best defensive caliber and why?

[Rocky_Raccoon]

I'm primarily looking at pistol caliber but I know ill get the occasional 12gauge reply but for good reason... anyhow looking at standard home defense/ carry caliber I want what you use and why, I.e. statistics, trade offs, ammo selection, all you have to bring to the table. Personally I carry a hk p2000sk in .40 most of the time because I'm 160lbs soaked and wet and I can only get away with a full sized 1911 in fall/winter. I perfer .45acp 1911 which is what is on my night stand and belt when its sweatshirt weather. 45 is my choice on the grounds that worst case senerio my bullet doesn't perform as its supposed to (fail to expand, or just so happen to just have ball ammo in the gun) . I still have a half inch bullet ripping through your torso... any other opinions?

[Dan Morris]

I use mostly a 1911A1 carrying ball. Sometimes, a Smith M19 with 125gr Golden Sabres. 45 is knock down power and the wheel gun is just for boredom. Getting to where I seldom carry one.
Dan

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I carry .38/9mm calibers: 38 special +P, 9mm, .380 auto, .38 Super. I also use a good, expanding ammuntion in each (Speer GDHP, Federal Hydrashok, Winchester Silvertip, ect). If a bigger bullet gives you confidence, and you can shoot it well, great.....but I think it most instances anyone attempting to do you harm is not
expecting you to be armed, therefore you have the element of surprise on your side.
I have worked in E.R., ICUs, and the O.R. for the last 25+ years......I would have to say that any .355/.358 diameter expanding bullet will put an assailant down for the count....if he ain't dead, he's not gonna be thinking about anything other than getting to a hospital.

Now, a few caveats: First, If you don't hit what you're shooting at, it doesn't matter what caliber you shoot, so either get a round that you can afford to buy a lot of or reload for. Second, when shooting living creatures, there are NO absolutes.....I've seen people killed with single hits from a .25 ACP (although I suspect that's kinda rare) and people who have survived chest hits from larger calibers and walk in under their own power. Don't expect because you read a magazine article that said "The .45 ACP puts down your assailant 95% of the time" that you are going to be in that 95%........Murphy's law is going to throw your behind in the other 5%.
Multiple hits will ensure your chance of survival....If I walk into the O.R. and the area under the table is a lake of blood and the individual is dripping like a sieve from multiple bullet holes, I can almost guarantee you that they are going out horizontal instead of vertical. I don't know anyone who carries a single shot pistol for personal protection, so keep pulling the trigger until the threat stops and for God's sake, make sure your aftermarket magazines work with your gun!

Ammuntion age: We had an incident several years ago where a woman was shot in the head several times with a .32 caliber revolver (sorry, don't know exact caliber). She didn't die....as a matter of fact, she woke up with a bad headache! Skull X rays showed multiple projectiles....the bullets pierced the skin, and then followed various curvitures in the skull. Turns out her father had shot her (she was a mentally handicapped individual) and used 30+ year old ammo. The forensics folks determined that she had survived because the ammo had become less powerful with age. You may just want to buy one box of HPs and use ball for practice, but it would probably be a wise move to use up those HPs once a year and get a new stock.
Interesting that you should bring this topic up.....helped with a case this past weekend; guy was shot with a small caliber (looked like a .22 on X ray) that went through his right arm, into his right chest and into his right heart. He was conscious when brought into the E.R., but quickly tamponaded (blood in the chest kept his heart from beating properly) and they took him to O.R. Could see the bullet on X ray, but we went in and couldn't find it in his heart....it had passed through on the right side (low pressure system). The tamponade that almost killed him acutally helped save him....it stemmed the flow of blood long enough to clot off the hole.

I guess my bottom line: Use a bigger bullet and shoot a lot of 'em!;)

[Rocky_Raccoon]

Mr.16 don't get me wrong I actually like the 9mm as a defensive caliber due mostly to its hi cap mags and very mild recoil. I've been shooting for a number of years now and chose to progress in caliber size, not out of necessity but desire and I've landed where I have and am comfortable with mag cap limitations and felt recoil as a trade off

[GoodOlBoy]

For carry 38/38+p until I can find a snubnose in a caliber I like better. For home There is a 12 gauge on my wife's side of the bed, and a Marlin 336 in 30-30 Winchester on my side of the bed. Pistol calibers are fine for concealed carry, etc. But if it comes down to an intruder, who you MUST assume is armed, I am taking a rifle into the fight. My 30-30 may not be a rapid reload once it's dry, but it is very hard for a intruder to argue with six rounds of 170 grain lead.

GoodOlBoy

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I've been shooting for a number of years now and chose to progress in caliber size, not out of necessity but desire and I've landed where I have and am comfortable with mag cap limitations and felt recoil as a trade off

If that works for you, then I have no problem with that;) Just wanted the record to show that the 38/9mm family of bullets/cartridges is not as anemic as some of the gun writers or armchair experts out there would have you believe.

