If you had only one shot to defend yourself and had to choose between these calibers,

If you had only one shot to defend yourself and had to choose between these calibers,

  • 9mm

    Votes: 22 3.8%

  • .40S&W

    Votes: 26 4.5%

  • .45acp

    Votes: 261 45.2%

  • .38spl

    Votes: 1 0.2%

  • .357 mag

    Votes: 257 44.5%

  • .380

    Votes: 2 0.3%

  • .45 GAP

    Votes: 7 1.2%

  • 9x18 Mak

    Votes: 2 0.3%
  • Total voters
    578
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I had an episode once to where my partner and I were were going in a small enclosed glass waiting area as a very large man with just bib overhauls was coming out. My partner who was about 230 lbs started verbaly tearing into this guy. He looked like a midget beside ole bib. What I didn't know was ole bib had been hittiin on my partners wife. Anyway my partner was passin out checks I knew both of us couldn't cash. It all worked out for the good and ole bib left but I can recall this one thought. I don't have enough gun for this!!! At the time I was carring a BHP in 9mm.
Jim
 
.38 special, .357 or 9mm, because those are the only calibers I own/carry.
 
Tough choice...I taught myself to shoot using a 9mm pistol so I'm very comfortable shooting it, but I have also shot ALOT of 45 acp over the years. I guess if push came to shove & I had to choose...man to man, most things being equal, I'd go 45acp
 
This poll is bias and offers no insight into anything. Most people will use the most powerful caliber or most familiar one listed. The question shouldnt be "if you had one shot.." it should be "if you had to defend yourself". This will make the people think about ammo capacity, the defeat capability of each caliber, and the chances of a follow up shot based on recoil. If it were me, most of these calibers id be fine with except for the .380 and .357 and i dont remember the others. Id be fine with a .45, a .40, and a 9 or 10mm mainly because the recoil in a weapon small enough to carry is controllable to fire accurate shots and a follow up shots. The .380 was the first pistol caliber i ever shot so i have a soft spot for it. But i wouldnt feel confident with it in a gunbattle because chances are id be outpowered. The .357 is an excellent caliber if you hit what you are shooting at due to the recoil in the smaller framed guns id most likely be carrying the recoil would be manageable but not enough to reliably shoot tight double taps or have a superior ammo capacity.
 
Out to 7 yards I'd take any of them. For me it's all about the gun,how I'm carrying it (Hip=good. Ankle = bad) and how fast I can get it on target. As many have said before, caliber is second to shot placement.

If I only have 1 round and there are 2 bad guys, I will run! The first one to catch me dies!!
 
I'd be far, FAR more concerned with the gun than the chambering.

Caliber means absolutely nothing unless you have a platform that can deliver it accurately.
 
Assuming all are shot in the same place at the same distance...I trust the tried and proven 45ACP with the 357Mag as a close, very close second.
 
The load can be any factory load that you can buy, no crazy handloads with twice the recomended powder!
Click to expand...

How about handloads that aren't crazy?? Either way, I'd take either my Delta Elite 10mm with DoubleTaps or a 1911 45 acp

I would take the .357 Mag because of the speed and in a JHP, I trust that it will expand
Click to expand...
A .357 might expand but a .45 won't shrink
 
I chose the .45acp, only because you did not list my favorite caliber. I have used a .41mag for just about everything. Hunting, target shooting, bowling pin competition and a carry weapon. Since there is no .41mag semi-auto (other than the humongus Desert Eagle) I choose my next favorite 1911 in .45acp for protection. Third is my .357mag revolver.
 
I chose .45 acp.

When the slide locks to the rear, you've got a handy stabbing device to jam into their eyeball and an excellent club for more followup attention if needed.
 
I picked the .357 magnum because it's the best one shot stopper (if there is such a thing in handgun calibers) on your list and I shoot it well. I'd choose the 125 graind JHP at approx. 1400 fps. However, I'd stipulate it be fired out of a 4" or longer tube. In a snubby, you're almost as well off with a +P .38 and if the barrel is short, I'd go for a .45ACP 200 grains speer load. A .357 out of a snub loses a lot of its velocity.

Actually, I'd be hard pressed to chose between the 9, .40, .45 in their best loadings. They're all pretty good stoppers. But, the .357 magnum is the man in this crowd.
 
