One Caliber?

I want to pare down my carry pistols to a single caliber, between 9mm, .40S&W, and .45acp. Which do you think is the best single caliber and why?

I'm leaning toward 9mm because of variety, price, and reliability.

 

I think your premise is faulty and instead of limiting yourself to one caliber you should spread the love. I think a three-way with the Shield Sisters, 9-40-45, would keep a man happy for a long long time. But if I had to pick just one, it would be the .40, mostly because I like the idea of adding a carbine to the mix and that .40 cartridge gets a 25-30% gain in muzzle velocity out of an 18 inch barrel.

 

I could pare down to my Glock 19 and Sig p365 for edc, but I'd have to keep my 22s.

 

Pick 2 of the 3 would be a better choice!

 

One caliber or one cartridge? 9mm covers a lot of territory and several cartridges.

 

Like Lays Potato Chips .... I have a array of calibers
And its great in times like these , Im stocked

 

I guess it just depends on your personal threat matrix.

The gun I take to walk down and get the mail after dark is vastly different than the gun I would take for dinner and a movie on the 16st Mall in downtown Denver.

 

.357 Mag. So many options for loads.

 

Caliber is bore diameter. Cartridge is 9mm Luger, 9 mm Kurtz, etc.

 

They will all work. I have more 9MM carry guns than .40 & .45 combined.....but I’m keeping at least one of each

 

Does it matter if everyone understands the message and intent?

 

Guess I just prefer precision. Old habit from testifying.

 

If you have no personal preference between the calibers listed in the post the 9mm is definitely the best one for the reasons you mention in the OP. I like 45 ACP but if I was forced to one caliber only and self defense was the intent I would have a very hard time not going for the 9mm.

 

I think you’ve made a good choice if you’ve decided to pare it to one.

9mm carry pistols can run the gamut from subcompact to duty-sized and retain sufficient rounds on board, control-ability and effectiveness to keep a shooter confident in their chosen guns as they age. Good self defense rounds can be had for micro pistols that won’t beat a shooter up, plus one could go for +p “duty” rounds with larger framed pistols and still not suffer from a lot of recoil.

With larger, heavier recoiling calibers one does gain additional foot-pounds of energy with the trade off being greater recoil and/or fewer additional shots. (Not to mention the very real possibility one may practice less with a gun that’s not comfortable to shoot.)

I’m down to primarily 9mm EDC guns now for myself, though I could go up or down the cartridge spectrum if I chose.

Whatever you select, obtain training and practice with it (or them) until you are confident in your choice(s) of gun/caliber and yourself.

Stay safe.

 

.40

I'll take the more powerful round every time. I have doors and windows here.

And there's zero reason to do this. A case of 9, really isn't much smaller than a case of 40. It's not like you're planning logistics for an FBI sausage party.

 

if i had to go to one ccw caliber, (or cartridge) it would be 9mm...no,...45acp......wait..?

 

For 20 years I have hated the .40, but I am now carrying it as a happy medium because 9 doesn't have a lot of energy, and 45 doesn't have a lot of capacity. Now that I think about it, I started liking the 40 just after I got my first 10mm.

If you carry only little guns, go 9mm. If you carry a fighting size pistol go 40.

 

Seriously, at a time like this where if you want to buy ammo your choice is whatever the store has in stock which may not be a caliber you have and you want to intentionally restrict yourself to just one caliber?

Dude, unless you need the money just keep the guns.

 

I love variety in both my handguns and the cartridges they're chambered in. Having said that if I were paring down to one centerfire cartridge it would be the 9x19 mm; provided of course I can keep all of my .22s!

 

Good idea.

Any one of the three is sufficient.

I recently decided to pare down, myself. I personally chose 9x19 because I shoot that better than the 45s that I just recently gave to my son; he shoots them well, and he needs them much more than I do. I also pared down to just the Glock 17 (have several) because I really don't want to deal with keeping "current" on varying platforms.

 

OP did not specify what the pistols are and that might impact the choice, lets entertain some possibilities.

Possibility 1
9mm - Wilson Combat
40 - Bond Arms
45- Hi Point

Possibility 2
9mm - Kel-Tec
40 - Glock
45 - Bond Arms

Possibility 3
9mm - Bond Arms
40 - Hi Point
45 - Dan Wesson

There are three different possibilities and they would likely result in 9mm/40/45 being selected.
I like options and have pistols in 9mm/40/45/357Sig/10mm which I'm not paring down.

 

I'm a wheel gun guy so for me .357 mag is the obvious choice. Its hard to find a more versatile round.

 

I read the op as paring carry guns, as in I have 12 guns, but only want to carry guns in one cartridge. I did not take this to mean "I am only keeping 1 caliber and selling the rest." I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but it would be foolish to only own 1 caliber as some here are suggesting. If one chose 9mm, it could always change with experience, ammo availability, etc.

 

With the massive surge in demand, IDK if 9mm prices are ever going to go back down because IDK if demand is ever going to come down, at least not for 4 years, maybe more.

If 9mm stays at $30-$40 a box, but .40 and .45 come back down to $15 or $20 because demand for those calibers is lower, who is going to pay double to shoot 9mm?

 

For edc the .45 for me and 9mm for the wife...That will never change around this house..