loader wrote:Stopping power is maximized by the complete dispersal of the bullet energy into the intended target with immediate shock and trauma.
This rapid fragmentation delivers the energy to a large area . . . . This makes Glaser the best choice for defensive situations.
This argument has never come close to being proven to be valid. Pistol bullets don't kill by dumping energy into a target. They kill by transforming kinetic energy into expansion and penetration to do one of two things; deprive the brain of blood and oxygen, or disrupt the central nervous system. To reliably accomplish this, years worth of real-world results have proven that you need a minimum average of about 12" of penetration.
Shallow penetration and tiny wound channels makes Glaser a poor choice for defensive situations.
loader wrote:Glaser Blue penetrates five to seven inches in International Ballistic Wound Association protocol testing, while silver penetrates eight to ten inches in the IWBA testing protocol.
Again, many years of gathered data on real-world shootings show that 12" average penetration is necessary, with 14"-16" optimal.
loader wrote:A missed round is much more likely to break up on an interior wall and dump its energy rather than proceeding unabated into an adjoining room. The light fast bullets . . . are excellent loads for the small compact carry guns and snub nose revolvers. For over 27 years the Glaser Safety Slug has been the overwhelming choice for the "house gun" stored in the nightstand.
This ammo has proven in independent testing to become a very good penetrator of interior walls, failing to fragment after penetrating drywall.
Keep in mind that for many years ammo choices, even by law enforcement agencies, was based on assumptions and "facts" that everyone had always known to be so, but were not backed up by realistic research. Only in the last couple decades has there really been a much stronger move toward more realistic testing, gathering data from coroner and hospital reports, and sharing data between organizations. As a result, we have the ability to know more about terminal ballistics of different types of ammunition, if we choose to know it. Of course, we don't know everything yet.
I have to take any marketing claims with a grain of salt when they come from the same company that claims their .380 load has more "stopping power" than any HP .45 ACP on the market.
ETA:
I did not address the .30-06 due to the fact that the discussion is about pistol cartridges. A frangible rifle cartridge
can be an effective hunting cartridge, in the right circumstances; consider the Berger bullets, for example. On the other hand, I would be hesitant to trust Glaser rifle cartridges due to construction, in case a shot needed to go through a bit of bone or extra flesh to get to something vital.