Caliber Wars and Pointless Statements

There are men whove died from BB pistols and men whove survived hits from 16" naval guns.

It's all angels dancing on the ends of pins.

WrongHanded said:

"All handguns are weak compared to rifles."

"Shot placement is the most important thing."

These are the two most overused comments I see when the topic of handgun cartridge comparisons come up (as it so frequently does). Are these not blatantly obvious and therefore pointless statements to make?

Feel free to add more if you think of any.

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Well, as a .500 Magnum owner, I'll note that the first statement is not entirely true...

And I will go ahead and add to the list with "Five (or insert your own number - any number!) shots may not be enough."

In discussions of mouse guns, "you'd be better off carrying a sharp stick (or rock)" and "all you'll do is piss him off."

"If I'm just going to the corner store for milk, I just drop my (Pipsqueak) into my pocket."

"Stopping power ..."

"Do you want to be shot with a 22LR? ..."

"If they improved 9mm bullet design over the decades, 40S&W and 45ACP bullets must have improved too ..."

"Forty Short and Weak ..."

"Handgun is only good to fight your way to a rifle ..."

But that's so true, even to a Pistol Caliber Carbine with 30+ rounds ...

BTW, a good video of "Stopping power" not working

You guys keep it up and we're not going to have anything left to talk about.

"You get what you pay for."

In gun forums it is OK to say it when you are dog-piling on a new Taurus owner.

NOT OK to say it when people are saying somebody should get an AR vs Mini 14.

Edited to add - neither are my sentiments, just my observations.

LiveLife said:

"Stopping power ..."

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My favorite is this notion that a proper defensive handgun should be a 'one shot stop(per)' or it's weak or useless.

JCooperfan1911 said:

.... and men who've survived hits from 16" naval guns.

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Now that's a "there I wuz" story I'd like to hear.

"Competition is useless practice for a defensive situation.''

If we get rid of all these things people discuss on handgun boards, I’ll have to move my speculation money out of popcorn futures…

Stay safe.

-nobody volunteer to get shot by it / wouldn't want to get shot by it
-good area
-feel protected
-meets my needs
-caliber war
Those are near exclusive statements to someone carrying a small gun 32/380/38snub - low odds its posted by someone carrying a 1911/Glock 19/ BHP

"...the deer will never know the difference."

Sometimes, comments are overused because they can't be stressed enough. Other times, they are just blathering.

WrongHanded said:

These are the two most overused comments I see when the topic of handgun cartridge comparisons come up (as it so frequently does). Are these not blatantly obvious and therefore pointless statements to make?

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To people like us that are old and remember Captain Kangaroo, or the Bob Newhart show they are obvious, to those turning 21 today and buying their first firearm ...sadly no.

We will continue to hear phrases like "IF I DO MY PART".

I think most of us at one time or another has made a statement to make a point that is really pointless

WisBorn said:

I think most of us at one time or another has made a statement to make a point that is really pointless

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Good point.

I think the general sentiment that some have towards handguns is simply wrong, in other words that all handguns suck, so the implication is that they all suck the same so it doesn't matter what you carry. Also in similar fashion, the mindset that a handgun is only for fighting your way back to your rifle/shotgun is silly. Maybe a valid argument for the very few that keep a long gun in their vehicle at all times, but if you can make it back to your car to fetch a long gun, it's probably best for you to just drive off unless the threat is still immediately present for that person. For most of us, a handgun is all we have while out and about. At home may be different for some, but if all you have is a handgun, it doesn't suck and thinking it does suck is a losers mindset.

I'll never trust my life to ______, I'll only carry ______.

When comparing two handgun service calibers. Come on. The difference in ballistic performance among service calibers is essentially meaningless compared to other factors. To be very clear I'm not saying all handgun calibers suck, nor am I arguing that a 25 ACP is as good as a 45 ACP, but once you hit the floor of about 9mm there's not really any meaningful difference until you move up to handgun calibers that essentially nobody carries (357 mag may qualify as an exception although I'm not sure it's particularly widely carried compared to more common duty calibers, especially in the longer barrels it needs to really stretch out).

SDGlock23 said:

For most of us, a handgun is all we have while out and about. At home may be different for some

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I agree, and I'll add that even at home (where my wife and I have plenty of long guns - shotguns and rifles) my bedside gun in a 1911 .45ACP - because that's the gun I want in my hand if I have to defend myself and my wife in the house, in the middle of the night.
I'm not going to be using it to "fight my way to a rifle" either. That would be silly.

.308 Norma said:

I agree, and I'll add that even at home (where my wife and I have plenty of long guns - shotguns and rifles) my bedside gun in a 1911 .45ACP - because that's the gun I want in my hand if I have to defend myself and my wife in the house, in the middle of the night.
I'm not going to be using it to "fight my way to a rifle" either. That would be silly.

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I always have my carry gun handy. I don't really care what cartridge it is chambered in. If it's good during the day it is fine when the dogs go nuts outside.
There is one exception if I hear someone breaking into the house my little 12 gauge single shot will be grabbed from under the bed. One shot and a hell of a club!!!

"... 'cuz that's what the cops carry."

.308 Norma said:

I agree, and I'll add that even at home (where my wife and I have plenty of long guns - shotguns and rifles) my bedside gun in a 1911 .45ACP - because that's the gun I want in my hand if I have to defend myself and my wife in the house, in the middle of the night.
I'm not going to be using it to "fight my way to a rifle" either. That would be silly.

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In my case, it would be 3 feet. Well AR pistol anyway.