"Man Stopper" Defintion??

T

twoblink

New member
My friend makes the bold bold claim, "the definition of _Man Stopper_ is 158 Grain .357Mag JHP from my 6" Colt Python."

Now.. not to start religions python wars, and definitely not to start caliber wars... BUT, that statement I found kind of hard to argue with..

Anybody have an arguement against it?? I've been reading the ballistics and man, the stats are hard to argue against..

Albert
 
I don't have the time right now to research this but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the term came from a particular loading for the 455 Webley. It was either a huge wadcutter or pure lead hollow point.

Anyone else recall this or know more about it?
 
A "Man Stopper" can be anything from a lead pipe hit to the head, a car traveling at a high rate of speed, a lethal injection, 12,500 Volts of electricity, etc. etc. This is one of those terms that defies clear definition, but causes many debates/arguments.

Dave T is refering to the history of the first time that expression was used (and I can't remember the specifics either).

The combination your friend mentions PLUS a well placed shot (per CR Sam) can definitely be called an effective "man stopper"............but so can hundreds of other combinations of firearms, barrel lengths, calibers, and bullets (weight and type).

Peope that make "bold bold claims" like this are usually "narrow narrow minded" and are fixated on something they own.
 
I too seem to remember that the British applied the term "man stopper" to a Webley. They liked it because of its ability to stop a bloody wog from slitting their proper English throats during one or another colonial campaigns.
 
The Manstopper was a specific loading for the Webley .455 revolver, developed when the British were fighting in the Sudan, I believe.

Essentially, it was a 200something grain bullet with a very large cavity in the nose. The profile was essentially a wadcutter, but it was dished out, sort of like a hollow-base wadcutter loaded backwards in a .38 Spl.
 
Hey Rock, what you described is in fact.....

an appetite suppressant.

"Man-stopper" is Sharon Stone, perhaps. Actually, I'm a Marilyn Monroe or Mamie Van Doren sort... but I'm an old timer, too.
There have been a couple of rounds termed "man-stoppers". I'm personally of the school that it describes a category of rounds. The 158 grain SWC at about 1250 is one of the old stand bys. I personally favor the S&W revolvers, as I don't like the way Pythons handle, but that's a personal matter.

Most anything that meets the ".40 cal - 200 grain - 1000 f/s" basis is probably a stopper. However, as has been mentioned, it has to hit the adversary. Preferably solidly amidships. (Or central nervous system, if one must be technically correct.)

I have limited faith in the .36 caliber family with bullets less than about 150 grains. I'm not a 9x19 fan, but they seem to work okay. I'm a member of the wide, heavy bullet school of thought.

Yup, Marilyn Monroe and a pair of 45's.......
 
(disclaimer: have no revolvers, not too wise in the ballistics department)

Limiting the "argument" to his choice of caliber...


I would think that the 158's would tend to penetrate more than necessary on a human at the detriment of violent expansion. From purely secondhand info (and not all M&S studies) the 125gr bullets, IIRC, had the reputation for being the top manstopper in .357. By the same logic, I think the 158gr is more of a hunting load with more controlled (i.e. less violent) expansion and more penetration.

I bet you could argue that the 125gr is a better manstopper if you buy the science behind published statistics... all other things being equal.
 
Well, you have Sig to backup the 125 Grain claim.

The .357Sig was designed to match exactly, the .357Mag 125 Grain. I will assume Sig knows what they are doing, and picked the 125 Grain to model their round after, for a very good reason..

Albert
 
:D Hah, it does read kind of funny now that I revisit it...


Hey twoblink, any reasoning behind his logic? I'd not argue with his choice of caliber or revolver, but why does he go for the heavier end of the spectrum? Just wondering... personal preference?
 
Re: Manstopper

Greetings
Manstopper ammo was .38S&W and .38Spl. loaded with 200 gr. soft lead bullets in the 30's 40's and 50's. Hope this helps--Bill
 
Bill,

The 455 Webly load I referred to in my first post pre-dates that 38 Special load by quite a few years.
Also, I've talked to a number of LEOs from that era who carried that load for a time. Despite the name it was notorious for NOT stopping. It only came out of an issue 4-5" barrel at something like 550-600 fps.
 
My wife saw me reading this thread. She informed me that back when she dated, "manstopper" equipment included pumps, fishnet, and a short red dress. She assured me that she and her friends had one shot stops, but some required double taps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top