I have to admit I am more than a bit skeptical about this 72% stat, primarely because one of the premises it is based on is that there is any validity at all to Evan Marshal's data and conclusions.
People shot on the street are shot under a wide variety of circumstances. Everything varies one shooting to the next. What kind of gun? What stock of ammo? Who was wearing what? What was the tempature? How long was the barrel of the gun? And on and on... So it's okay to relate stories about shootings and to study them, but to then decide which bullets are more effective than others, in relation to each other, is not possible under uncontrolled conditions.
The way to select a round to put into your pistol is to see how well the ammo tested under tightly controlled lab conditions. This is the only way a rounds performance can be properly evaluated and compared to others. Look for penetration (14in), weight retention (as close to 100% as possible) and reliability of expansion. Make sure the ammo works in your pistol and you have made a good choice. Also, you might decide if you need barrier penetration or not (you do - always).
And then there is this "shot placement" thing. In a stres fire situation, you're not going to decide where exactly to hit your "target." Your life is being threatened by someone using lethal force against you and you have less than 2 seconds to react. Shot placement means hitting him at all. You're not going to aim for his heart or head, especially if he is moving, and hit it. If you do, it was luck.
The vast majority of people who are shot are incapacitated by blood loss resulting from being shot. This takes time. Notice I didn't say "stopped." Many people who are shot "stop" because they were shot, not because the can't physically continue a bit longer. Yes, sometimes there is a central nervous system hit, but that's rare.
So just pick the best round that is reliable in your pistol, practice with what you carry and, most of all, pray you never have a chance to find out how well you chose.
