Why do you Limit Yourself?

[Plink]

Part of the reason I prefer a .45. It's effective while still being a low pressure round. Anyone who has ever had to touch off a round in an enclosed area knows why I prefer a low pressure round.

 

[BlindJustice]

I'll choose to ignore your inflammatory fling of poo at
esperienced shootists who know thier limits and a quick
response with control for a second shot....

to you the clueless....

and a traveller of THe Low Road...

Randall \

 

[HM2PAC]

MCgunner wrote:

The idea of carrying a suppressed firearm strikes me as about as brilliant as carrying a .454 Casull. Wow, would a jury have fun with that one or WHAT? ROFL Besides, with a suppressor on the gun, it'll make you look like you're on some sort of supercharged Viagra. You'll have to walk stiff legged. Might attract the girls, who knows?

I never said I would carry a suppressed weapon for personal protection. Bleachcola hit my reasoning on the head.

My hearing isn't so great anymore. In fact as I write this my left ear is ringing.I wear double protection at the range, and have for years. This hunting season I will also be sporting Peltors in the duckblind.

 

[CajunBass]

I expect that most of y'all know these things, and still continue to carry your comparatively 'underpowered' cartridges. A more powerful cartridge doesn't always require a major change in platform.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[moooose102]

the idea that you need something that powerful for presonal defense against humans id rediculous. the 40 s&w, and 45 acp are proven mann stoppers. anything more is not practical. try shooting that monster at night once. you had better kill the bg on the first shot, and hope he doesnt have freinds, because you wont see again for at least 20 seconds. that is a lot of time to be ducking bullets the other guy is slinging at you.

 

[WVMountainBoy]

I think the motto "use enough gun" is appropriate here. I don't use a .300 ultra mag for white tail. Why would I use a .480 for a bad guy. I vary in carry guns depending on the clothing that is comfortable that day (I'm wearing a 1911 at the moment) .45 is about the max I can reliably land follow shots with. I can double tap with a .44 mag, but the rounds are six inches apart as opposed to my .45ACP shots being about 3. Not to mention the fear of over penetration be it through barrier or perp.

 

[mtngunr]

I just don't see the point in shooting ammo/gun combos that damage shooter and gun....the .45ACP ball round is hard enough on the gun, much less 250gr SWC's (which double slide velocity), or the .45 Super or .460 Rowland....all a heavier recoil spring will do is more efficiently try to rip the slide-stop pin out by the roots on slide return...in physics, there is no free lunch...

 

[jad0110]

I don't see it as limiting myself. Controllability and placement are the most important things.

Perfectly sums up my thoughts. I keep my S&W 686+ loaded with 38+P because I shoot 38 better than a 357 Magnum (better accuracy and quicker follow-ups).

A more powerful cartridge doesn't always require a major change in platform.

No, but for those that don't reload, it might require a major change in income!

 

[Geronimo45]

Most of you, thanks for the replies. Keep 'em coming.

For others, I need to explain what I thought was plain and obvious:
There was a question asked: why do you limit yourself? This limiting I speak of is caliber-wise.
The question was asked so as to garner answers to the question that was asked:
Why does Plink like .45? Low pressure, less noise.
Why does Jad0110 like .38s instead of .357s? Faster follow-ups.
And so on.

 

[orionengnr]

1911 guys, there exist conversion kits for .460 Rowland - which, AFAIK, does not reduce capacity. You can shoot a larger bullet faster than .45 ACP.

Well, I already have a .45 Super. Kind of expensive to feed it, though, so it doesn't get much exercise. I'd imagine the .460 would be (much) more of the same.

I think the motto "use enough gun" is appropriate here.

Very astute observation. The quote is not "Use way too much gun..."

 

[1911 guy]

Sure, I could get a .460 Rowland conversion. I could also trade in my Cobalt for a Corvette.

The 'vette won't get me to work any better or faster (at least without speeding tickets) and a .460 won't put holes in things much better, either. If I really need the improvement, I'll get my own jet-pack and a bolt rifle.

In the spirit the question was asked, my answer will be: The .45acp is enough gun for the money and time I think is needed in a CCW gun. It's "enough gun" and I don't see the real need for more. If I had a different application for my handguns, I might feel differently.

 

[brickeyee]

'You can't miss fast enough to win a gun fight.'

Shot placement and the ability to control the gun for follow up shots are far more important than having the biggest and baddest.

 

[Eric F]

Whats the point here?

Is the op asking why dont we carry the maximum caliber the gun can carry? Thats what I get out of this.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

To quote Harry Callahan, "because I hit what I aim at."

And I use the 1911 because, like Harry, I'm a dinosaur.

In fact, a Velociraptor. Small and fast.

 

[LawofThirds]

Y'all are missing the point. See, you're all thinking calibre. I'm thinking flamethrower or howitzer.

Whaddaya mean it's not concealable.

*serious*
Part of concealed carry is thinking about the legal ramifications and there have been cases of people in pretty justifiable situations who were attacked for having "too much gun" for self defense. Some of them even lost their cases.

 

[Eric F]

I am not certian about revolvers but a 1911 is a very versital platform for calibers do you prefer big and fast medium and super fast or small and warp speed? The 1911 has been made in something like 47 diffrent calibers from 50gi to 224boz(ok 22 short is really the smallest I think) and every velocity and size inbetween. I myself shoot 38super and my carry load is 130gr at 1450FPS, there is not a lot that that wont kill or knock out of a fight. There are many other guns that are versital too glock eaa tz ect ect.

So whats the point of this thread?

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I suppose I could carry a 44 mag or a 500, but the shock and awe of full house 357 loads from the business end is pretty impressive to an aggressor. It sounds particularly different than a 9mm pistol.

