[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

I agree with your assessment of rifle ammo versus handgun ammo. I have sat in on autopsies many times and see the differences. Plus, when in the Army, back in the days when we first switched from rocks to rifles I saw the effectiveness of rifle ammunition in killing. However, before stating something is incorrect, please read the source of the information, which was posted under the paragraph I quoted.
"US Department of Justice; Federal Bureau of Investigation, ?Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness,? FBI Academy Firearms Training Unit."

Touch?. BTW, I think the .45 is a great caliber (though I prefer the .40 for various reasons). I do, however, think that a hot, 500-600 ft-lb 125 grain .357 load would do at least as much damage as a slower, larger 350 ft-lb .45 ACP load on a human torso shot, probably more - mostly because of the additional destructive energy it imparts. I'm not sure that I can prove it though. I own neither a .45 nor a .357 so I don't have a dog in that fight. The reason a rifle round inflicts such awesome damage is due to the tremendous velocities which produce a high kenetic-energy projectile (energy being based on the square of the velocity). It seems to me that the same reason would apply to higher-energy handgun rounds - though the differences would be less extreme.