If you had to choose one handgun in case the SHTF what would it be?

reply to post by ashamedamerican


Actually, more because it leaves a smaller hole than my .40. The less meat you destroy by shooting it, the more there is to eat. Not saying its an ideal situation hunting with a handgun... but if I have to I'm taking the smaller caliber. And yeah I'm more accurate with my 9 mm over longer distances prolly due to it having a large frame and the increased speed of the round.

reply to post by Doc Holiday


.22 Sorry, it's not a defender of life and limb. High capacity Mags are available for larger calibers.

The Undertaker

I prefer the Colt type Auto in .45 acp. I have a National Match that was built by someone who knew what they where doing in the Colt custom shop. It was built in 1972 and it will shoot anything I put in the mag. Unlike some that are very touchy with the loads this one is my favorite and is a sub one inch gun at 25 yrds. If I could not get to that one I would take my Ruger Redhawk. Completely indestructable and very acurate!
Zindo

[edit on 12/11/2008 by ZindoDoone]

reply to post by ashamedamerican


Variant of the Model 1911 in .45 ACP. As an elder master gunsmith once told me, "It's hard to make a bad 1911."

1911 no hesitation or question in my mind. but seems I cant have a one line post I also have to give honerable mention to datadada the 1911. nuff said.

home.comcast.net...
If you apply real world weight vs. fire power and have the next 6-18 months to walk alone in the world(or with family)
I dare not pick your cal. but if you know how to use a calculator, it is easy to fiure out range vs. FPS vs. killing power......
If you wish to pick larger calibers .45 and such (you need a bunker)
It will be next to impossible to carry say 20,000 rounds just the ammo weight is one of the easier ways to chose....www.genitron.com...
................
Dunno folks just hope end the end we can all figure out the best opptions, cause it looks like, we could find out........

357 Magnum. But I know it's off topic, but I would love to have a friggin flamethrower on the side!

Nothing against the 1911 or even my carry gun, XD-40. But if I only had one gun, realisticly, I would pick a .44 mag, preferably with a 4-5 inch barrel and in stainless. In fantasy land I would grab something like a Atlantic Firearms Krinkov Pistol. Uses the same ammo as my regular sized AK.

The 44, where I live, ammo is abundant. I cant see myself needing 19 rounds to take down what I am shooting at, enemy mobs, bears, other game, etc... If I did, add a few speed loaders and I'm set. Enough stopping power for whatever I need. Revolvers dont break or need the type of service an auto does.

The Krinkov, while not an ideal hunting weapon, would certainly lay down enough firepower to simply cut my target in half. Again, in some areas, 7.62x39 may be hard to come by, but I happen to have a good deal of it and it seems as though every person in my general area owns at least one AK or SKS.

The .357 is a good choice as well. Two types of ammo is very beneficial, however, if I want only one gun, and am looking for pure stopping power, I would upgrade to the 44 over the .357, but thats a personal choice.

As for a .22. I can see some benefits of that. Ammo is everywhere, would be perfect for small targets such as rabbits, birds, etc... as for defense, no one likes to get shot, but some nut on PCP wont be deturred. Things I dont like about a .22 would be no stopping power, inabilty to drop large game (its easier to kill one moose for 800lbs of meat than 800 rabbits) and the fact the brass cant be reloaded. Seriously, if I'm starving to death and charging you, you pull out a .22, I'm still coming, you pull out a .460 all you will see is tailfeathers.

I would strongly suggest a Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Mag

the why is rather simple the ammo is easy to get will drop most North American big game with the right loads (Up close) and its rather reliable...

However In a SHTF Sit-X... you don't want to find yourself in an armed conflict (Group of angry shotgun carrying looters) and your choice of weapons is a combat style handgun... in that case its better to holster your 1911 and walk away cold.....I do have a soft spot for the old Colt Combat Commander,... carried one as a duty side arm for years. but given the choice I'd drop it in a heart beat for a good ole M 16 or M 4 if the SHTF.

no if your going to carry a handgun you should pick one based on the what else will it do for you, factor...

[edit on 11-12-2008 by DaddyBare]

Hey, I have .22's, .44 Magnums, .357's, 9mm's and multiples of each. But of all my handguns, the most firepower, knock-down abilities I have actually used in combat, reliability, weight, and simplicity, is the Model 1911 in .45 ACP.

As far as taking anything on the North American continent, hell, you can do that with a simple longbow. It's not ideal in modern times, but anything on the North American continent was taken with spears and bows, and rather primitive stuff compared to modern bows. But we're talking handguns.

Yeah, I can carry a lot more .22 ammo, 9mm, or whatever than I can .45 ACP, but I assume we're talking about a defense weapon, and not just desiring to make noise.

You hit a man center mass with a .45 ACP, and he's going down every time, and it doesn't matter if he's high on angel dust, numb from coc aine, or just bug-crazy.

That .44 magnum gets real heavy after a few hours. I've seen folks hit multiple times with a 9mm, and even a .357 magnum, and keep going.

Ask yourself this: Of all handguns available, why are our Special Forces, Delta, and all Special Ops going back to the Model 1911 in .45 ACP? The reason is that these guys can have anything in the world, they see first-hand what works and what doesn't, and they are making informed decisions.

