I’m curious to hear some opinions on self defense handgun calibers.

Slick Shooter · Jan 26, 2018

Over the years I know the debate has raged on about an ideal handgun caliber for self defense. I realize that it is different for everyone. I personally prefer a 9mm. I have better control and prefer the extra couple of rounds in the magazine. I’m just curious to hear from some of you about your preferred caliber and why.

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leadslinger972 · Jan 26, 2018

9mm. Why? Because there is no empirical evidence that .40 S&W or .45 ACP outperform 9mm.

Shot placement is more important, so I prefer to have less recoil and more capacity.

JBP55 · Jan 26, 2018

The 9mm ammunition is vastly improved from yesteryear and 9mm pistols are the defensive pistol of choice for many today.
Some great choices that are proven: HST/Gold Dot/PDX1/Golden Saber/Critical Duty in 124gr/135gr/147gr.

D_behrnes · Jan 26, 2018

I prefer 9mm. Ammo capacity vs say a .45 you’ll have twice as many rounds in your mag. That combined with +p or +p+ is a winner imo. Also like you said the recoil is easier to control vs .40 or .45 allowing a quicker follow up shot with the 9. I have a few hk .45s I neglect to carry because of the ammo capacity concern, it’s a shame really.

JBP55 · Jan 26, 2018

Most stay with 124gr. or 147gr. +P or standard velocity. The +P+ is not highly recommended.

340six · Jan 26, 2018

JBP55 said:
Most stay with 124gr. or 147gr. +P or standard velocity. The +P+ is not highly recommended.

I gave my wife some 9mm Nosler Target. She was very comfortable with them. So if need be a follow-up shot would be there.
They are Hollow Point but at the speed, they are a good bet that they would not open. They were Overruns So grabbed some so she could use some and carry some.
I have never seen then in stores

leadslinger972 · Jan 26, 2018

JBP55 said:
Most stay with 124gr. or 147gr. +P or standard velocity. The +P+ is not highly recommended.

Many manufacturer's have discontinued making +P+ 9mm.

There is no advantage to it.

Deerslayer440 · Jan 26, 2018

G29..10mm.

Thats if you want to put them down very quickly.
9mm if you want to shoot more than once

Just an Opinion.Ballistics prove my theory.

dougstump · Jan 26, 2018

Regardless of the caliber I am carrying, I weigh each round. In the 45 some years that I've been shooting I've had two factory rounds with NO powder and one with NO flash hole. When I open a new box of defense rounds, I weigh each round and separate them by weight. Any that are outside the bell curve get test fired. In fact the second squib round was discovered this way, it was a Federal .380 JHP and was 2.5 grains south of the average. I test fired it and it went "pop", fortunately the primer was enough to blow the bullet out of the barrel. When I told this to my shooting buddies, one who was a police officer at the time pulled out his .38 J frame backup up and said that he had carried these rounds for a couple of years and there was nothing wrong with factory ammo. He proceeds to aim at a target and pulls the trigger, "pop". The bullet stopped half way in the forcing cone and half in the cylinder, a little J frame isn't much use as a club. I have noticed the consistency has gotten much better in recent years. I just went through two boxes of Federal HST 38 special and the difference between min and max was 1.5 grains.

Bigchillin83 · Jan 26, 2018

After discussing this the other day with a friend we kinda brought this up, the average glock 19 (size) pistol carrys 15+1 and the most for the same size gun in .45acp is the glock 30 10+1... Carrying +p loads in both 45acp 230gr +p HST have 460ft/lbs energy and 9mm 124gr +p HST have right at 400ft/lbs... So if we only went with entrance holes no exits and take expansion out of the question(which they both expand % about the same). If I connect with all 16/9mm and 11/45acp you can see total inches of hole and total ft/lbs of energy... The 9mm wins in both, don't get me wrong I love my 45's and carry them often, but prob carry my 9mm's more... And I guarantee I could prob get off 16 rounds 9mm in a tighter/faster group than 45 acp also, and I shoot a lot of 45 and am far from a expert but far from a newbie also

9mm/16 rounds=5.6"
9mm/16rounds=6496ft/lbs

45/11 rounds =4.9"
45/11rounds=5060ft/lbs

Danny Abear · Jan 26, 2018

While the 9mm may expand, the 45 will never shrink..

LACamper · Jan 26, 2018

Danny Abear said:
While the 9mm may expand, the 45 will never shrink..

Absolutely! But a .22 in the pocket beats a .454 home in a gun safe...

leadslinger972 · Jan 26, 2018

LACamper said:
Absolutely! But a .22 in the pocket beats a .454 home in a gun safe...

And if you can't hit the intended threat until it stops, it doesn't matter what caliber you had.

Metryshooter · Jan 26, 2018

Carry whatever you feel most comfortable with, key word: carry.
With modern ammunition taken into account the 9mm family cartridge diameter seems to be about the best way to go whether it be 380, 9mm, or other.

Metryshooter · Jan 26, 2018

Danny Abear said:
While the 9mm may expand, the 45 will never shrink..

And post mortem results have shown conclusively there's negligible difference in the wound channels between 9mm (even 380 in some cases) , 40, and 45.
Handguns just do not have enough velocity/energy to create a large permanant wound channel that rifles do. Without that you're poking holes.

Born4spd · Jan 27, 2018

Placement and penetration are all that matter especially with handguns.

Seen a lot of GSWs.

I carry 9mm because I shoot it comfortably.

pangris1 · Jan 27, 2018

I will reference Tom Givens research over decades in his own student body - if you are trained and have a gun, caliber and capacity don't matter. At last count something like 58 of his students (private citizens) had been in gun fights and 56 had won - the 2 that lost didnt bring a gun to the fight. If you know how to use it - the first good hit almost always determines the winner. I consider the 38 special a minimum but above and beyond a J Frame - training, awareness and mindset beat hardware.

bowhtr1 · Jan 28, 2018

Get the biggest you are comfortable with and use the maximum expansion bullets available in that caliber. My wife was shooting a Ruger SR40C. 40 s&w. I loved the gun so I bought her a Ruger LC9s and she loves it. The trigger on this gun is better than the custom shop Sheild we looked at. My son went with me to look and he was looking at the compact Glock in 9mm. He bought the LC9s also. The trigger tipped the scales.

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DocBar · Jan 28, 2018

I enjoy shooting my 9 mm's. I don't care for to much recoil and depend on Hornady Critical Defense rounds if the need be. Big plus is the cost which allows me to shoot 500 rounds at one outing at the range.

AustinBR · Jan 28, 2018

pangris1 said:
I will reference Tom Givens research over decades in his own student body - if you are trained and have a gun, caliber and capacity don't matter. At last count something like 58 of his students (private citizens) had been in gun fights and 56 had won - the 2 that lost didnt bring a gun to the fight. If you know how to use it - the first good hit almost always determines the winner. I consider the 38 special a minimum but above and beyond a J Frame - training, awareness and mindset beat hardware.

Well said.

Not having a gun = loss.
Not having a holster / carry system that allows you to access your gun in an effective manner = loss
Not training with your gun where you cannot get shots on target = loss

If you've won the three battles above and are able to get shots on target, you are MILES ahead someone who failed one of the first three steps. Caliber at that point isn't going to make a huge difference.

Personally, I am partial to 9mm because it has adequate "umph" behind it, while allowing me to comfortably carry 18 rounds in the gun, and an additonal 17 in a spare mag.

Another big component people ignore is carrying a light to see potential targets at night. I think people should pay a lot more attention to what light, holster, and belt they use than the bullets in their gun.

I’m curious to hear some opinions on self defense handgun calibers.

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