What's your favorite handgun caliber?

[Scratchy]

.45acp but I think I need a 10mm

 

[ChCx2744]

9mm = jab
.40SW = cross hook
.45ACP = haymaker


BUT...If I had to choose...9mm

 

[lvcat2004]

Anything but a 50BMG is anemic IMHO...

 

[JeffDilla]

Being new to handguns and from my limited experience I'd say .357 mag, I loved the recoil, just felt great.

 

[Fishman777]

my favorite...

For revolvers, my favorite centerfire caliber would be .357 magnum. Since I am a revolver guy, I guess this makes it my favorite caliber.

For autoloaders, my favorite centerfire caliber would be 9 mm. It is effective with proper loads, it is easy to shoot, and it is cheap.

My favorite rimfire would be .22 lr followed closely by .22 magnum. I actually like .22 magnum better, but .22 lr is so much cheaper.

 

[Fishman777]

9mm is hardly a jab...

Any handgun caliber, even .22 lr, will shoot through walls, house/apartment doors, and even car doors. Real life isn't like hollywood and internet chatter. If someone shoots *any* bullet at you, it can easily kill you. I know, I know, the popular theory is that you need a big, slow moving bullet to transfer its energy to the target. Sounds great, but many people get killed every year with "mouse" guns.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/775042/ruger_22_pistol_vs_car_door/
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/799375/ruger_mark_iii_22_lr_vs_cantaloupe/

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/775032/hi_point_9mm_vs_car_door/
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1215101/taurus_model_99_9mm_vs_tile_with_3_inch_spacing/

 

[KiltedClaymore]

i love all of them. i like some more than others, but i like them all in the end

 

[Arcticfox]

44 special, although I think the .45 ACP or 357 are the best economical choces.

 

[Hoffy]

9x18!

$8.50 per box, not much recoil, but more than a plinker...not too big...not too small. I don't shoot 9x19, but I would probably feel the same way about that caliber if I did.

After that, I like the rest of my handgun calibers about the same for different reasons:
.45acp - gotta love the big boy
.22lr - cheap plinker
.32acp - under-rated amount of damage with less boom

 

[ChCx2744]

Fishman777

Any handgun caliber, even .22 lr, will shoot through walls, house/apartment doors, and even car doors. Real life isn't like hollywood and internet chatter. If someone shoots *any* bullet at you, it can easily kill you. I know, I know, the popular theory is that you need a big, slow moving bullet to transfer its energy to the target. Sounds great, but many people get killed every year with "mouse" guns.

I'm guessing your "implying" your comment towards me. It was a figure of speech.

All the handguns that I own are 9mm. Seems colloquialism and exaggerations can influence a person to "dignify" someone with their "analysis."

 

[texastony]

centerfire
.357 mag
.38 special
.45 acp
.44 magnum

rimfire
.22 LR
.22 Mag

 

[RobNDenver]

.45 Acp

 

[AlabamaEd]

My favorites:

357 Mag
41 Mag
45 ACP
40 S&W
45 Auto Rim

 

[TRP1]

500 Magnum

 

[LongRider]

.45 as said on another board because it will make your target do back flips and rip their arm off even if you only hit their finger tip

 

[Teapot]

7.62x25 for my Tokarevs. Cheap, fast, reliable and fun.

 

[Dimis]

if .50AE is a car wreck in a can wouldnt .500 S&W be like train wreck in a jar and if so wouldnt that .50BMG bad boy from triple action LLC be like hindenburg meets titanic with a little hiroshima in a bottle??? just food for thought

btw as of now .45ACP is my fav but i havnt shot em all yet

 

[dperk]

Had to chime in for my favorite revolver round:

.41 magnum!

Of course the auto loader would certainly be .45acp

 

[PointOneSeven]

To shoot: 380 ACP.

 

[Thunder496]

Since the first time I saw a Dirty Harry movie as a kid I wanted a 44 Magnum If I ever decide to get a Desert Eagle It will be a 44 mag not a .50. I think my Super Blackhawk, and model ‘94 are enough for now

 

[single stack]

Other calibers are fun but .22 LR is my favorite handgun caliber.

SS

 

[7.62shooter]

.45 ACP

 

[crzbiker]

What ? No Maks?

The favorite is 9mm Mak fired twelve times from a CZ82

 

[possum]

.40 s&w

 

[Marcus L.]

It's hard to pick a favorite. I don't really hunt anymore and pretty much all of my focus now days is centered around what I consider the best police/military caliber.

I think the 9mm has the best of all pertinent attributes. Such attributes include better feeding due to its tapered case and bullet profile, better barrier penetration due to its more acute nose profile(helps when impacting rounded surfaces such as the skull), and better bullet weights and sectional density in relation to other calibers for more ideal penetration. Second favorite would be the .40S&W which improves on the terminal effects of the 9mm. It has a better semi-wadcutter profile which causes more tissue cutting if the bullet does not expand, and it of course generates a larger overall wound.

It's a toss-up between the two for me. I'll use .40S&W if the pistol platform is reliable and absorbs the recoil well. It all depends on whether I can qualify just as well with a particular .40S&W pistol platform as I can with the 9mm version. If not, shot placement and speed wins out and I'll use 9mm.