Is your most carried a handgun you would prefer to defend yourself with?

bassjam said:

Just remember that gelatin and expansion tests are just that, ways to compare and contrast certain attributes but they aren't really giving you a real world concrete answer to anything. When you look at the available data out there from actual shootings and the cartridge used, .380 doesn't fare any worse in the real world than larger calibers.

https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alternate-look-handgun-stopping-power

Arguing over handguns rounds for self defense is kind of like arguing if a 10 speed road bicycle or 18 speed mountain bike is better to drag race against a Mustang GT.

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It's worth keeping in mind that study was released in, what, 2011 and recorded the previous 10 years of data, and who know how long it took to correlate after that. Bullet technology has changed pretty drastically since the 90's/early 2000's and he freely admits many of those data points are FMJ (especially in 9mm), which isn't terribly relevant since most of us choose a JHP for carry for a variety of reasons.

Still, the .380 doesn't function just the same as the other calibers are designed to, that was my point.

Edit:. The other thing Ive never been clear on that study is if it only includes gunfights , i.e. two or more combatants, or if it also includes data points from things like robberies and murders, or even quick stops from a surprise attack. The psychological stop from a surprise gunshot vs "having your back up" in an honest go goodness gunfight had to make a difference too, I would think.

It's why it's so hard to actually judge these things apart from measurable variables like penetration and expansion and their potential to reach the right parts with enough force to do their job.

If it wasn't, it wouldn't be my most carried.

I usually carry a M&P 2.0 40 compact. I know it is reliable & has decent capacity (13 + 1 in the pistol with a 15 round spare magazine).

When I wore a suit jacket for work, I could conceal just about anything.

Now retired, if it's warm, I'm wearing a t-shirt, which, on a relatively slim frame, conceals nothing.

So an LCP goes in my front pocket. Not my first choice, but it's that or not carry.

The handgun I carry most often is my agency issue GLOCK 19. Off duty, I usually carry something smaller, like my GLOCK 42.
If I had to defend myself with a handgun, I would prefer a mid size gun 9m.m. like my BERETTA 92 Compact, SIG 225 or 229 or my STOEGER 8000 ( a clone of the BERETTA 8000 Cougar). I shoot the GLOCK well enough to qualify, but shoot the other listed guns a bit better due to the extra weight and better grip ergonomics.

Jim

Ruger LC9S PRO, if I need more than 8 shots I'm already in trouble !!!...hdbiker

bassjam said:

We like to argue over handgun cartridges online, but there really isn't THAT much of a difference between a .380 acp and a .45 acp. All handgun rounds (with exceptions of the large caliber hunting rounds) are poor options for self defense compared to a rifle or shotgun.

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I don't know what you mean by "... there really isn't THAT much of a difference between a .380 acp and a .45 acp." Of course there are differences, or everyone would be carrying .380s, like you do. And no one would dispute the notion that handgun rounds compared to rifle or shotgun rounds are inferior in terms of "stopping power" but this is a handgun forum, with a thread asking about which carried handgun people trust most to defend themselves with.

Are you seriously making the argument that, for instance, a .380 acp is the equivalent to a .357 Magnum, stoked with 125 grain, hollow point bullets, in terms of the only relevant criteria in terms of self-defense, "stopping power"? Seriously?

Hugger-4641 said:

I didn't say I wasn't comfortable defending myself with my .380. The OP asked if we carried what we prefer.

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Sorry Hugger, my statement was not directed at you but at the OP that started the thread.

I carry a four inch .357 Magnum. The popular press tells us it probably is as effective as any handgun cartridge around. I suppose I believe it, but I also believe that no handgun cartridge is especially good at stopping human-sized animals. So I guess my answer is that I have confidence that my choice is as good as any, and also is not a very good choice. I will continue to go out of my way to avoid situations in which I am liable to need a gun.

I carry a 442 followed by a LCP2. I like there small size for carry and am confident with mine/there capabilities. My favorite handgun is a 686+ the extra capacity would be nice but carrying it is not as comfortable and or convenient.

I also live in Fl, so practicality of concealment is a major factor. The shield 9 is what I carry. A Glock 19 is what I would prefer.

Yes. The BHP and I go way back. It’s the pistol I have the most experience with, I can point shoot it hastily and don’t have to stop and think with it.
It conceals well enough, but that wasn’t my first consideration.

Glock 23 almost all the time I wouldn't grab a different pistol if I knew it were going down today. I used to shoot between 4 to 6 thousand rounds on that platform annually so I am familiar with it. I can actually shoot my Glock 20 on par with my Smith 686 and 629 but attribute a lot of that to the difference in triggers. I would perhaps grab a third magazine that isn't part of my edc.

Yes, and for the most part it's a Kimber UCDP in .45ACP in a Versacarry Commander, or a S&W M&P 2, 9mm in the VCC, if I simply want a little more flatness. Trust them both implicitly. Have trusted the Kimber since 2003.

I answered no. My most carried is a S&W 642. The second most often is my Shield 9mm.
If I had a crystal ball and knew the exact moment I was going to have to defend my life I'd want one of my 357s, K frame or larger, already in my hand.
Well, maybe my CZ P-01, depending on circumstances.

Is your most carried handgun one you would prefer to defend yourself with?


...in the scenarios I am most likely to encounter when carrying it, yes. It if comes to TEOTWAWKI, then I would rather have something else.

