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srothstein,

I couldn't agree more. Most of the sites I reviewed were medical sites discussing the treatment of gunshot wounds and outcomes. They made the point that you made that the most important factor in the survival of wounds to the body were rapid medical treatment of the wounds. It may very well be that given the number of people shot at Fort Hood, that a few died because they did not get medical treatment quickly enough. That may have inflated the death rate some. On the other hand, from news accounts, it sounded like there were quite a few combat trained medics on site who immediately began treating the wounded. That may have saved some that would have otherwise been lost. In the end, who knows exactly what the death rate would have been if there had been 43 individual shootings rather than one mass shooting.

Nonetheless, I think my point stands. Handguns are not deathrays. And the death rate at Fort Hood from Hasan with the 5.7 was as high or than the general death rate today from handgun wounds. That doesn't mean the 5.7 is better than other handgun rounds in terms of stopping power but it does mean that the 5.7 is at least as effective at killing as other handgun rounds.

Actually a 30% death rate is pretty high for gunshot wounds. From various sources I have seen on the web the death rate from handgunshot wounds ranges a little above 15% for wounds to the body and about 90% for wounds to the head. Shotgun and rifle wound have higher death rates, I have seen 67% for shotguns in one place. So the 30% death rate for Hasan's 5.7 is pretty significant.