On my quest for a new Glock... I have settled on the G36. Anyway, I have been reading and researching ballistics on different calibers, loads, and bullet weights. On this quest for knowledge I found an article on the Taylor index.

Long story short, I found it very interesting. The measure of stopping power.

Anybody heard of it?

 

This is a often discussed subject but has actually very little hard facts to back it up, especially when the target is a human. The FBI has also done a lot of research on this subject. Most of the studies lead to not count on the bullet opening upon impact, as many times they do not. Pistol calibers seem to suffer the most because the hollow points tend to get clogged with fabric. Most of their results come from studying the aftermath of shootouts. I would say the most telling result of what the FBI has done is on their hip, the .40 S&W. Speed, diameter and recoil must all be balanced for a cartridge to be effective.

The Taylor Index one hunter's opinion put to math. Remember he was a big advocate of large, slow bullets. He also only used solid bullets aimed at an elephant's brain. His thought was more along how big of hammer is needed to knock an elephant unconscious so that it can not charge. He did not take into account things like bullet expansion, wound channel and ballistics that would matter when hunting something else.

 

^ Interesting. He wrote a book too didn't he?

 

I think he actually wrote 4 or 5 books about his hunting adventures and the weapons he used on them. His ideas have some merit but they overlook a lot of other things that happen when the bullet makes contact. His formula also is heavily weighted to make a heavier bullet the better option in every case. Personally I think his work is more accurate in pistols than in rifles as most research has shown how unreliable pistol bullets are at opening up. If I ever have to pull the trigger on someone (I really never want to do this), I will be using a large, heavy bullet. All the tests show that the old .45ACP is still hard to beat.

Here are a few TKO numbers:
500gr .500 S&W, 1200fps =42.86
240gr .44 Mag, 1350fps =19.86
230gr .45 ACP, 830fps =12.30
165gr .40 S&W, 1080fps =10.44*
158gr .357 Mag, 1400fps =11.28
115gr 9mm, 1250fps =7.31
30gr .22LR, 1400fps =1.33

*I noticed this chart uses a 165gr bullet. A 180gr bullet is the standard load for this round. The numbers would be a point or two higher.

 

I agree with ya there! Speer Gold Dot has a +P round that is 200 grains moving at 1180 fps. I think this round will be my new carry.