[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

It seems to matter how you define "powerful".

.223 vs .45 ACP? - The Firing Line Forums

Which is more powerful: 9mm or .223? - Quora.

Disclosure though-- I have not fired a gun of any kind since can, bottle and derelict car and truck shooting at a dump near Reno, Nevada in 1982 with my grandfather.

That is just oppositeville-talk. A .45 pistol bullet will bounce off most bullet-proof vests. But, a high-velocity RIFLE round like a .223 will blow holes in the same vests. Take a vest out to a rifle range and prove that. In fact the US Army found that 9mm (higher velocity cartridges) were superior to the .45 ACP as far as penetration and wounding power goes. In general, any high-velocity rifle cartridge has better knock-down power than ANY normal pistol cartridge.
.........To prove that.......I think that any gun enthusiast that was attacked by a brown bear in Alaska would rather have in their hands the old 30-30 rifle rather than a 44-magnum six-gun!