And, the full house magnums will punch through most human bodies cleanly, which is really all you can ask of a handgun cartridge as far as penetration.

It's not a death ray, but it is a good compromise between power and follow up shot capability.

I do like larger calibers like 45 long colt. But, I don't mind the trade off that 357 mag gives me.

 

[jonboynumba1]

Bigger is not always better...especially in recoil and shot recovery times for deffensive guns. Now as far as .460 Rowland in a 1911 I just happen to have shot a 205# buck with one the day after thanksgiving last year...and yup...it does turn the 1911 into a very viable hunting platform! My G22 with a bbl or bbl and mag swap can shoot .40,.357 sig, 9mm or .22LR with an AA .22 kit. That is prety hard to beat as well. But if one has a .45 pistol or revolver and wants to "magnumize" it I highly reccomend Clarkcustom's stuff.



This was the 185gr nosler load at 1550 FPS (have not chronoed it but trust me it's SMOKIN hot. It expanded fully in the neck (I was afraid it would blow-up on the shoulder when the buck stepped out..I was planning on taking a doe with it!) There was a 7 mag laying on the ground beside me...never needed it though...you could have run a garden-hose through the wound...bullet recovered farside under skin after disentegrating the spine and everything around it....recovered weight was around 120-130gr best I can recall...but I lost a few petals of jacket...it expanded fully to the base like a magazine add....it was about a 20 yard shot....I would have preffered the discontinued 230gr load at 1350-ish but this is what I had onhand when I decided to hunt with it. You can use standard mags and even dies...the brass isn't too expensive. I'm working up a 230gr XTP load for it for this fall. I'm also going to take a doe or two with my G22 and at least one if not two different factory loads to compare them. There is a 629 6" that of course makes more sense but that's wouldn't be as fun somehow...also thinking of trying corbons 124gr DPX .357 sig load on one...my 7 mag may get bored this fall/winter

FWIW I believe the heavier bullet would have penetrated fully...though I enjoyed getting the bullet back...I trust heavier bullets better...I was really scared the bullet would fragment but it held together quite well for being pushed so hard. It's a handfull even with a 20-something pound spring in place (I wanna say 24# without looking?) NOT anything I'd want for deffense....I'll take standard 230gr JHP any day...I don't even like them on the hot side of standard presure (I like controllable better) One reason I like the G22 .40 GLOCK is it feels (in recoil) similar to my loads in a .45 1911 even though it's lighter (I found the G21 a little harsher with same loads) I've been shooting GLOCK and 1911's so long either is comfortable to me and the feel of the G22 is similar under recoil to the loads I shoot in the heavier 5" 1911's....while offering twice the capacity and a lighter gun that won't rust and I care even less about beating up each day at work...plus as much as I like 1911's they are by no means as reliable as any of the 6-7 GLOCk pistols I've owned.

 

[Fumbler]

Hmm...personal limits on handguns.

My woods sidearm while hunting with long guns is a Sig 228 in 9mm.
Why 9mm? Because that's what I shoot best. It doesn't have to do with the cartridge, I can handle the recoil, it's because I shoot the Sig platform well. It's a 9mm because I got a good deal on it.
For this type of sidearm I would still limit myself to the common law enforcement calibers due to controllability.

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger.
Why did I stop at 480 instead of getting a 454, 460, or 500?
Because you reach a point where more power doesn't matter.
A big hole in the side of a game animal is a big hole in the side of a game animal. Whether a 480 or a 500 made that hole just doesn't matter much.

 

[gregormeister]

Defensive handgun shooting breakdown of active ingredients

33% shot placement

33% shot placement

33% shot placement

1% caliber

A 32acp to the heart is going to be a good deal more effective than a 45 in the appendix.



AMEN KROCHUS

 

[SimpleIsGood229]

Another amen! to Krochus!

The 9 is fine for me.

 

[BigBlock]

I would hardly call some of those rounds you listed "underpowered". A .357 will kill anything on 2 legs, and most things with 4 or more legs. My current SD gun is a .44 Magnum, and it is nice to know I can blow someone's head off with one shot. It's also huge, expensive to shoot, and not something I ever want to fire in my house. For that reason, I'm looking for a good .357, which will still stop everything the .44 will except maybe elephants.

 

[Muddflap]

I think this thread's a hoot. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe I missed something, or the heat is starting to get me, but usually it's the 9mm guys trying to defend their choice because the .45 guys called their guns wimpy. If you read some of the posts, it looks like the guys with the big guns don't like the size of their caliber questioned.

 

[BlindJustice]

I just got my first box of Double Tap .45 ACP
200 gr. Speer Gold Dot JHP @ 1,125 FPS on the
edge of going supersonic. I shot some of them as
well as the CCI/Speer 230 gr. Gold Dot JHP +P - I'd
say the DT 200 gr. is a little less muzzle flash, and
recoil recovery the same if anything. Ideal HD/SD cartridge
that you can also find a lot of good HD/SD ammo off the
shelf almost anywhere.

I also have a .400 CorBon barrel for a 1911 - I have two
loades in stock.
155 gr. Speer Gold DOt JHP @ 1,400 FPS
& 155 gr. Hornady XTP JHP @ 1,350 FPS

if one would want a flatter shooting pistol past
50 yards. and it's the same pressure level as .45 ACP +P.

How is that limiting?

R-

 

[kcshooter]

I think this is the first time I've read someone saying a .45auto isn't enough gun, and to consider a more powerful caliber.

Had to happen somedoay I guess. Glad I was here to get a chuckle out of it.