Colt Pistol; .40 S&W = .40 Smith & Wesson; 9mm Luger (named after its designer, Georg Luger) or 9mm Parabellum (“Parabellum” means “for war” in Latin). The 9mm Luger and 9mm Parabellum are exactly the same size, and both can be fired through any 9mm Parabellum or Luger handgun. However, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Corto, and 9mm Short are multi-lingual terms used to describe .380 ACP ammunition chambered for a .380 ACP semi-auto pistol, and they are shorter than 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger in overall length. Similarly, .32 H&R Magnum ammunition is for .32 caliber revolvers and is radically different from .32 ACP auto cartridges.

  Velocity: The speed at which the bullet travels is measured in feet per second. Thus, on boxes of “high performance” ammunition, you may find an estimate of how fast the bullet travels when fired. For instance on a high velocity .45 ACP caliber, the bullet weight may be stated as “185 grains,” followed by “1150 fps,” indicating that when fired from a 5-inch long barrel, the bullet was ripping along at 1150 feet per second when it left the muzzle.

  Velocity is determined by how much pressure builds up in the case as the gunpowder burns, the weight of the bullet and the length of the barrel of the handgun. Smaller, lighter bullets travel faster, and according to some, higher velocities cause greater shock and tissue disruption in an assailant, bringing faster incapacitation.

  +P or +P+, Subsonic and Magnum: Subsonic ammunition expels the bullet at speeds under 1000 feet per second, approximately the speed of sound at sea level. +P indicates ammunition designed to generate higher pressures than standard ammunition, and +P+ is a very high pressure load. Magnum ammunition, best known in the .357 and .44 Magnum calibers, builds enormous pressures before the bullet is expelled. Thus, one of our highest-pressure handgun cartridges, a .357 Magnum cartridge, for example, may have a bullet velocity from 1350 to 1450 feet per second. That’s around 950 miles per hour!

  The .32 H&R Magnum (right) is a revolver cartridge, while the .32 ACP (left) is for semi-autos like the North American Arms Guardian shown. Both are .32 caliber, but the case length is significantly different, as is the rim, so they are not interchangeable.

  What Is Stopping Power?

  Let’s begin by defining the terms that are loosely bandied around in this debate. The most ill-defined phrase, yet one with which we must contend, is “stopping power.” For our purposes, we might do well to replace the phrase “stopping power” with “rapid incapacitation.” In a self-defense emergency, even temporary incapacitation may be enough to allow the armed citizen to escape or to assert control.

  Incapacitation in a gun fight occurs if the central nervous system is damaged or if bleeding diminishes blood pressure and blood flow to the brain. Sometimes, I tell students that they need to disrupt “electrical or plumbing,” that is, the nervous or circulatory systems. Location of the gunshot wound plays a vital role, as does, to a lesser degree, the energy of the bullet. A great debate rages whether permanent wounding is the method by which incapacitation occurs, or whether the effect of the temporary wound channel (or stretch cavity) occurring during the bullet’s passage through tissue and the concurrent shock effect is the factor causing physical shutdown.

  While I don’t expect to solve the stopping power debate, I respect the compilation of results occurring during and after real-life shootings, many involving police officers. These are collected by Evan Marshall, and contained in two volumes he co-authored with engineer Ed Sanow. If wishing to study more, obtain Handgun Stopping Power: The Definitive Study and Street Stoppers, and The Latest Handgun Stopping Power Street Results from Paladin Press.1

  We use the terms “muzzle velocity” and “terminal velocity” to describe projectile speed at the beginning and the end of the bullet’s flight. A handgun cartridge’s self-defense potential, however, relies heavily on the energy the bullet delivers, and that requires much more than pure speed, which brings us to the term “momentum.”

  Two examples of Magnums: the .44 Magnum and .44 Special (left) and .357 Magnum and the .38 Special, which share the same diameter but differ in over all length.

  In a .38 Special revolver, the longer (and more powerful) .357 Magnum cartridge (lower) prevents the cylinder from closing and thus cannot be fired, though the shorter .38 Special (top) fits perfectly in the gun chambered for it. Being shorter but with an identical case width, the .38 Special can be fired in a .357 Magnum revolver, but not the other way around. The same is true of .44 Magnum and .44 Special ammunition.

