Is Caliber Important in a Handgun

A 1911 also has the tendency to scare the pants off the person shooting it the first few times they pull the trigger. I had a friend shoot one at the range for the first time, and we had to get him out of the ceiling after he pulled the trigger. He saw that bit of exhaust flame come out the ejector, and freaked. He thought the gun was about to explode in his hand.

This is true, 1911's always need the tweaking. But they are great guns, don't get me wrong. I have hands on the largish side...so I've always wanted a USP. The XD is another good choice, I suppose. The new models have 13+1 of .45 in them which is impressive.

DE

Originally posted by Zaphod58
A 1911 also has the tendency to scare the pants off the person shooting it the first few times they pull the trigger. I had a friend shoot one at the range for the first time, and we had to get him out of the ceiling after he pulled the trigger. He saw that bit of exhaust flame come out the ejector, and freaked. He thought the gun was about to explode in his hand.

i have no idea what you're talking about...
considering the nearly total lack of recoil, and good accuracy and reliability, i dont see why you'd not use a 1911

we never had to tweak our springfield 1911... idk about the kimber because i was little when we got it.

Stand over to the side when someone is shooting a 1911. If you're at the right angle, you'll see a tiny little bit of flame come out the ejector port as they shoot. It's not much, but the way my friend was shooting it, he caught it out of the corner of his eye.

I love shooting the 1911, don't get me wrong. It's a kick ass gun.

For a "fun" gun, a .22LR plinker is plenty of gun and really cheap to run. Hours of fun.

However if there is even the slightest chance that the weapon will be used for home defence, then there are generally accepted minimums with regards to calibre. 9mm is normally accepted to be the minimum cal for semi-autos (unless you're an american , as you'll be born with an automatic hate for 9mm and have nothing but .45ACP in your handgun, yeehaw).

.38 is regarded as the minimum for revolvers. I would advocate a .357 Mag revolver from a decent company, as you can shoot .38s from it for practice/fun.

[edit on 1-7-2006 by PaddyInf]

Zap yes sometimes guns do spit out a "bit" of flame s´from odd spots



This is .375Mag S&W Higwaypatrolman loaded with magtechs...

LOL...the first time I fired a 686 with decently hot .357s in it, I lost all the hair on my index fingers. It was hilarious fun.

I still agree with Paddy on everything but the 9mm thing. a .357 is your best friend. Failing that, something bigger than 9mm. 9mm is very bottom of the barrel as far as self defence is concerned. I'd go so far as to say that .40SW would be the smallest round I'd accept for my personal defence.

DE

i love my 9mm and .38. my opinion is caliber wont matter one bit if you cant hit your target. ive fired .357s .40 and .45 and i like how the 9mm and .38 fits in my hand and controllablity of the recoil. the best thing to do is practice practice and practice more and think about your needs and your surroundings ( thickness of walls, people living with you and where they are etc.)

Long time gun shooter here....

If you are looking for something solid in the home defence/Plinking catagory I would go with either a .45 ACP or a .357 magnum... Rounds are easy to get and if you do some research you will find that the .45 was designed for 1-shot stopping power in an automatic weapon... Some bullets types will pass through the target and those could hit something vital like your child, wife, pet, beer keg, car, neighbor... Even a bulletproof vest will not stop total transfer of power from a bullet. a .45acp can manage to still do some damage that can be life threatening without actually putting the round into the body. Kinetic damage is always fun...

My preference for the .357 for hiking/home is simple... for starters you do NOT have to use just .357mag rounds... Because of bullet size and length a .357 magnum gun CAN USE 38-special. But it does not work the other way around.. This makes a heavy barreled gun easier to use for the woman of the house *Hope you don't argue often* and the rugers heavy 6" barrel makes the .38 special seem like a lightweight...


But good cartridges that I use when either at home or hiking at a .45 ACP *A 1927 made 1911a1 that has never been modified and works like a dream* as well as a Ruger gp-161 which is a wheel-gun 6-shot .357 magnum for hiking.

but if you are looking for cost effectiveness. You "could" go for a .22Lr. It is not my first choice... Not even my last.

The lightest I would go is .380 like a Walther PPK. but the smaller the bullet/powder the less power you will have on stopping an aggressor.

9mm has a tendancy to pass thru a target but like the .45acp rounds are plentiful and the guns recoil is not exciting... But the field rule on 9mm is that it takes 2-shots where a .45acp will only require 1...

