IMA SOL MAN
Flashlight Enthusiast
Some of that is gun store myth. Modern pistol self defense bullets are enginered to comply with the FBI ballistic protocols, which limit penetration. SD pistol bullets, do not do much tissue damage at all, compared to rifle bullets. There is plenty of information and ballistic gel tests to prove this. Temporary stretch cavities are that-temporary, and that is pretty much what you get with pistol bullets. Rifle bullets will give you honest tissue damage, and a very large permanant wound cavity.Ironically, most cartridge explosions inside a gun are caused by too little smoke-less powder charge. Instead of adding in a bit too much of the recommended charge. Why? No clue. I just know it happens. Same thing with lights geared for Throw. If you want to maximize that, make that reflector HUGE (as in extremely wide). Why? again, no clue. Just how it is.
With handguns, a smaller, lighter bullet traveling at more feet per second (FPS) does significantly more damage than a heavier bullet with more mass traveling at slower FPS. This is why, bullet shape being the same, a .357 Magnum will easily cause more damage than a .45 ACP. (Although the .45 Purists will swear that's not the case. It is.)
A longer barrel also helps when it comes to such calibers as a .357 Magnum. Performance goes up. But not exponentially. For example, you get significantly more velocity from a 3-inch barrel revolver than a 2-inch one with the same .357 Magnum load. However, going from 3-inch to 4-inch nets you only a very slight increase in velocity. Certainly no where near as much going from a 2 to a 3.
Honestly, there is so much BS going around in the gun culture, it really ticks me off. Usually it is from somebody trying to show off, and impress a novice who doesn't know any better. But there are plenty of videos on youtube and ballistic gel tests on the web to debunk a lot of this BS. Seek, and ye shall find.