Too much penetration, .357 vs .45acp.

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About the only place you would need to worry is in a mall, or on the beach etc. Normal every day situations aren't that much of a concern, when one considers how many officers in the U.S. are involved in shooting's, its rare an innocent gets hit. I think with any of the 3 popular round's 9mm, 40S&W, and 45acp using Winchester ranger, Federal HST, Gold Dot's you should be alright. I prefer to use what LEO's use as I feel if it comes down to it the ammo is more defensible in court, as well as the ammo does perform.
 
It has a lot more to do with the bullet than with the caliber.

The .357Mag has the potential to penetrate much more than the .45ACP, but whether it does or not depends on the bullets being compared.

For example, the old "dumb" JHP rounds for the .357Mag in 125gr typically penetrated only around 10" or so in spite of exiting the barrel at 1400+ fps and having around 600ft-lbs of energy. They tended to break up/fragment which limited penetration. Most any premium JHP self-defense round in .45ACP will penetrate more deeply than that.

The point is mostly moot if you're comparing modern premium self-defense ammo as it's all designed to penetrate close to the same distance in typical service pistol/home defense handgun calibers.
 
to the OP: Trust me

Load your SP with any quality-brand 125g JHP and rest assured you'll have the most effective SD load in it.
 
Worrying about over-penetration has recently become an issue proportionate to the global warming crowd.

Hear me... heed the heretic when he says overpenetration is unfounded! Penetration is the most crucial component in pistol calibers and the worst thing you can do is get a round which stops at 8 inches.

You can get a round which only penetrates 5 inches.. but what if you miss?? Then it'll just keep on flying and seeking out innocents. If you find yourself in a stressful situation and need to fire multiple shots, missing will probably occur.

Get a good round and shed your overpenetration worries.
 
I love my 45acp SigSauer P220. I also love my S&W Model 13 357 magnum. Choose whichever of the two you like. 44amp is so dead on target with his post. If you know how to shoot, and hit your target, then over-penetration is practically a non-issue. If you can't hit your target, then it doesn't matter if it's a 22lr, 38spl or a 44magnum; you are just as likely to hit an innocent bystander.

Contrary to what some people will want to say, you are not going to be in the same situations and scenarios that police are in. Your whole purpose of carrying a gun is for self defense, with a small portion possibly to protect a loved one or another person. These situations don't have you shooting at someone in a crowd of people. You're not the police making a drug bust, handling an impromptu hostage situation, etc... If you need to draw a weapon, and you point it at someone, you should do so with every intention of pulling the trigger. You don't have a gun to try and scare the bad guy away. if you pull your weapon, and point it at someone, it's because you are GOING TO PULL THE TRIGGER. If the situation dictates that it may be more risky to pull the weapon, then don't. You don't want to expose your cards to the bad guy by pulling out a gun and trying to bluff/scare him into dropping his weapon. So, being you're going to pull the trigger when you draw your weapon and point it, you're already in a position where you're confident of hitting your target. And you're in a situation where you don't have a bunch of innocent people standing immediately behind him. So any over-penetration, if any, will be minimal. And even if it's there, the chances of hitting someone and injuring them is even less remote.

Pick the gun that you like, want, and most proficient at. Any talk of "over-penetration" is over dramatic. If you do your part, and only pull the weapon out and point it at a person when you are definitely going to pull the trigger, and you're confident in your proficiency, then over-penetration isn't an issue. If you're not proficient, or you think that you might not have what it takes to maintain your composure when pulling out a gun, then you need more practice. Physically and mentally.

And for the 357 magnum, I definitely load it with 158 grain hollow points. It's the perfect round. The 357 magnum is the perfect cartridge. Yes, I could go all the way up to 200 grains, or all the way down to 115 grain, but 158 is in my opinion the best. That is the size bullet that the majority of revolvers were designed around. I don't need 1500 fps with a 125 grain, when a 158 grain heavier bullet is just as, or better, at 1300 fps. That's what my 357 magnum 4" revolver was designed around. That's what I use. Just like my 45acp was designed and based around the 230 grain. I don't need a 165 or 185 grain bullet. Now, if you're a small person and can't handle the 158 grain 357 or 230 grain 45acp, then by all means look at the 38sp+p or a 165 grain for the 45acp. But if the size of the bullet isn't an issue for you're accuracy and handling, then use the 158 357mag or 230 45acp.
 
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I'm in the group that does not worry about over-penetration. Criminals are cowards. Most of the time civilians are going to be in danger in secluded areas, not in the middle of crowded shopping malls.

The old saying is "bring enough gun," but how much is enough? Chances are, almost any major caliber cartridge will do the job, even a .38 or 9mm. Shot placement will always be the key, whether it's a .45, .357, .40, 10mm, .41, or my favorite, the .44 Special. There is no magic bullet, we killed folks pretty well back when all we had were round balls. There is no magic caliber. One of the Skeltons wrote that more people were killed every year with .22 than any other caliber. I don't know if that is still true, but the point is, people can argue all day which round is better, but it really comes down to where you put it.

Just find the gun that is the most comfortable to shoot and practice, practice, practice.
 
"I'm gonna buck the trend here, but I think people (citizens, not LEO) worry too much today about over penetration. TO me, its better to have too much, than not enough.

Yes, a bullet that goes all the way through is a danger to "innocents", BUT, stop and think for a few minutes. What are the actual odds of you firing in self defense and having your bullet hit someone beyond the target? Look at your personal situation, and every concievable defense scenario you might be involved in."

missing a target all together and hitting something else is more likely. i have read, but cant confirm, the police miss quite often will .45acps that i have also read are less likely to penetrate assailants than higher energy .357mag.

probably best to go with a surer penetrator to better ensure a lethal shot.
from simply a projectile perspective. handling of weapon and number of rounds per weapon are other considerations.
 
I agree with others who have stated that over penetration has been blown out of proportion. What if you miss your intended target? A miss is a miss. What if the bullet does not expand? While this is something in the back of your mind I dont think that over penetration is something that can dominate your decision making process.
 
any 9mm + size round has a risk of overpenetration....try to shoot what you need to shoot, it will likely be 12 feet from you or so anyway.
 
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