Regarding Caliber Wars...

My caliber wars haiku,,,

Nine millimeter
A wimpy round it is not
Shot placement is king.​

Aarond

.

Whether you use 9, 40, or 45 matters not,

All that matters is where you place that shot.

It is a poor craftsman who blames his tool,

So practice or you will be that fool.

click clack said:

"Shot placement is king, Capacity is queen, Caliber is a lowly jester"

Recently heard that and loved it.. Also, I now have a signature!

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I presume you carry a PMR-30 in .22 magnum, then?

David E said:

I presume you carry a PMR-30 in .22 magnum, then?

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Good point, but i'm not sure he was talking about rimfire ammo. Then again I don't know he wasn't either so I'll shut up now.

for war

Tis true. But as long as you are hitting a target where it should be hit, you might as well put as big a hole in it as you can.

38 special or 454 on a charging Grizzly, or an assailant with body armor? There are exceptions to every rule.

When asked what ammo to use I always say, the best bullet in the world will do you no good unless you make good hits.

I guess that could also fit for caliber wars too.
A bigger bullet will do you no good unless you hit what you aim at.
Or, a faster bullet will do you no good unless you hit what you aim at.

I use a 40 because I like my 40's.
If I had a couple of 9's I'd like em too.
If I had some 45's, That would be cool too.

I like what I like and I don't need any other reason.
I should start reloading though, because .40 brass is everywhere I shoot. Oceans of .40 brass.

I don't agree entirely. No one is saying that you shouldn't get the very best hits you can, but in reality, you are doing well to get hits at all. (Look at police shooting data.)

I quit worrying about capacity. I used to carry big polymer lead PEZ dispensers, and I just decided that if I can't do the job with the 8+1 in my 1911, it's unlikely that 9 more in a Glock will save me either.

I do agree that caliber is not nearly as important as it used to be. With modern premium JHP bullets, there is very little difference in real world performance between service cartridges.

I quit worrying about capacity. I used to carry big polymer lead PEZ dispensers, and I just decided that if I can't do the job with the 8+1 in my 1911, it's unlikely that 9 more in a Glock will save me either.

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Exactly. It seems that today's shooters are all wrapped up in how many shots their gun can hold, rather than whether they can hit what their aiming at.

Learn how to shoot accurately and you won't need fifteen shots, one or two will do the job. Of course a hit with a smaller caliber may not incapacitate an attacker as readily as a hit with a large caliber will. But a miss will do nothing at all.

That depends on the definition of "smaller caliber". If I am carrying anything 9 or bigger (to include good loads of .380,) I don't anticipate much difference between them.

"Shot placement is king, Capacity is queen, Caliber is a lowly jester"

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The king is impotent without trajectory and penetration.

The thing that bothers me about shot placement is that a lot of people seem to use it interchangeably with a lucky shot. Sure a 22LR that manages to sever an important artery can kill someone, but it's not like that was what they were aiming for.

I agree with Deckard. Under the stresses and exigencies of combat, shot placement may be an unobtainable thing. You take what you can get, and peripheral hits with bigger slugs are likely to be more disabling than peripheral hits with smaller ones.

A .40 or .45 at center mass will do the trick. It most cases a 9mm or .380 will too. I just don't like being in the "exception" category.

No. There is no guarantee that ANY bullet will EVER do a given thing to a given target. Only degrees of likelihood.

...and awareness is wilds.

"Placement is Power" Stephen Camp


However I would personally go with the caveat .38 special and up.

Regarding Caliber Wars...
"Shot placement is king, Capacity is queen, Caliber is a lowly jester"

Recently heard that and loved it.. Also, I now have a signature!

Click to expand...

Yep. 9mm disciples love quotes like that to validate their choice of a lesser caliber. I use 9mm, but I'm realistic and honest in the reasons why and effectiveness is not at the top of that list.

^
So you use it because it's just so cute?

So you use it [9mm] because it's just so cute?

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Cost
Capacity
Control (of recoil)
Carry (gun size/weight)

IMO most choose 9mm for the above reasons then up dream up ways it's "equally effective" to feel good about it. How well matters more than with what, but given identical POI 9mm HP is not the "most effective" and never can or will be apple vs. apple. 9mm is plenty good enough to get most jobs done.

mljdeckard said:

I quit worrying about capacity. I used to carry big polymer lead PEZ dispensers, and I just decided that if I can't do the job with the 8+1 in my 1911, it's unlikely that 9 more in a Glock will save me either.

Click to expand...

Very well put. With your permission I would like to add the phrase "big polymer lead PEZ dispensers" to my firearm lexicon.