This term is stopping power.
As a rule, handgun rounds lack sufficient power to merit a measurement in the stopping power category.
The Best Personal Protection Cartridge Is…
Drum roll c’mon… the best self-defense caliber is the 9mm hollow-point round.
There are good reasons for this.
This is something Eric Conn examined in his articleAnatomy of a Defensive Bulletpublished here onThe Armory Life.
The big part of this is wound channels.
This is also where myth and science start to separate things.
One of the primary keys is the use of high performance projectiles.
A top tierhollowpoint bullet like the Federal HST roundwill deliver consistent penetration and expansion for optimal performance.
A significant part of this comes from the cartridge having less felt recoil.
With less recoil to manage, a shooter can get his sights back on target quickly.
Further, less recoil can lead to greater enjoyment of shooting.
This is always a win because time on trigger is critical to developing good defensive marksmanship skills.
Capacity
The 9mm offers greater magazine capacity than virtually any other pistol caliber carried for personal defense.
