Hollowpoints are better man stoppers?

Well this short little video from FirstScience.tv certainly wants to say that hollowpoints have "better stopping power" than round nose bullets...based on the damage to a couple of milk jugs. I feel a heck of a lot better about the work we've been doing after watching this video (though I could learn something from them on video editing). While I'm not debating the obvious merits of hollowpoints, I don't know that you can definitively say they have more stopping power.

A) It really depends on the type of shooting you are doing. As an antipersonnel round, perhaps they're better, but I've heard that they are illegal in some parts of the US. As a hunting round, I'm not certain that this is the case. A lot has been written about "Keith" bullets (essentially semi-wadcutter lead bullets) and the power those type of bullets posses (read up on them).

B) The caliber and type of gun would seem to matter much more than the bullet (assuming you hit what you're aiming at in the first place), when you weigh stopping power. And no, I'm not getting into a 1911 vs 9mm debate, but rather look at the muzzle velocity of a .357 Mag handgun vs a .357 Mag rifle (any number of lever runs are available in this caliber). Same round, same bullet, vastly different muzzle velocities because they're vastly different firearms.

For example, a number of states list their game regulations as some form of "must have 1,000 ft lbs of energy at 100 yards" for a firearm to be able to be used on big game. With a .357 rifle with a 16" barrel, at least one of the factory Buffalo Bore rounds will produce that energy. The muzzle velocity is listed as near 1800 ft lbs (in a 16" barrel) vs similar (if less "heavy") product from Remington producing 1295 ft lbs (in a 4" barrel). At 100 yards, you'll see significant fall off from a .357 Mag and you really need that high starting muzzle velocity to have a chance at making the game regulation as stated above. So you can certainly argue that it's barrel length, along with the load that determines stopping power in this case.

These are the things that you need to consider when you try to make an "apples to apples" comparison: caliber, load (aka powder), bullet type, bullet weight, and barrel length.