In rec.backcountry pmh <pmhilton@verizon.net> wrote:
> These folks talk of "stopping power" as if any conceivable round would
> out-mass any sort of onrushing person. The person blown 7 feet
> backward by a handgun (or even shotgun) is a myth of the movies. I can
> get a far better kneecap or shoulder shot under any conditions than I
> can "stop" another person. The extent of injury or loss of life may
> totally incapacitate an attacker, but the actual round never will of
> itself "stop" the attack and the onrushing momentum may well carry for
> some considerable space despite the attacker's having been
> incapacitated. Unless you have access to and house space *and elbow
> room*  for pretty sophisticated heavy stuff. The sort of stuff the
> average householder neither wants, understands nor can afford nor
> could use effectively. The thread began with fairly practical
> household considerations, not Charles Bronson or SWAT teams. Don't
> fantasize too strongly about meth-heads chasing Arnold Schwarzenegger
> through pounding trip hammers; that's Hollywood myth. A shattered
> kneecap equals a non-functioning leg. One-legged attackers aren't very
> proficient. Hint: for a bedroom scenario, aim just at prone level.

   In the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Butch admits he's 
never shot anyone before just as a shootout is about to begin.  Sundance 
advises him to "aim dead center - that way if you miss a little you'll 
still hit something."  I've confronted my share of crooks, always 
empty-handed, and I can tell you it takes about half an hour for the 
adrenaline to go away afterward.  Just because you can hit a paper 
target doesn't mean you'll perform the same under stress.  I think 
Sundance had a good point.
   If I were buying a gun for burglars or home invaders, I think I'd 
make it a 357 Magnum revolver.  You can shoot .38 Special ammo (which 
also costs less) in those things, or load them so that your first round 
is a .38, your second a 357.  Warning, though: if you miss your target, 
or maybe even if you hit him, that round has enough punch to go right on 
through your wall and into the next house or apartment.


Bill