Here's a good article to read on stopping power from the Buckeye Firearms Association.
The major point to the study is this: If you're going to a battle, take a rifle or shotgun. If you're "caught" in a battle, you probably have a handgun. If you have a handgun, don't get caught with a "mouse gun", ie: .22lr, .25 auto, .32acp. After that, there is relatively little difference between what is effective on a target (assuming you don't have to shoot through an object like a car door).
For this reason, I often recommend new students shoot 9mm. There are several strengths of 9mm for new students:
*It's very cheap, which translates to the student shooting more rounds, more often
*It's easy to "manage" recoil
*It can be found in nearly any market
*It's rarely ever in short supply
*Many contemporary handguns have ridiculously high capacities with 9mm
* It's not a rare round, so there are excellent defensive ammo choices available
The most important of these is the first, the student's ability to shoot more rounds, more often. Shot placement is critical in a defensive context. If you cannot hit your target, it is pointless to keep pulling the trigger...especially when those rounds could end up hurting someone else standing nearby. If you cannot hit your target, you have no way to stop the bad guy from his/her intent to harm you. Additionally, thoughts and methodology on shots placed on a target have changed in recent years. I was recently discussing current SOPs (standard operating procedures) of a NSW (Naval Special Warfare) group regarding shot counts. Nearly every operator was angry at their unit's procedure of "double tap" to a target, stop and assess, and then either re-engage or transition to another target. Nearly all of them had immediately learned in combat what many other instructors currently teach: keep shooting until the target is no longer a threat. Don't assess until the bad guy quits fighting. While this may only be a "bad habit" in one unit or group, it is a bad habit that can be taught to students today.
When you are at the range, do you shoot "the bullseye" and then look to check out your shot? You are training yourself to do that in a fight. You'll probably fire, check the bad guy, fire, check the bad guy, and so on... Some people do "double taps" then assess, and so on...
A great range regimen for a new student would be:
*Do as much quality shooting as possible
-This is why I recommended the much cheaper 9mm.
*Change your shooting patterns
-Assess after one shot, or two, or five, or a random number, but mix it up.
* Challenge yourself with a wide variety of shooting "problems" which you have to find the solution to
-Shoot round, square, small large targets, one's with colors, realistic one's with faces, blank sheets of paper, shoot as fast as possible, shoot as slow as possible... It's very easy to get into a "rut" and pick the same targets each time you go shooting, even excellent shooters might shoot the same "dot torture drill", "F.A.S.T. drill", "Bill drill" etc... Don't get stuck in the same routine.
*Have fun
-Even if you practice on the range because you depend on a firearm to save your life, you must have fun with the practice. Having fun translates into a drive to continue practicing often, practicing often translates into being good at something.
According to this article, 9mm will fit the bill for defense. According to me (and current sale prices) it's cheap and you will get a lot of important "bang for your buck" (pun intended).
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