[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Kinetic energy does not wound. ... Of those that will penetrate the edge is always with the bigger bullet.

Sorry, but not true. For example, if you shoot a person with a 230 grain .45 ACP round capable of penetrating clean trough, the killing and stopping effect will be great, but will not even compare to what will happen if one shoots the same person at the same angle with a 180 grain .30 cal. 300 Winchester Magnum round - a smaller, narrower bullet. Extreme example, but it proves the point. I once had my uncle photograph me shooting a one-gallon water jug 8 ft from another one on level ground with a 150 grain 3,600 ft.-lb 300 Mag load. In the photo (I'll have to look for it), the plastic fragments are flying through the air, which is also filled with water vapor, and the shock waves knocked the other jug down - 8 ft away. Energy, as a matter of physics, is what kills something when you are doing it by ballistic projectile. It's science. Energy is the baseline for computing the ability to kill or shut down a living object. That baseline can, and will, be affected significantly by a combination of many factors such as bullet construction, the type of target, etc. For example, a high speed, high energy round, which is too-lightly jacketed will not penetrate sufficiently on a large animal to hit vitals. But, as a matter of science, energy kills. Most high energy rounds (by either pistol or rifle standards) will penetrate to through the vitals of a person. With the same placement, 300 Mag will kill any mammal faster than any bigger, wider, high-penetrating, lower-energy .45 handgun round every single time without exception. That’s because it imparts much more destructive energy on the target - ten times more energy.