.40 and 10mm are both solid contenders as well from what I hear. I have not fired either of them as yet since I have my reliable rounds and am slow to get on the same page as the rest of the USA

Hope it helps

[edit on 1-7-2006 by Annachie]

I like my .357 caliber revolvers..for precisely the reasons you state. I can shoot .38 specials out of it all day and night. THey are pretty cheap to reload and even factory .38 specials are inexpensive as compared to other fodder. I seldome shoot .357 rounds from my revolvers...but mostly practice with the cheaper fodder.
Here stateside .38 Special is also one of the easiest rounds to reload. .357 is only a little more involved than the .38.

Yes I like the .45 ACP. I am not particularly fond of the 9mm. It is a Colonial thing Paddy. Im afraid I have just not had much experience shooting the 9mm hence my preference. Nor have I had any experience shooting the .40 or the 10mm.
I am reluctant to go out and purchase more firearms in different calibers without a real advantage to them. I consider expanding out into the .40 or 10mm more of a hinderence than a advantage. If I need to stock up on more varietys of reloading gear..than I need to consider getting a job writing for the gun magazines.

As I recall Paddy..in one of your previous posts...to be familiar with what you have decided upon. In other words practice. I agree in this principle. No substitute for practice.

And, Paddy, In like manner I love just knocking around with a good well made .22 long rifle..either in a good pistol or a long gun. This is a good starting point for a person to begin firearms dicipline as well as alot of fun on a shooting budget.

Thanks for some great posts Paddy,
Orangetom

Originally posted by PaddyInf
(unless you're an american , as you'll be born with an automatic hate for 9mm and have nothing but .45ACP in your handgun, yeehaw).

Come on

The 9mm is widely used in the US with both police and civilians. Infact the 9mm Glock is one of the best selling handguns in the states.

I wouldnt be shocked to find out the US is the largest civilian market of 9mm ammo in the world.

I agree ..the 9mm is very widely used here in the states. I know many people who like it greatly. That is their particular preference.
While I dont purchase 9mm I do believe it is a bit more economical to shoot than .45 caliber. Right in there with the 38 special.
If I shot 9mm alot I would also reload for it to lower my costs a bit more. I see this caliber in the empty brass bin ..alot at my local gun range. Lots of people here shooting 9mm. I do believe the draw of this caliber is that it is a bit more controllable than the .45ACP for many people.

I had the privelege of shooting someones Glock 9mm compact at the shooting range awhile back. What surprised me was the accuracy of this compact pistol. It was capable of some very respectable groups for a pistol with this short a sight radius. This did not ,however, convince me to purchase a 9mm but instead considered getting a full sized Glock in .45ACP. I never did buy one... I have enough firearms now...but did consider it as I was impressed with the performance of the Glocks by this test run for which this fellow was gracious enough to allow me.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Dont forget about a great incoming calibre. The 10mm Auto, while not new, is becoming more popular. It's both powerful and accurate. Check out the Glock 20 and 29.

Glock 10mm

I was so spoiled for choice that I went with 2 guns in 2 different calibers.

I picked up one of the last DA/SA USP compacts in 9mm with a stainless slide, which just fit my hand so well, and one of the new XD45s with the 4 inch service length barrel.

After putting 300 rounds through each of them, I really like the low cost of the 9mm ammunition, but it feels more like a plinking round to me, it just didn't "feel" adequately powerful.

The XD45 has an amazingly small grip for a double stack .45ACP and holds exactly the same number of rounds as the 9mm USP (13 +1). There is also no transition from one trigger mode to another following the first shot and I found this made a big difference to accuracy. I'm sure a traditional DA trigger can be mastered, but the short stroke DAO on the Springfield XD was much easier to become proficient with.

The more I shot them both, the more I realized that the extra power of the .45 round was what I was looking for, and as I shot both calibers with equal accuracy, the .45 is now my bedside gun. When I find a suitable holster, it will also be my concealed carry choice.

Thanks for all the responses.

[edit on 8-7-2006 by Retseh]

if you are looking for home protection i would recomend the H&K P7. this is because it is a very small, light weight weapon. it is perfect for when a bad guy comes blundering into your home in the middle of the night because you can shoot with rellative ease and accuracy at short range and i would guess that there would be less recoil so you could squeese several shots in to the perp.

