Lethality versus Stopping Power

Ok, time for a discussion on semantics here. You hear lots of debates around the Internet, on forums, heck anywhere anything is discussed, this will probably be mentioned; Lethality and Stopping Power are two completely different things.


Lethality is the ability of a round to cause an end to life.

Stopping Power is the ability to immediately incapacitate.

As I’ve said numerous times, there’s no such thing as a non-lethal bullet. However, there are those rounds that aren’t as potent as others and can, in fact, leave you hanging as it were, if you’re in a bad situation.

That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t carry a .22 or a .25 if that’s what you feel comfortable with or what you can afford; both of these will, when used properly, protect you. They may or may not, however, immediately incapacitate a determined attacker. You’ll have to be very particular in your shot placement to ensure maximum efficacy.

When you are looking for a self protection weapon, you need to determine if you feel comfortable in your PDF’s (Personal Defense Firearm) ability to immediately incapacitate and not its lethality.

In my humble opinion, anything of the caliber of .32 an over is an immediate stopper. There are those that will argue that the .380 is the base line, and those that will go even higher. But, based on the numbers I’ve seen, the .32 should do the job. Again, this isn’t to dissuade you from carrying a .22 or a .25, it’s just another item to consider.

There's a lot to think about when choosing the PDF you're going to use... this is just another thing.