I want to know the "one shot stopping power" of various loads.

Anyone got a good site???

Believe there's quite a few references in this old thread: [url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=164814[/url]

Mike

I am not a big fan of the terms "one shot stops" or "stopping power". But I can see what you are getting at and I think the following links will give you much of what you want to know:

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=162042[/url]

[url]www.ammo-oracle.com[/url]

[url]www.tacticalforums.com[/url]

[url]www.firearmstactical.com[/url]

[url]www.ammolab.com[/url]

When choosing ammunition for self defense, look for the following qualities:

1) Reliability
2) accuracy
3) Penetration of 12"-18" in 10% ballistic gel
4) Robust expansion or fragmentation
5) Low muzzle flash

If your ammo can do all of those, you have a good load. Of course 00 buckshot isn't likely to fragment or expand (it may flatten somewhat) so get one that patterns well and meets the minimum 12" penetration requirement. Fragmentation of rifle bullets is generally preferred over expansion because the potential wound size increases when fragmentation occurs. Again, make sure it will penetrate at least 12" though. If you want to defeat barriers, a good bonded bullet often works well, especially in the .30 caliber rifles. And for handguns, you want a bullet that holds together well (fragmentation of handgun bullets isn't a good thing), penetrates to the minimum 12" depth and robustly expands (preferably .50" recovered diameter or larger).

The above links will go more in depth, but those qualities I mentioned are basically what you want in defensive ammo. I hope this is helpful. If you have any caliber/brand specific questions, feel free to ask. Someone here will probably be able to answer your questions.

-CH

NO such thing - anybody who is telling you differently is a snake oil salesman.

Exactly.  The "One shot stop" crap was made up by S&M, who have been discredited.

OK, good comments. Here's what I'm getting at...

I'm debating between 40S&W various loads and some 9mm 147gr JHP for my carry gun.

I'm looking at a Sig 239 9mm for my on person carry gun, and my 40 S&W Sig 226.

I found teh 9mm ammo at a good price and I'm trying to decide if I should buy 1,000 rounds of it.

What type of 147gr JHP?  

1k rounds of a HP ammo that your weapon may or may not function with is quite a lot.  I'd recommend you buy a couple of boxes and function test before you go for a case.

The best you can get is the Winchester Ranger-T (RA9T).  Anything else isn't really very close in terms of performance (other than the 127gr +p+ Ranger-T).

The stuff isn't all that easy to find, being LE Only, but it's worth it.  Do a search on the Tactical Forums (link above) in the "Terminal Effects Forum".  

In the 40S&W, the best is ALSO the Ranger-T (180gr...can't remember the product code).