I flirted with the 357 SIG a few years ago and found it recoiled less than the .40. However, it was clearly a loud round. Is muzzle blast something to be considered when choosing a self-defense pistol?
I flirted with the 357 SIG a few years ago and found it recoiled less than the .40. However, it was clearly a loud round. Is muzzle blast something to be considered when choosing a self-defense pistol?
Muzzle Blast with regards to self-defense? I'd say no.
Even if it was something crazy like .454 Casull, I'd rather be deaf than dead.
If it affects the speed and accuracy of your shooting, it's worth considering.
It can become an issue in training, which can translate into problems in the real world.
As I carry that round, I'd like to think so. I like that it sounds like the fist of an angry god. Is some vague possibility of a heightened psychological effect worth the added expense and lessened availability? That's for you to decide. I know that I at least don't need to shoot very much of it, as the recoil control I learned from 9mm has directly translated over to 357 SIG and I can run that round comparably well.
All I know is that I know nothing. - Socrates
As long as you can shoot it well, the louder the better. There is a whole psychological side to the stopping power and I think that blast and noise is a part of it. As a bonus, things that go "boom" instead of "pop" run the slide harder and will cycle under less optimal conditions.
I have a friend who personally witnessed a one-shot stop from a 2-3" Model 66 loaded with full-house .357 magnum ammo. They called for the bus and assumed the guy was dead as he was unconscious on the ground - he wasn't even hit.
Can you expand on that just a bit?Originally Posted by John Hearne
Lots of bad guys have been killed quite effectively with suppressed weapons.
Of course, but I don't think John's argument is that muzzle blast is required to kill someone, but that there's an extra psychological component to stopping power. Every little bit helps, right?
Besides, a large majority of said weapons were probably carbines or SMGs. I don't think too many people, comparatively, have been killed with suppressed pistols. I could be wrong though.
All I know is that I know nothing. - Socrates
Approximately 50% of individuals who are shot with handguns simply choose to stop fighting, in other words they are NOT physiologically incapacitated, but are instead psychologically incapacitated. Psychological incapacitation is an extremely erratic, highly variable, and completely unpredictable human response, independent of any inherent terminal performance characteristics of a particular projectile. As such, loud, concussive loads with a bright flash can be like a mini flash-bang and definitely contribute to psychological incapacitation in susceptible individuals.
Against Pee Wee Herman....yes
Against Cole Younger..........no
So I guess as usual "It Depends".
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