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Letter Re: Marginal Cartridges Without Proper Placement Fail to Stop an Aggressor

Sir,
If you ever wanted graphic proof of the lethal supremacy of the 7.62mm NATO round over the 5.56mm, a recent thread from M4Carbine.net [1] is the argument stopper! (Be forewarned, these documents have graphic pictures of the wounds to the deceased Bad Guy taken at the Coroner’s.) This FBI [2] study of a police and SWAT [3] shooting incident shows in graphic clarity why training (shot placement under stress) and superior ballistics are so important in a fire fight, especially a fight where your aggressor is determined and motivated for the fight. The subject (a determined street thug) took more than 17 direct body hits, with several broken bones as a result, before the LEO [4]s were able to wrestle him into cuffs and restraints! All of these hits were from the respected .40 S&W pistol round and several from 5.56mm Hornady TAP rounds (both 55 gr. and 75 gr.), supposedly the “Holy Grail” cartridge of AR-15 [5] defensive ammo, for some. One could only wonder what a TAP round (Nosler Ballistic Tip-type) in .308 would have done to stop the fight?

Sadly, the key [factor identified by this study] is shot placement. None of the over 100 ROUNDS FIRED were hits to the body into vital organs. If they were, I bet even the 5.56mm TAP rounds would have put the aggressor down, but not as quickly as a powerful, higher mass, .308 round would, I’m sure.

Also, keep in mind that the man was shot several times while laying on the ground (continuing to fight, I might add), so the 1” penetration claims of the .40 S&W round could be due to the round traveling under the skin, as the study is not clear in this area. They are clear about the impossibility of only a 1” penetration with mushrooming when directed into body mass, however. Here is the direct link to the PDF [6]: Regards, – Rmplstlskn