CDW4ME said:

I live in FL too, now.
I use to live in KY and typically wore a shirt like this in summer.
6'1 / 205# and concealing a Glock 21SF AIWB in pic (Glock 20SF mentioned in OP is same size)
View attachment 991293

Since moving to FL I've bought several "fishing" shirts sold locally, like this.
Thin and breathable but not as conducive to concealment as plaid button up.
View attachment 991294

My chest is a bit larger than my waist, so the shirt is not "clingy" at the waist.
I can conceal Glock 23/32 either AIWB or strong side IWB without obvious bulge.

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I'm 5'6" in the neighborhood of 170. Not a "full figured man" by any stretch.

I mean if keeping in the realm of handguns absolutely. The reality is if given the choice I want a rifle or shotgun........and friends with rifles and shotguns.

For the purpose of this poll yes.

SwampWolf said:

I don't know what you mean by "... there really isn't THAT much of a difference between a .380 acp and a .45 acp." Of course there are differences, or everyone would be carrying .380s, like you do. And no one would dispute the notion that handgun rounds compared to rifle or shotgun rounds are inferior in terms of "stopping power" but this is a handgun forum, with a thread asking about which carried handgun people trust most to defend themselves with.

Are you seriously making the argument that, for instance, a .380 acp is the equivalent to a .357 Magnum, stoked with 125 grain, hollow point bullets, in terms of the only relevant criteria in terms of self-defense, "stopping power"? Seriously?

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https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alternate-look-handgun-stopping-power

No. I can be very close to “Yes,” but not quite there.

If printing unacceptably, with favored summer shirts, is a determining factor, all double-column-mag Glocks are out, and, a full-sized 1911, with a anything larger than a GI grip safety, is really pushing it. Larger-profile sights, which are better for my aging eyes, complicate concealment. I can conceal a full-length grip. Width, and rearward-protruding, squared-off slides, necessary to contain the striker mechanism, can require more than a shirt, for me feel that I am really concealing the weapon. I believe that there is a difference between casual concealment, the true concealment. When I carried a handgun, for official purposes, I could be casual about concealment. Since retiring from LEO-ing, I have already had one uncomfortable moment, when a manager, at a gun-free facility, was gazing at my right hip hip area. I quickly concluded my business, with what I hoped to be a confident poker face, and got outta there.

I no longer trust my aging right hand/arm/shoulder to always provide the most-stable platform, for reliable functioning of all autoloading pistols. Continuing to carry at my most-accustomed carry position, 0200-0300, means toting a revolver. I really do like my revolvers, so that is not a problem. Continuity of fire is an advantage offered by autoloaders, that use detachable magazines. Most defensive scenarios can be survived, with the amount of ammunition available in a revolver’s cylinder. Most. Yes, of course, continuity of fire can be achieved by carrying secondary and tertiary guns, but the original question was which handgun, not which handguns.

I do still have one of my older duty pistols, a SIG P229R DAK. The slide protrudes less, to the rear, than does a Glock slide, and the slide is more rounded at the edges and corners. The hammer is spurless. Even though it is a wide-body pistol, I can conceal it, to my satisfaction, under a shirt. I used to have non-railed P229 DAK pistols, which I regularly toted concealed, during personal time. My only concealment holster, to fit this P229R, however, is right-handed, and, I know that I can numb-thumb/limp-wrist a malfunction with it, if my aging right hand is having a bad day. Plus, after I retired this this weapon, from street duty, my non-railed SIGs were sold-off, and several of my magazines, and virtually all of my .40 ammo, were re-homed, with LE colleagues, as I transitioned to 9mm Glocks for duty, and much personal carry. I recently found enough properly-stored .40 Gold Dots to load one P229 magazine. I also recently managed to find, and order, my three-box limit of fresh .40 S&W ammo from Midway USA. This simply restores this weapon’s status as a left-handed home-defense weapon. If I obtain a lefty holster, that nicely rounded-off slide is not the easiest thing for my gimpy right hand to grasp. So, this pistol does not enable me to reply with a “yes,” to the question posed in the original post.

An optic mount, with a closed-emitter optic, and iron sights, together, on one reasonably concealable weapon, with detachable-magazine reloading, for continuity of fire, is achieved, for now, with an autoloading handgun that I own, but am not (yet) carrying, as the panic-demic interrupted my vetting of this combo. The accessory rail accommodates a Surefire X300U. The optic can serve as an extended slide racker, in case my aging right hand, particularly my right thumb, is having a bad day. (Remember the part about my not trusting my right hand to provide a stable platform, for reliable autoloader functioning.) This could be the one handgun that I have, that provides me with the most options, for the greatest number of foreseeable defensive scenarios. It is a Glock G19x, with a custom-milled G45 slide, with an Aimpoint ACRO P-1, and iron sights. Obviously, I won’t be truly hiding this, successfully, under a “favored summer shirt,” or even under my favored sport coat. This one may well become more of a “bag gun,” or situational “dress-around-it” gun.

So, back to the original question. I do, normally, carry a revolver, with a grip long enough to firmly reach the “heel bone” of my weapon hand. Long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill, and my most-highly-developed handgunning skill. My revolvers point very well, in my hands, so even if the conditions do not favor my aging eyes, I will probably be OK. I could have answered “Yes,” and not been lying. Continuity of fires does favor autos, of course, so, it would have been a conditional “Yes.”

I carry a Grand Power P1 most of the time, I like the way it feels and shoots, it is my favorite handgun I currently own. I do have to say, though, when working I carry a NAA Black Widow in a little DeSantis pocket holster. I work with dogs, with the way they are all over me, a little pocket pistol is all I can really carry.