Favorite Semi Caliber and Why?

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Ive got three 9mm pistols, that should say something. Its a very popular round available in everything from light FMJ to +P+ JHP, and from what I read its the cheapest ammo on the shelf.
Capacity isnt everything. My PM9 will only hold 6+1 when I carry with the flat bottom mag, but my CZ SP-01 holds 19+1 and its definitely a handful.
 
I like the 9mm, as it's reasonably effective, cheap, and there's a plethora of choices for practice & self-defense cartridges. Granted, most 9mm semiautos hold no less than 12 rounds, but semiauto handguns in larger calibers are catching up in terms of capacity. The Springfield XD .45ACP is a good example. The 9mm Parabellum is a good choice for self-defense, especially with modern high-performance JHP & EFMJ (expanding full-metal-jacket) rounds, and the variety of 9mm semiauto handguns to choose from is probably larger than any other caliber pistol. It's still a fairly fast round, and over-penetration is a distinct hazard to be aware of.

The .40S&W is actually my second-favorite caliber for self-defense with a semiauto. The FBI switched from 10mm to the .40S&W after tests showed that the 10mm was a little too powerful. FMJ is generally a little more expensive than 9mm FMJ, while quality .40S&W JHP is usually about the same as 9mm JHP.

10mm would be my next preferred semiauto cartridge, and it's been gaining popularity, with guys like Ted Nugent choosing 10mm as their favorite. And IIRC, some police-departments allow it as an optional caliber for officers. It's a very powerful cartridge, and I'd be careful when using it for self-defense due to over-penetration. Expensive too, not something I could afford to practice with like I do with my 9mm.

I do like the .45ACP, but JHPs can suffer from a lack of penetration & expansion when shot out of short barrels. Still, it's not meant to be a light-speed round, and it's one of the few calibers that FMJ performs well with in a self-defense role. .45ACP is kinda pricey compared to 9mm & .40S&W.

I don't know much about the .357 Sig, and I'm not a big fan of the .380 as a primary carry caliber.

But my all-time favorite semiauto self-defense cartridge is the 9x23mm Winchester. I guess it's considered to be an "exotic" caliber, it's kinda hard to find commercially and is expensive, but it has .357 Mag performance in a 9mm package.
 
9mm

1. cost

2. capacity

3. recoil

4. with current bullet advances such as +P Gold Dots, I don't feel the need for .45

5. great compact/ subcompact sized round.
 
9mm Luger. I have six handguns in this caliber and have (obviously) standardized it for my defensive handguns. It is at least adequate in power with good JHP loads, still affordable to shoot regularly and often, some very nice guns are made for it, you can fit a lot of them into large guns, and it has light recoil in small guns.

I want to like .45 ACP, but guns made for it are usually bigger and more costly, as well as the ammo itself - some 60% higher than 9mm.
 
This is a hard thing to answer. I guess I have to say 9mm like most everybody else, due to cost and it is a fairly effective round. However, the answer really depends on your definition of favorite. My favorite for general shooting is my 9mm, defence is my .45acp, hunting is my .357mag.
 
22lr and 40S&W.
22lr because it is affordable and fairly capable.
40S&W because my P229 won't eat 9mm or 45acp.
 
.45acp and .22lr for me too.

The .22 is cool for low cost plinking and small game and .45acp is a proven low recoil accurate SD round.

I cast a 230g TC for my acp and I don't worry about penetration at 850fps - it will. That and the fact that I can keep 'em in the 9 ring at 15 yards rapid fire.

9mm doesn't float my boat, but plenty of people like it and you can't argue with its success.
 
I have a hard time choosing between 9mm and .45acp.

9mm - easier to control, higher capacity, cheaper ammo

.45acp - the classic American auto cartridge, lays the smack down very well


Both have been effective killers for about a century.
 
