Suarez: GABE'S CALIBER CHOICE

[Kommander]

Ah, caliber wars! I honestly think caliber is over rated as a method of choosing a handgun. I will grant that a .45 Hp will make a bigger mess than 9mm but there are other things to consider first. First one must find a gun that they A) can afford B) fits their hand and C) will work with their chosen carry method, if any. After that one can spend time parsing out various calibers. The most important things to have in a gunfight is a (good) gun and the training to use it. What caliber it is takes a back seat to this.

[randy]

As I've stated before, I carry a P35 because nothing fits my hand better, and it is comfortable to carry.

I currently carry in .40S&W because that particular Hi-Power has some features (sights, trigger work, safety) that my 9mms don't.

[Combat Controller]

I am not calling him a punk, I just think he needs to be more rigorous. He over simplifies lots of stuff and that leads to lazy thinking....

[Termite]

He ought to try explaining why so many departments left 9mm and .38 behind, ditto the military adopting the .45 in the 1911 format. His "one man, one right way of doing things" does not stand up to rigor. Ask the guys in the sandbox how they feel about the 9mm for that matter.

Yeah, and when nothing works, nothing works.

I agree. The .357 Mag Federal 125gr hollowpoint has the highest percentage of one shot stops. That does not make it a Star Trek phaser or Klingon disrupter.



Generally bigger is better, more powerful is better regarding handgun bullets. So carry the most powerful handgun that you can shoot effectively.
However, a 100# woman with ice in her veins who puts three .22LRs in a perp's eyes/forehead will do better than a 250# Rambo who panics and empties a Sig 226 and puts 2-4 9mm rds in the perp's gut.

I don't agree with his rational about needing more than 6-8 rds. The majority of self defense shootings are less than 5 rds fired. How many times are there 3 or more attackers? Not that many. And generally, if you shoot one or two, the rest haul ass.

One of my personal favorite carry guns is my M13 .357 Smith. Yes, a six shot 3" barreled K frame .357 Smith. Call me a curmudgen if you will.
If I have it, I usually have 1 or 2 speedloaders. My line of thinking is this: it will do for 99% of the personal protection situations I should ever find myself in. And if it won't, I most likely need something a lot more powerful, like my Mini-30 or Mossberg 500.

[randy]

Call me a curmudgen if you will.

A curmudgen? On this Board!?!

(says the man who has often stated that there has been no significant improvement in autoloading handgun design since 1935 )

[Aaron]

CC: I agree with all of your points, but would ask for clarification on one. In the sandbox, aren't our boys limited to FMJ 9mm? It seems that might make a difference.

Yeah, the .mil is, mostly, stuck using plain ole' FMJ, which makes the choice of 9mm and 5.56 as the primary calibers somewhat baffling.

That said, here on the home front, having the option to load with nifty expanding ammo makes the 9mm and 5.56 perfectly acceptable calibers.

It does not, however, eliminate the advantages of bigger boolits.