The below handgun ballistics chart will give true caliber and diameter of handgun cartridge bullet weight measured in grains, velocity measured in feet per second, energy measured in foot pounds—which also is a good indicator of handgun stopping power, and bullet trajectory measured in inches for the more popular handgun cartridges, factory ammunition. This handgun ballistics chart gives a good, reliable comparison of handgun cartridge ballistics. Also, any links on any of the calibers themselves inside the chart should take you to a more in-depth summary of that caliber. This will be getting updated more as I have time.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links; this means Outdoor Methods may earn a commission if you click on and make a purchase through these links at no cost to you. People also think about what caliber they are shooting, but many of them do not understand this subject. So I have to ask, when you read that last statement, did you think about the caliber of the pistol or the ammunition you are using?

Stopping power is the ability of a weapon — typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm — to cause a target human or animal to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a weapon's ability to make the target cease action, regardless of whether or not death ultimately occurs. Which ammunition cartridges have the greatest stopping power is a much debated topic. Stopping power is related to the physical properties and terminal behavior of the projectile bullet , shots or slug , the biology of the target, and the wound location, but the issue is complicated and not easily studied. Although higher- caliber ammunitions usually have greater muzzle energy and momentum and thus traditionally been widely associated with higher stopping power, the physics involved are multifactorial, with caliber, muzzle velocity , bullet mass , bullet shape and bullet material all contributing.