.357 Sig

I really enjoy the .357 Sig myself. I am new to this caliber but am really enjoying the way it shoots. It does have a little kick. Sometimes more than 40. It is expensive but I love it anyway. :D

115 gr JHP 1,550 ft/s 614 ft·lbf

125 gr JHP 1,450 ft/s 584 ft·lbf

147 gr JHP 1,250 ft/s 510 ft·lbf

It moves!
 
.22lr
9mm
.40 S&W
.45 ACP

In that order.

.22 because it is so darn cheap and easy to shoot.

9mm because it is the least expensive centerfire and has sufficient power and loads of capacity.

.40 S&W because it is a nice compromise of power and capacity and popular (aka available and cheap.)

.45 ACP because it is a classic that punches a BIG hole.
 
.45 because it's very reloading friendly. Fair consistency among the various brands of cases and works very well with the commercial cast bullets. Also, my 45s are more accurate than the 9mms I've shot-though there are some nines that would reverse this.

If I were not a reloader, it might be 9mm. The cost for generic ball practice ammunition is significantly less than 45
 
9mm parabellum here. .380 auto will always have a special place in my heart because that's the cartridge I learned how to shoot with.
 
For SD/HD:
I like the 9mm, as it's reasonably effective, cheap, and there's a plethora of choices for practice & self-defense cartridges.
Click to expand...
Also the recoil makes it accessible to anyone in the household, and newer pistols have better capacity in 9mm.

For shooting at the range:
.22lr - cheap, low recoil, cheap, reasonably accurate, cheap, and accessible to newer shooters.
 
.45 ACP. Back when I was in the service, that's what we used, and that's what I learned on. It was designed in 1904, so it has over a century of real world use behind it and it has been a reliable round.

.380 for actual carry due to concealibility.

.22 Just plain fun and cheap.
 
.45 ACP in my 1911 - It's what I carried 30+ years ago in the
USN, and just imprinted into the lizard brain. For HD/SD most
loades are sub-sonic, recoil management is good for a big bore.
ALso, S&W has been making various models in .45 ACP on their
large N-frame for about 90 years - very pleasant to shoot with the
full moon clips or the rimmed .45 Auto RIm cartridge & big 250+ gr.
SWCs at 900+FPS

9MM Parabellum, aka 9MM Luger or just 9x19 - in my younger
days I rejected it but I icked up a CZ 75B a few months ago, for a
more economical range gun, and with the improvements in Jacketed
Hollow points over the last two decades, high cap. mags,(16 with the
75B ) it offers a good backup for HD/SD to my 1911.

.22 LR - I need to get the .22 LR Conversion kit for the
CZ 75B - the first handgun I had use of for a couple of
years was a Hi-Standard Dura-Matic .22 LR Semi-AUto great
plinker.

I have yet to fire a .40 S&W but it seems to offer the
compromise in terms of mag. capacity and bullet weight/bore
size tween the 9MM and .45 ACP.

10MM Auto - I think the only platform that draws me to this
cartridge would be the S&W 610 N-frame that can fire the
10MM auto or .40 S&W both requiring full moon clips.

.400 CorBon - .45 ACP necked down to .40 - it is close
ballistically to the 10MM AUto up to 155-165 gr. bullet
weights then with heavier bullets the 10MM Auto leaves it
in the dust, and with it's short bottleneck it's best imo to
not go to greater than 165 gr. bullets. It is a simple barrel
swap with perhaps a higher lb. recoil spring, using the same
mags as .45 ACP. It has feeding issues with a double stack
magazine so no gain mag capacity but breater velocity than
the .40 S&W.

.357 SIg. - It certainly boosts 9mm bullets to greater velocity
but I wonder how many of those jHPs are engineered for those velocities.
and it's like the .400 CB, limited to lower bullet weights for it's bore.

.380 Auto or 9MM Kurz (short) aka 9x17 - pricey ammo because it's
not a popular cartridge in the U.S.A. and 9MMx19 platforms are offered in like sizes today

.380 Makarov aka 9x18 - seems more attractive than the .38 ACP

Randall
 
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