ckt3
FNG
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2025
- Messages
- 38
We’ve seen the evidence for small rifle calibers’ efficacy on big game (eg. .223, .243, etc) and @Formidilosus presented a great summary/argument on “The Hunt Backcountry Podcast”.
What’s the current state of understanding here for pistol calibers?
A few considerations. I am most interested in (1):
1) Inherent differences in efficacy (ie. probability to substantially injure or kill, all else equal) between smaller and larger pistol calibers
2) Shooting smaller calibers more accurately due to lower recoil (this seems to be a given for both rifles and pistols, no need for debate)
3) Lower cost and more practice with smaller calibers (somewhat subjective, no need for discussion)
To tie (1) to a real world example: is 9mm practically less effective than 10mm against black and brown bears (in either a defensive or hunting situation)? Perhaps with modern bullets, any meaningful difference has been erased, or perhaps pistols are different enough than rifles in their wounding dynamics that 10mm is superior (and if needed, we could extend this further to find the tipping point: .44 mag, .454 Casull, etc).
I suspect a challenge here is a lack of empirical data like we have for rifles on game animals, though maybe theory and ballistic gel data could be enough.
What’s the current state of understanding here for pistol calibers?
A few considerations. I am most interested in (1):
1) Inherent differences in efficacy (ie. probability to substantially injure or kill, all else equal) between smaller and larger pistol calibers
2) Shooting smaller calibers more accurately due to lower recoil (this seems to be a given for both rifles and pistols, no need for debate)
3) Lower cost and more practice with smaller calibers (somewhat subjective, no need for discussion)
To tie (1) to a real world example: is 9mm practically less effective than 10mm against black and brown bears (in either a defensive or hunting situation)? Perhaps with modern bullets, any meaningful difference has been erased, or perhaps pistols are different enough than rifles in their wounding dynamics that 10mm is superior (and if needed, we could extend this further to find the tipping point: .44 mag, .454 Casull, etc).
I suspect a challenge here is a lack of empirical data like we have for rifles on game animals, though maybe theory and ballistic gel data could be enough.
