Is the stopping power of a firearm a real thing? or just a contradiction of the laws of physics? Well, in the following paragraph will discuss what it is, how it became to be a thing, and what it cannot be.
Stopping power of firearms is referred to the ability for a projectile to deliver the maximum transfer of kinetic energy in a way that penetrates enough into the living body it impacts, while accurately impacting a vital organ, significantly damaging said organ in such a way to create rapid endogenous bleeding, Therefore, stopping power = shot placement + penetration + expansion. Expansion is just a smaller component of the stopping power formula.
In the chart below we can see the difference between grains (the weight of the projectile), speed of the projectile, and energy measured at the muzzle of the handgun.
| Caliber | Grain | Speed | Energy |
| 22LR | 40 | 1085 FPS | 105 FT/LBS |
| 9mm Luger | 124 | 1150 FPS | 364 FT/LBS |
| 45 ACP | 230 | 850 | 367 FT/LBS |
| 44 Magnum | 240 | 1400 | 1045 FT/LBS |
| 5.56X45 NATO | 62 | 2975 FPS | 1218 FT/LBS |
| 308 WIN | 175 | 2600 FPS | 2626 FT/LBS |
Important considerations in relation to stopping power
We learned that penetration is a critical component in the stopping power formula. Because of this we must consider the intended target
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