  Momentum is quantified as the bullet’s mass in pounds (7000 grains = 1 lb.) multiplied by its velocity (in feet per second). When restricted to non-hollowpoint bullets, momentum is second only to shot placement as the crucial factor in handgun ammunition performance. Additional equations quantify the actual kinetic energy delivered by discharged ammunition, determined by multiplying the mass of the bullet times .5 the square of its velocity. Both “momentum” and “energy” are ways to describe the power of a cartridge of ammunition. Equations alone are not sufficient data upon which to make a choice about ammunition for self defense. Without the design characteristics of the hollowpoint or expanding bullet, the projectile can go and go and go—through the primary target and beyond without transferring all the energy into the target.

  Bullet Performance

  This brings us to bullet design. Along with bullet weight and velocity, shape, design, and even material composition of the projectile govern how it behaves when it strikes a consistent medium. Fortunately, at least as of this writing, most readers have the choice of hollowpoint bullets. Hollowpoints, the subject of much misinformation, have existed since the 1800s if not before.

  In the 1960s and 1970s, ammunition manufacturers combined the idea of high velocity handgun ammunition with the hollowpoint bullet, showing that hollowpoints would expand more reliably if their velocity exceeded 1000 feet per second. Hollowpoint expansion prevents over-penetration and forces the bullet to expend its energy inside the target, with none wasted beyond. In this single development, handgun ammunition technology took a gigantic step forward, to the great benefit of smaller calibers like the 9mm Parabellum.

  High velocity lightweight jacketed hollowpoints increase the likelihood of rapid incapacitation with smaller calibers like the .38 Special and 9mm Parabellum. The effect on .357 Magnum, .40 S&W and .45 ACP is to supercharge already decent handgun calibers by increasing velocity in the momentum equation.

  Not one of the stopping power theoreticians can truthfully predict shooting results with 100% reliability. For one thing, although we evaluate ammunition in ordnance type gelatin, in real life, body construction varies from lean to obese, and bullets may strike solid bone. Other considerations include barriers ranging from bare skin in hot weather to a heavy leather jacket in cooler conditions, and incapacitation is further hindered by physiological factors including drug use and adrenaline or psychological conditions like dementia.

  Making a Choice

  If the mission is defending self and family, stopping power will rely on shot placement, bullet design and momentum. Using this guideline, few self-defense instructors will recommend cartridges in calibers below .380 ACP, because the projectile lacks sufficient mass to do its part in the momentum equation. Handgun cartridges cannot produce pressures sufficien
t to compensate with pure velocity, as does the rifle ammunition we will discuss in a later chapter.

  The expanded hollowpoint has considerably greater frontal surface, compared to the unfired example of the same bullet (right).

  On this controversial topic, can we agree that beyond shot placement, stopping power largely depends on bullet momentum coupled with the hollowpoint’s expansion into a larger frontal profile? To exploit all available energy, we can next conclude that larger calibers should cause quicker incapacitation. However, incapacitation primarily results from damage to the circulatory or nervous system, taking us back to the importance of accurate shot placement. A peripheral wound to a muscle group like the upper arm or thigh, even with a .357 Magnum, will not incapacitate a criminal as well as gunshots to the central torso where the heart and spine are located.

  The handgun and caliber you choose should be sufficiently controllable that you can learn to accurately deliver quick, multiple shots. Otherwise, you simply have a tool, without the skills to make it work. Like driving a high-performance automobile with minimal skill, inadequate training makes handgun possession a real liability.

  A good test of your ability to use a handgun in self defense is the “5 in 5 at 5” test I used when writing gun reviews. Position a five-inch circle target at five yards. Load the gun. If you don’t have a shot timer, have a friend time you, saying, “Go,” and at the end of five seconds, yelling, “stop!” If you have fired five rounds inside the five-inch radius in five seconds at the practical self-defense distance of five yards, you have likely found a gun you can use effectively for self defense.