Revolvers are very reliable and excellent handguns in my opinion. The 357 is a great all around caliber for plinking, home defense and hunting(great for wild boar here in Cali).

Marlin and remington make 357magnum lever action rifles also. same ammo for shooting makes it very nice.

Ruger gp161 is what i shoot in that caliber. when i want bigger i pull out the anaconda.
44mag.

They make special home defense rounds for most guns that are fragmentation and will come apart in a wall. i highly recommend using such rounds so u dont take out ur neighbor or family member in a, god forbid, home attack.

I own a 9mm and a 40s&w and they really dont turn my crank. Guess im a biased revolver man through and through. they never stovepipe or dble load or anything. there are models of revolver with more than 6 rnds. the taurus 686 is one of them. 8 shots on a large frame. i cant get it here in cali but its a nice gun.

I recommend going to ur local indoor range. most have a multitude of guns that u can try for yourself. try em out and see what fits your fancy. i bought a gun on a recommendation, regretted it afterwards and sold it right off.

But as always, these are just my opinons.

My Man!!!

Revolver man here too.

I own a couple of autos...including one of Samuel Colts finest...but Revolvers are close to my heart.

heading to the range later on today to shoot my revolver in .45ACP. This one is very accurate. I really enjoy shooting this one.

Keep em in the X ring,
Orangetom

You and me both orangetom. My buddy Dave and I frequent the range 2 or 3 times a week. On my way there in about an hour. For all you shooters out there that dont have time to reload and blow through alotta ammo. check out bulkammo.com. ive calculated it out and its almost just as cheap to buy it from that site than it is to reload ur own. They just changed their policy. it used to be free shipping over 5000 rnds but now they give ya a 5% discount instead. sux too cuz 5000 rnds is heavy as heck but when u blow through that many in a month, what are ya gonna do.

Happy and Safe shooting to all.

The best performance caliber I've ever dealt with...9x23mm Win, hands down.

Most people never heard of 9x23mm before. There's good reason for that. The round itself was developed by John Nowlin Sr. two decades ago, in a cooperative project with Colt and Winchester. Sadly enough, during the production run the cartridges were improperly sized, resulting in a lot of ammunition that wouldn't chamber in anything. Both Colt's and Winchester's project managers were fired, and the 9x23mm round was assassinated on it's way to market. Or so it seemed. Competitive shooters had already flipped over the cartridge. True .357 power in a 1911 package was just too good to pass up. The 9x23 was the only "lightweight" round that could compete with the .45 for major power factor. Bob Forker puts a simple explanation to it, "Power factor is simply the bullet weight in grains times its velocity in feet per second. It really is a measure of power in the engineering sense. The 9x23 Winchester was originally developed to fill the requirement for a 175,000 power factor (PF) in a semi-automatic pistol." You can read more of Bob's article in the May issue of Guns and Ammo. No other lightweight load had ever produced comparable results. The 9x23 Largo, .38 Comp, and .38 Super never made SAAMI specs. To put it bluntly, the 9x23 Winchester is a far superior round in every sense. We've loaded them well over the 175 PF, and have been able to push a 147gr JHP at over 2000 fps consistently.

Lots of things are important in a handgun.

What will it be used for?

Form follows function. One size rarely fits all.

Competition? Target, Action, or PPC?

Self defense? Civilian concealed carry or uniformed open duty carry?

In 2004 the US DHS (Dept of Homeland Security) tested the usual suspects (HK, SIG, Glock, Beretta, S&W, and SA). Tested for accuracy, reliability, durability, safety, hot, cold, dust/sand, etc. The only guns to pass all the tests and offered contracts were the HKs (USP comact, P2000, P2000SK) and SIGs (P226, P229, P239) in 9x19, 40 S&W, and 357SIG. Guns that have done well in tests w other agencies had a bad day?

The 45 ACP was not tested as it is not used by DHS.

The US military will be testing 45s for the CP (Combat Pistol) contract later this year. Best bets in a 45 are a good 1911 or HK.

I still have a few 357 Mag revolvers that I often carry when I am not carrying my HK P2000 (40). You can shoot anything from light 38 target loads to heavy Magnun loads in them. A 357 Mag w a heavy JHP is my trail gun when I am in the boonies and a rifle/shotgun is impractical.