Just curious: what is the most effective handgun round for combat?

[Myles]

The most effective handgun round is what you are carrying at the time that SHTF. Period. Real life doesn't care what is back in the safe or closet at home.

 

[Wevil]

Another vote for the Glock 20. It has a lot going for it, other than limited ammo availability. Big and fast, fairly high capacity, recoil is on par or maybe slightly less than my 1911 .45 (probably because of the wide plastic frame), durable and reliable. As far as pistols go, this is one mean MOFO.

Myles is correct though, you won't find me carrying it very often, just a little large. If I was expecting trouble, you can bet your a$% that I will be putting it on instead of a small carry gun.

 

[Black Butte]

To the 10mm G20 that seems to be winning on this thread, I'm going to add Glock's 6" drop-in barrel to kick up the velocity.

 

[mbruce]

Just make sure in addition to your 10mm, ur also carrying a .40 conversion barrel....and a 9mm...bc that's the ammo that'll be available after u run out.

 

[Weevil]

Just make sure in addition to your 10mm, ur also carrying a .40 conversion barrel....and a 9mm...bc that's the ammo that'll be available after u run out.

Well are we talking about the most effective round for combat or the best ammo availability?


After the 10mm runs out then I'll go with a .45 until it runs out of ammo then the .40 then the 9mm etc........

But if 10mm ammo is available I'd rather have the G20 strapped to my side.


Other than ammo availibility what are the advantages of a 9mm or a .40 over a 10mm?

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Any Soldiers and/or Marines able to tell us how many rounds of pistol ammo they fired in combat while serving in any combat role? I'm thinking that any combat troop that was issued a pistol and 100 rounds at the beginning of a tour would probably have most of them at the end of a tour, unless they were consumed in practice or training. The pistol is mainly a last effort defense weapon, or as some have mentioned, to get one to his rifle, therefore, I'm assuming few handgun rounds get fired in combat. It that is true, a 10mm would be viable, even if one did not have access to lots of ammo. I'd love to here real accounts of cobat pistol use by our veteran members.

 

[killchain]

Any Soldiers and/or Marines able to tell us how many rounds of pistol ammo they fired in combat while serving in any combat role? I'm thinking that any combat troop that was issued a pistol and 100 rounds at the beginning of a tour would probably have most of them at the end of a tour, unless they were consumed in practice or training. The pistol is mainly a last effort defense weapon, or as some have mentioned, to get one to his rifle, therefore, I'm assuming few handgun rounds get fired in combat. It that is true, a 10mm would be viable, even if one did not have access to lots of ammo. I'd love to here real accounts of cobat pistol use by our veteran members.

I did two combat tours as an Infantryman in Iraq.

My total pistol round count: 0.

Honestly, the only time I carried a pistol for a specific use was the two weeks I got stuck escorting a high value target to a BDOC in Camp Victory. A week and a half of plane rides and chopper rides with a Beretta M9.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Delete

Delete. New topic.

 

[Doc1911]

Well my favorite would be the 45 ACP. However, the 'most effective' is the one the majority of said combat troops can shoot with accurately, consistently, and have plenty of ammo for, maintain, etc.

 

[mbruce]

Any civilian found in a combat role better use a weapon only as a last resort....our cool toys are nothing commpared to what the others will be armed with...

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

I'll go with BluEyes...10mm. I'd even recommend the Glock 20. If one can offer anything more effective than 15 rounds of 10mm, I'd like to know what it is.

Phased plasma pistol in the 40 watt range.

 

[orionengnr]

sure are an awful lot of immmature resonses to this thread...but that seems to be the way that THR is heading lately.

The correct answer is:
Carry a handgun chambered in the largest and most powerful cartridge that you can shoot well and repeatedly.

 

[ttheel]

230g 45acp +P loaded with either XTP's or Golddots

This would be a good choice in my opinion. I actually keep my DW VBOB packed full of Double Tap 230 gr JHP's. Big hole and plenty of energy.

 

[McCall911]

Most effective handgun round for combat?
Whichever handgun round lets me buy enough time to get back to my rifle.

 

[george d dennis]

.45 its proven in actual combat.

 

[ekgandj]

.45 its proven in actual combat.

++1

There is a reason that the military went to it and stayed with it for so long. Still would probably be there if they had not tryed to be PC with Europe and switched to the 9mm.

 

[nightal]

I think I would like to use the .045 ACP round, it has worked well for a number of years, it may be big and slow, but these folks now days still can't out run it..

 

[mbruce]

Ussain bolt can outrun a .45

 

[mbruce]

++1

There is a reason that the military went to it and stayed with it for so long. Still would probably be there if they had not tryed to be PC with Europe and switched to the 9mm.

A lot of things used by the military isn't necessarily the best but is considered optimal...at least in the past...(basing that on the many docs I watch on tv about military and past battles fought)...things may have changed now bc were so high tech.

I think the best combat pistol is your legs....you'll win a lot more battles running away then you will by firing a .45acp. Look @ Big Arn...he covered himself in mud and took out Predator with his bare hands...and that movie was based on a true story.

 

[HKGuns]

The one you hit your target with.

 

[JQP]

Go BIG or go home.





http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=178391

 

[mbruce]

hey how did you get a Glock Generation 5 before it went public...

 

[Caliper_Mi]

Other than ammo availibility what are the advantages of a 9mm or a .40 over a 10mm?

9mm will have a few more rounds in a standard magazine. Also less ammo weight (carry more rounds) and less recoil for faster follow up shots

.40 will have the same number of rounds in a mag as 10mm, so no benefit there. .40 will be slightly lighter than 10mm (less brass,less lead, less powder) so you can carry more rounds and of course slightly less recoil.

 

[Weevil]

9mm will have a few more rounds in a standard magazine. Also less ammo weight (carry more rounds) and less recoil for faster follow up shots

.40 will have the same number of rounds in a mag as 10mm, so no benefit there. .40 will be slightly lighter than 10mm (less brass,less lead, less powder) so you can carry more rounds and of course slightly less recoil.

You're not going to have that big of an advantage recoil wise with the smaller rounds.

True they have less power hence less recoil, but this would only apply if you are firing them out of the same size and weight of pistol.

10mm's are generally used in larger .45 size platforms which are larger and heavier than the 9mm size pistols that are also the basis for the .40 pistols.

Since the larger heavier 10mm/.45 are bigger and heavier than the 9mm/.40 size pistols they will absorb more of the felt-recoil of the more powerful rounds.

Plus the bigger pistols generally have longer barrels than their smaller 9mm counterparts which also helps diminish recoil.


So you really don't have that great of recoil and follow-up shot advantage with the smaller, lighter, shorter barreled 9mm/.40 platforms.



As for the weight advantage of the ammo just how many rounds do you plan on carrying for a handgun?

It's gonna take a whole lot of ammo before you notice much difference between the extra length of the case on a 10mm over that of a .40.


It's not like the huge difference between .223 and .308.

 

[wannasupra]

9mm, because we're not cleared to carry anything else as a sidearm. oh yea, and fmj's only, because the geneva convention says that jhp's are not a humane way to dispatch someone.