You want to catch fish, you use what the pros use. You want boots that work in arctic conditions? Use what the pros use. You want a handgun that works first time when your life is on the line? Use what the pros use.

Hands down from those who know.

Model 1911 in .45 ACP. The experts can't all be wrongl.

I have gotten the wrond idea about this thread i guess........
1) Long term (at least 6 months)
2)I have thought far enough ahead to be ahead of the average "bear"
3)There will be no stores or places to buy or trade for AMMO..
I will try to re-aply my theory........
The ONLY reason I would chose a .22 is in the senario.....TSHF....OMG .. I got 15-20 mins to gather and take off into the woods........Ther will be no more stores to buy ammo(if you plan to reload) remember your lead molds, powder, pimer(lea loader?) etc....
And if I have a problem with a person on PCP when food and survival is the problem,(thanks for the hint) I will re-evaluate my place to set up, as camp....
To spend the next six months (min.) It is a proven fact that more dear have been killed with .22's than anything else, if I need an 800lb bear or moose .... hince I'm afraid it might not fit in my imaginary refigerator/freezer, unless you plan to feed 50-200 ppl
I am affraid, I'm very affraid...forgive my passion here (please)
I have put all this to a calculator, and this is not a choice made on the spur of the moment!!!!!

My Sig P220 in .45 ACP, would be one of my top two. I'm stuck between that and a Glock 20C Chambered in 10mm... Probably would end up choosing the 10mm due to the great stopping power. Ohh wait.. Maybe th Carbon 15. 30 rounds of 5.56mm happiness. Decisions decisions...

I would get a semi-auto .45 with an extended clip and S&W 500 as backup.

Originally posted by dooper

Model 1911 in .45 ACP. The experts can't all be wrongl.

My pick as well.

It worked for Grand-dad, it worked for dad, it will work for me.

Kind of like 30/06 cal. The 1911 has been around as long as it has for a reason.

At the moment we have a Browning 338 (for hunting and such), I have a titanium 357 with a two inch barrel and I'm getting ready to get a Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip.

I love my weapons

reply to post by Doc Holiday


I can understand your points here, but since you mentioned a few of my ideas in your post, Ill run down your points as to why I am against the .22.

1. Long term. Are you good enough with a hand gun, have enough ammo, and have enough game to actually kill at least one animal per day for everyone in your party? .22 ammo gets heavy eventually as well.

2. Smarter than the average bear. Most who post here are. We have bug out locals, certainly more than one handgun in most cases, but the OP asked if you could only have One handgun.

3. No place to buy ammo. Thats why we stockpile it. I have no idea how many rounds I have for my .44s, my .40s, and good lord shotgun shells. It comes down to how many shots will you need. This is where taking large game comes into it. I'll get to that later in the post. If you need to kill. Say 2 people, six months. One small animal per day. Thats 360 kills, give or take. Do you have that much game in your area? How long before you deplete it?

Okay, so I dont have the ability to grab my reloading equiptment, and I seem to have forgotten where my bug out local is where I have a 2nd set of equiptment. I would rather have my 44 under my arm with 3 boxes of ammo in my bob than 500 rounds of .22 in my bag.

Re-evaluate where to set up? Assume you are in transit, you open your door and there is chaos everywhere and you find yourself under attack. Hard to set up in those conditions.

About the 800 lbs of meat. Learn how to smoke, cure and dry foods. One kill can feed you for months. No freezing required.

Yes. .22's kill a great number of deer. However, these kills are almost always done with a rifle. Think 10-22. Pistols dont have the range or killing power of a good rifle. You might get lucky to get close enough, but why take the chance?

Again, I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, we all have preferances and different needs depending on our area. Someone who has alot of deer and birds is going to need something different than someone with polar bears.

This is a general reply not just to slient one.......
Its simple PPL get your calculators out.....
Long range kill power, general usabilty, and the most important issue(how long are you going to be alone?)Weight of ammo....
This thread is like a parking lot full of gear heads saying i got a 4 bolt main double cconnuter valve(racing engine)
You guys take all of your big ammo and go, I will wait 4-6 months till your low on ammo and spend 2 weeks picking off all your siblings and eatin-em.........while I'm out of your range with 10,000 plus rounds to spare never getting in range of your high tech pistolas.............
Wake up, last post...... again sorry for my passion........
I trust that like in most things the popular reaction is my mine is bigger...
I am sorry for thinking that ATS members were out of the box on the idea of research and proving ideas.......
Look at any conservation(usa) of any state, more animals over the weight of 150 lbs are killed with .22 rim fire cartridges.......Than any other, do to poaching I'm sure.......But still that proves something..........IT WORKS!!!!!!! SO lets make it illegal>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It completely depends on what is hitting the fan. I have to say for a long term TEOTHAWKI situation I would take a .22 revolver for reliabilty, maintenance, and weight of ammo. If we are talking someone attacking my home I would go with the .40 or .45. Since the question was one handgun, this is the only answer I can give.

Spiritowl

If the SHTF do you really think keeping your home is an opption?
My theory does presume that I am ahead of the game enough to survive the police state and evacuate my home..........