JMusic said:
I had an episode once to where my partner and I were were going in a small enclosed glass waiting area as a very large man with just bib overhauls was coming out. My partner who was about 230 lbs started verbaly tearing into this guy. He looked like a midget beside ole bib. What I didn't know was ole bib had been hittiin on my partners wife. Anyway my partner was passin out checks I knew both of us couldn't cash. It all worked out for the good and ole bib left but I can recall this one thought. I don't have enough gun for this!!! At the time I was carring a BHP in 9mm.
Jim
Click to expand...

Sure you did. ;)
 
Carpe Cerevisi said:
This poll is bias and offers no insight into anything. Most people will use the most powerful caliber or most familiar one listed. The question shouldnt be "if you had one shot.." it should be "if you had to defend yourself". This will make the people think about ammo capacity, the defeat capability of each caliber, and the chances of a follow up shot based on recoil. If it were me, most of these calibers id be fine with except for the .380 and .357 and i dont remember the others. Id be fine with a .45, a .40, and a 9 or 10mm mainly because the recoil in a weapon small enough to carry is controllable to fire accurate shots and a follow up shots. The .380 was the first pistol caliber i ever shot so i have a soft spot for it. But i wouldnt feel confident with it in a gunbattle because chances are id be outpowered. The .357 is an excellent caliber if you hit what you are shooting at due to the recoil in the smaller framed guns id most likely be carrying the recoil would be manageable but not enough to reliably shoot tight double taps or have a superior ammo capacity.
Click to expand...

This summation intrigues me. Particularly the bit about a compact 10mm being more controllable than a similarly sized .357 magnum. Maybe if you're shooting .40-level loads, but the full-house loads in my witness compact cause more jump than full loads in a 3" steel J-frame .357. Maybe I'm alone here but I find that, while a wheelgun recoils sharper than an auto, they tend to have less muzzle rise, hence are back on target more quickly. Exception can be made for the big boys (.454, .500, etc.).

I'm not advocating one over the other here (I carry a 10mm), but I don't see a tangible benefit in recoil recovery from an auto firing a cartridge similar in power to it's wheelgun couterpart.

The real arguement lies in capcity vs. reliability. No auto will ever be as trouble-free as a good revolver, but I have yet to see an 11-round .357 mag.
 
MachIVshooter said:
This summation intrigues me. Particularly the bit about a compact 10mm being more controllable than a similarly sized .357 magnum. Maybe if you're shooting .40-level loads, but the full-house loads in my witness compact cause more jump than full loads in a 3" steel J-frame .357. Maybe I'm alone here but I find that, while a wheelgun recoils sharper than an auto, they tend to have less muzzle rise, hence are back on target more quickly. Exception can be made for the big boys (.454, .500, etc.).

I'm not advocating one over the other here (I carry a 10mm), but I don't see a tangible benefit in recoil recovery from an auto firing a cartridge similar in power to it's wheelgun couterpart.

The real arguement lies in capcity vs. reliability. No auto will ever be as trouble-free as a good revolver, but I have yet to see an 11-round .357 mag.
Click to expand...

No, you're not alone. I can shoot the .357 quite rapidly and accurately in a STEEL frame 3". I wouldn't carry one with full house loads in a 2". What would be the point, blind the BG? My favorite 3" is the Ruger SP101 and it's one sweet shootin' revolver! I think that's my next gun, fired a friends. It's very controllable with full house 158s, let alone the 125s I'd be carrying it with in a CCW environment. I've fired big tens, but not compact ones. I have fired officer's ACPs, though and I'd rather have the SP101, personally, if the poop hit the fan. I carry revolvers and autos and feel well armed with either, but toting a 3" compact revolver like the SP would definitely put me in the lead for horsepower over all, but the 10mm.

My praise of my buddy's little SP101 probably wouldn't extend to some of the ungodly, ridiculously light weight titanium guns available in 2". I don't even know why they chamber those things for .357. I'd never fire .357s in one if I had it. I haven't had a chance to cap off a .44 mag round in one of the lighter guns, either. Can't say it's high on my to do list. :D
 
I voted for the .357, but since I recently sold mine: I'm faced with my .45's using Skeeter's favorite: Federal Match 230gr Hardball. He once remarked he couldn't settle for 99% reliability w/JHP's and he knew this never failed him.
Damn, he sure could write with conviction...Finally finished two of his books...Happy Holidays..
 
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