Whatever you're comfortable carrying and shooting and trusting is best.

I have handguns in almost every available caliber. Even 9mm Makarov and 7.62x25. And I still carry a 9mm sub-compact.

45 is nice but a pain for me to carry. I'm tall and thin and dont feel like wearing parachute pants.

I would draw the line at .380 if you're going small.

In the real world your most likely encounter is a mugger from front or behind and generally within arms reach. Dont expect any cross-street fire fights. Life isnt a movie. You could carry a full size XD with 15 rounds of .45 but unless you live in a war zone you wont ever need it.

A BOB gun is a different story.

Anyone who has ever read any of my posts on the topic already knows that I am completely for the .40 S&W. I carry a Sig P239 in the .40 and love it!

I find a .357 too inefficient a round and question it's ranged accuracy - same with the .45. I tend to look for a balance of velocity, transfer of mass (stopping power), along with the overall shooting comfort and target reacquisition.

Both a .357 and .45 tend to have too much recoil and make reacquisition difficult. The recoil also has a tendency to affect accuracy. A 9mm simply over-penetrates and lacks any significant mass transfer, although it is very accurate and simple to shoot. Combine those rounds and you get... wait for it... the .40 S&W... giving the best of all worlds... IMHO

Best pistol caliber??

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Whatever you're comfortable carrying and shooting and trusting is best.

Agree 100%...

To me, the "best caliber" is the one you can consistently hit the target with. Recoil recovery/follow up shots are a very important part of the equation.

Personally, 45acp and the 357 magnum are the largest calibers I would feel comfortable carrying but, the 9mm allows me to get more shots on target in the shortest time. I'd rather get three small rounds COM than 1 large round in a bad guys shoulder. Also, I'd rather carry a medium frame .45/.357 than a snubbie .38.

I love the 1911! Has to be the best so I'll put my money on the .45

Well, It all depends on the Scenario ... If you are looking for a HOUSE GUN ... You need to get a SHOTGUN .. If you are looking into a Concealed Weapon ...Again Depending on Application. If you are in the city and would possibly be using it around HEAVY POPULATED areas .. You would not want somehting with alot of Penetration. Which I never really want anyways ... who care if you put 10 holes in someone when they are on Methaphetamines and do not stop coming. You put a 45 in someone they will be moving the other direction. And for the most part it will not go through a wall after going through someone. Whereas a 9 mm or a .40 is highly likely to go through a wall and into someone else possibly. Or even destroy someone else property ... best case scenario. Now when you go to style of guns .. I really like 1911 style I actually got a .45 Taurus Millenium PRO ... Which I do like because of its compact style. But the dang thing is not accurate over 10 yards away for the best Marksman. Although I have gotten more accurate with it and I can hit things with the 11 bullet clip it comes with. I would much rather not have to be blowing holes in stuff trying to hit what I meant to hit with the first shot. Besides all of that .. the .45 was made by the Military and the .40 is made for HOBBYIST. .... So who would you go with the MILTARY Application or the HOBBYIST marksman ... And yes ... I will always love myt .50 cal hand cannon that bullets cost damned near 2.50 a shell ... But NO ... I do not carry it with me every day .. Thats my .45's JOB !!!

AND YES !!! Someone said it BEST when they SAY PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE !!!!!!!! And also the Revolvers are so much more simpler than a Semi-Automatic ... But I do love to be able to go out and pull 10 rounds off real quickly ... As apposed to 6 or 8 .... GL in your endeavors bro ... AND PRACTICE with it !! Do not expect to be able to shoot any gun perfectly the first time SHOOTING !

Thanks for the input everyone. I agree that the best side arm is the one you are most comfortable with. I try to get to the range once a week or more, and am very comfortable with all the pistols I own. I'm hearing some good points for the .40, and I forgot about the 10mm. For some reason I thought 10mm was restricted to military/police work. Is that true? I'm still sticking with my 'flying ashtray' ammo I think.

One last thing I should point out... Last year there was a shortage of military caliber ammo...mostly .223 55gr FMJ but 9mm was hard to come by too.... for a while .223 was up to like 6 months back order...
it was so bad a lot of police agencies had to suspend training for a while and even my own beloved Corps was not letting Marines go out to the range just to practice. however there was plenty of .45 and 40S&W on the shelves...

So you see there is one draw back to military caliber weapons...