9mm vs .40 vs .45

[walt4dun]

9
More ammo onboard. Cheaper to practice with.

[Strick9]

I prefer the 40 , its a happy balance between the likes of 9 and 45.

[mallardman25]

10mm

[BigBallin]

Learn to shoot and the round count is not so important...I go 40 all day

[Griffin]

Anyone who thinks round count isn't important has never been in a serious gun fight.

[BigBallin]

I know very few folks that have been in a serious gun fight, those that have has not been on American soil and I remember them in my prayers and thank them for their service if I am fortunate enough to do so. I generally arm myself to protect against that one or two dudes hopped up on spice that thinks Ill hand em my wallet just cause they said they wanted it or someone at 3am wanting to elevate things at the boat ramp when I pull in with my wife. Generally, unless the situation specifically dictates such, my carry is a 5 shot .38 revolver loaded with some +P stuff with a few extra rounds in the pocket, a box in the boat and a box in the truck.

[everlast]

I know very few folks that have been in a serious gun fight, those that have has not been on American soil

I fear this will soon change

[MorningWoody]

I know very few folks that have been in a serious gun fight, those that have has not been on American soil and I remember them in my prayers and thank them for their service if I am fortunate enough to do so. I generally arm myself to protect against that one or two dudes hopped up on spice that thinks Ill hand em my wallet just cause they said they wanted it or someone at 3am wanting to elevate things at the boat ramp when I pull in with my wife. Generally, unless the situation specifically dictates such, my carry is a 5 shot .38 revolver loaded with some +P stuff with a few extra rounds in the pocket, a box in the boat and a box in the truck.

My .38 +P recoils like a beast but its light and comfortable to carry. I carry a Ruger LCR. What do you carry? Looking at getting a G19 to carry, way more accurate then my snub nose, more rounds, and recoil is light.

[Swamp Rat]

I still carry my Airweight 38, but usually as a back-up nowadays.

When I carry my Shield or G43, I always have an extra mag on me.

When I carry my G19, I usually have an extra mag on me, and it's a G17 mag.

Ammo is cheap and relatively light. Better to have more than you need than not enough.

[led0321]

I still carry my Airweight 38, but usually as a back-up nowadays.

When I carry my Shield or G43, I always have an extra mag on me.

When I carry my G19, I usually have an extra mag on me, and it's a G17 mag.

Ammo is cheap and relatively light. Better to have more than you need than not enough.

The underrated beauty of a Glock. The small guns will accept the big gun mags. I preach it all the time but few people understand this fact.

[BigBallin]

My .38 +P recoils like a beast but its light and comfortable to carry. I carry a Ruger LCR. What do you carry? Looking at getting a G19 to carry, way more accurate then my snub nose, more rounds, and recoil is light.

The Taurus ultra-lite with a 2" barrel. Accuracy surprised me greatly. I can wear it all night shooting fish, or whatever Im doing and nearly forget its there. I had no intentions of making this the carry gun as I didn't trust Taurus a lot at the point but its accuracy, dependability, and the speed at which I can acquire a target made it solid in my eyes.

[BigBallin]

And let me add to my above posts by saying that if I am in a bad place where shit can go south quick and I in no way can avoid being there, I tote a lot heavier than that with a lot more ammo.

[Swamp Rat]

Sometimes life takes you those places without the ability to change your set up.

[FLS]

If it's a serious gunfight , all I want my handgun to do is cover my retreat to a better fighting firearm.

[skrimp]

The 9mm rounds of today don't even compare with the old ones that gave the caliber a bad reputation.

[FishSticker]

If it's a serious gunfight , all I want my handgun to do is cover my retreat to a better fighting firearm.

And the church says "Amen"

[tman]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...can-hit-shoot/. Everyone reading this forum should take the time to read this. This is an article written by a combat medic regarding weapons/bullets used and their effectiveness.

[hi_c]

You need 2 rounds on average. 99.9% of us have never and will never be in a self-defense situation where you actually discharge your weapon. If you have to be that 0.01%, make them count by choosing a caliber that you can shoot accurately.

http://gunssavelives.net/self-defense/analysis-of-five-years-of-armed-encounters-with-data-tables/

[Duck cutter]

I understand the thought of round count, but I am also a realist that has zero intentions of getting into an "OK Corral" type of thing. I have no desire to be the last man standing in a parking lot full of bodies.

So what you're saying is that you want to be one of the bodies??

[DuvnDux]

I started my career with a model 64, 4 inch and consistently shot 298-300 out of 300 on paper. I also always carried extra speed loaders and speed strips in my pockets. I've heard stories of "great shooters" that burned through a lot of ammo and never hit the bad guy during real gun fights. We went to Sig P220s (.45) and my scores went down a little. I had to practice a lot more because the gun didn't feel natural in my hand. Over the years I've owned and shot multitudes of handguns but I always go back to what feels comfortable. My weapon of choice now is a Springfield XD-9 subcompact. As for ballistics, a .38 soft lead semi wad-cutter is a deadly round. It has plenty of knockdown and lower penetration for more shock trauma. The .45 has the biggest punch and less pass through but capacity is limited. The 9mm defense rounds are designed for maximum shock and lower penetration and I can stack 17 in a mag. Penetration is not your friend, you don't want rounds exiting your target and hitting an unintended victim. I've also heard of subjects taking multiple rounds that were all pass throughs and they continued to fight because there was no shock trauma from the bullets they were using. These guys were dead and just didn't know it yet because they hadn't bled out. There are arguments both ways but my suggestion is pick the gun that you're comfortable with and you can shoot well. The larger the capacity the better and practice. We all revert to training while under stress so practice. I've been shot at twice and couldn't return fire either time because the bad guy was retreating in a crowded area both times. I took cover and my training took over both times but my adrenaline was pumping so hard that I'm sure I would have emptied my gun if I returned fire.