.223 stopping power record and the .45

It depends on who you ask! I'd take a look at Dr. Fackler's research, complete with his "wound profiles" showing approximately what each type of round will do to you insides. It's really a function of how much tissue is destroyed, which in turn depends on the diameter and depth of the hole. A .45 FMJ will punch a good-size hole and penetrate more than enough. Expanding ammo is even better, as you give up some of the excessive penetration for greater diameter.

The .223 is a different matter. Military FMJ will do nasty damage in close, because at high velocity the round will tumble and fragment, ripping a hole in the target that is pretty big relative to the size of the bullet. Expanding .223 will probably do even better. I imagine lightweight, ballistic-tip varmint rounds might be great for close-in defense in .223, but that's just my conjecture.

If you limit the variables to simplify the comparison, a 230 gr. M1911 .45ACP round out of a 5" 1911 does not come close to the wounding potential of a 55 gr. M193 round out of a 20" M16, unless of course it's a CNS shot. Even if you start changing things like bullet configuration and barrel length, the .223 will generally come out way ahead in wounding potential unless the velocity drops below the threshold necessary for the bullet to cause permanent tears in soft tissue, whether through the violent expansion of a sp/hp/ballistic tip round, or the violent breaking of an fmj round at the cannelure. Witnessing the effects of .223 rounds versus .45 or other pistol wounds makes this all the more apparent. HTH!



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