[Jeff Higgins]

While many game animals are, in fact, far "tougher" than we are, many likewise are not. The most commonly hunted animals in North America - Whitetails, Mule Deer, and Blacktails, for the most part, are not. As a matter of fact, they tend to be a bit more lightly built on the average than we are, especially through the rib cage. While I have seen, and taken some truly large mulies (over 300 pounds), they average well under 200. Our coastal Blacktails average just over 100. Whitetails can be that small in some regions, but the big ones can hit that 300 pound mark as well.

With that in mind, I do think bullet performance on deer, at least, is a valid point of reference. It's the only one most of us will ever be able to make, so there is that as well. I would never suggest that a load that proves inadequate for, say, elk would thereby be ruled out as a defensive load. That would be silly. My experiences on deer, then, are what served to convince me that the marginal calibers, at least in my opinion, leave us too reliant upon shot placement.

Way, way back when I was an NRA Certified Instructor (my home club was desperate for them, so I volunteered), I wound up teaching a number of courses. Basic Rifle, Basic Pistol, Metallic Cartridge Reloading, Muzzle Loading, and Defensive Pistol. The first four were just basic safety and familiarity, essentially "how this stuff works". Defensive Pistol was an "advanced" course, with Basic Pistol as the prerequisite, wherein we went into "field application". All of the material was provided by the NRA - instructors had to follow pretty strict course curricula, as would be expected in an NRA certified course.

At about the same time, I went on a couple of wonderful "shooting vacations" with a couple of my shooting buddies, and attended both the Gunsite Academy and Thunder Ranch. As an aside, I would highly, highly recommend doing something similar for anyone as "into" shooting as it sounds like some of you are. You will have an absolute blast (pun intended). Spendy, yes, but worth every penny.

Where am I going with this? Both the course material we received from the NRA and the instruction we received at these two schools took the time to dispel the many potentially fatal "myths" surrounding defensive shooting. One of the more prevalent - and potentially dangerous - had to do with shot placement. We all know that LEO training stresses "center of mass". So did we, and for the same reasons - aiming for any extremity virtually guarantees a miss. It was surprising how many neophytes would come in saying things like "I'll just shoot the gun out of his hand". Or "I'll just shoot him in the knee and run". Women seemed to like "I'll just shoot him in the balls", and were particularly prone to saying things like "but I don't want to kill him..." as justification for shooting for the shoulder or something. And, of course, many people would tell that they would "just shoot him in the face".

The materials we received from the NRA, and the instruction we received at these shooting schools, both discouraged this nonsense in the strongest possible way, as does all LEO training in every agency in the country. The mantra was, and still is, to hold for center of mass and be thankful for any hits you can score anywhere on their person. This has to be one of, if not the most commonly stressed principles of defensive shooting.

So, yeah, believing that one can make up for an inadequate caliber with precise shot placement is a very, very poor defensive strategy, and one that is not just strongly discouraged, but is completely ruled out, taken off the table, by any reputable defensive training program. Adhering to it in the face of that, against the advice of those with some real world experience in the matter, is foolish beyond words.

So, with that in mind, my personal choice will always be a minimum of something that will provide full penetration through a human torso from any angle from which I am forced to fire. I have found that is what kills, but more importantly, stops. No, I don't need the heavy .44 mag or .45 Colt loads I use on game, and I'm not saying anyone does. But I do need something that will go through a man, and potentially one wearing heavy winter clothing. These little things just cannot do that.