Now, if you were to go in the OTHER direction of the caliber scale, then I think we would have to have a discussion!;)

[skeet]

Although I carry a 45 auto..I personally think a 4 inch S&W M-19 in 357 is as good as you can get when stoked with 125-140 gr HPs. My 45 is loaded with either Rem Golden Sabre or Winchester Silvertip hollow points. The 41 I carry for Bear medicine is loaded with 220 gr hard cast lead bullets and if I carry the 500 Smith it has 400 gr cast also. And as Mr 16 said..shoot till they fall down and quit movin. Oh and another thing..if they pull a knife..shoot 'em... Otherwise they will cut ya or stick ya.

[Skinny Shooter]

I prefer a 1911, Springfield XD45 and the revolver I mention below.

GOB, I like the lever 30-30 idea.
Now this is not a scientific conclusion and is based on one event.
I winged a groundhog with my 22-250 at distance.
At that time I was carrying a S&W 686-plus snubbie loaded with 38's for close-in shots along fencerows.
Found the hog in its hole.
I put several shots into it and it came out of the hole after me.
One shot from the 22-250 in its face put it down.
From then on I only carry 357mag in the gun.
Of course a person will react differently but it set me to thinking...

[skeet]

As Skinny said.. I also had an encounter with a rabid coon. It took 8 shots to kill the darn thing. I was using a 9mm with first 5 ball ammo rest was S&W hollowpoints. Useless stuff. BUT it was a LARGE coon...lol

[Larryjk]

Most thinking folks don't want to get shot with any caliber. But there is the cop who said if you don't think a .38 Special is any good, try getting shot with one. There also is the Texas Deputy who said the reason he carried a .45 ACP is because they don't make a .46.
Personally, I would prefer a .45 ACP to end most arguments. But I often carry a S&W model 60 in .357.

[M.T. Pockets]

Well, I'm your shotgun guy. Probably because I don't own a handgun (yet). I'm also fortunate to live in a low crime area.

For me it's my old friend Browning BPS with a magazine full of #4 buckshot that I keep under the bed, chamber empty. The distinct sound of a round quickly going in the chamber should get anyone's attention. After that, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of those pellets at the close range inside of a house.

Some disadvantages of this set up that I can see are: 3 shot capacity, and the bulk of a long gun. I can only imagine the mess it would make to the drywall if you had to fire it inside.....

[MtnMike2]

I like the .357 in a M66 for carry. For home, I like to keep a shotgun handy (like MTP above). If an intruder hears you rack a round and he's still there, you know he's crazy!

Mike

[Adam Helmer]

MTP & Mountain Mike,

RACKING a shotgun does make a hell of a noise and WILL direct the Bad Guy's fire in your direction-Pronto. The days of scaring off a home invader with "Shuck, Shuck" are long gone. BG's are usually armed and on an adrenelin rush. When they hear the racking of a shotgun, they will fire in your direction-numerous times. Why blow your cover? Snap off the safety with a slight "snick" and bag the critter.

As for Ball Ammo in the .45 ACP-bad idea. Ball ammo in any caliber, including rifles, is a very poor manstopper per the 1974 FBI ammo tests. The .45 ACP shines with a 190 grain or 200 grain open hollow point FAR above anything Ball ever hoped to do.

Adam

[Catfish]

Rocky, Glad to see your back on. As for your question my answer would be the largest cal. you can handle comfortable. I pack a 329 PD. A Sacdium framed .44 mag. I load it with the first 2 rounds prefraged and the other 4 240 gr JHP`s.
And not that your back from over there how about getting together, I`ll buy your lunch.

[Rapier]

I carry different guns depending on the season here in NW Florida. It gets so hot and wet that anything big in the summer is out, as far as I am concerned and that came after years of toting a 1911 in 45 ACP, then leaving it a while, then leaving it all the time. So I went to a KelTec 380 that I carry all the time. I simply recognized that a gun in the sock drawer was of no use in a "need to have" situation.

Now in the winter, under a jacket I carry a 4-inch M-66 with 162gr SWC GCs over a heavy load of H-110 as 357s. I like big

In the truck I carry a Sig P226 and a M-10. The 226 has two 20 round magazines with 147s so we can engage in a small firefight if things go south on the road.

On the tractor at the farm I have a rifle rack where the stainless Mini-14 resides. It has been accurized and shoots sub MOA. It is a bad motor scooter for dog-sized critters and things like coons, armo-dildoes, yotes, etc. I also carry a Buckmark Target gun in a holster on the tractor for lightweight stuff like turtles in my ponds or the no-shoulder bad guys.
Ed

[buckhunter]

Rapier remind me never go anyway near you. Your ready.

[FromBearCreek]

I prefer a radio for calling in 8" howitzer fire.

...What?

[popplecop]

My favorites are semi autos based on the tried and true 1911 frames, have them in 45acp and one in 9mm. The 9mm was an experiment as was never a fan of it, but learned something from it. Mine is a ParaOrd LDA Model PDA, 9 shot single stack, controls all the same as my other 1911s except a wonderful DA trigger, ambidexrous safety, night sigths, 3.5" barrel, dual safety and very accurate. All that and then the one that best fits in any sort of pocket, light, 15 yd. handgun is a Ruger LCP 380, another experiment that I really enjoy and will keep. As far as ammo goes for any of them there is all sorts of great defensive ammo available in all 3 calibers. And yes I have a number of S&W revolvers in N,K and J frames too. Flat single stack mags easier to carry than speed loaders though.