Would you rather have 15 round of 9mm, or 8 rounds of 45 in your carry gun

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gym

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Assuming your carry, may be different than your home defense options. This would be directed more towards a confrontation that just occurred without warning. Also if you normally carry extra mags, please put that down also.
I am curious to see if folks are drifting away from the 45 due to the cost of practice ammo.
 
Assuming I'm competent in both guns, I'd rather have more rounds. I typically carry a Glock 19 (15 rounds) or 26 (12 rounds) and carry a spare G19 mag regardless.
 
Well, I would prefer the eight rounds of .45 ACP if I'm in a situation where the bigger and heavier bullet would work better. Unless I was in a situation where I needed more ammunition, in which case I would prefer the fifteen rounds of 9mm, if that answers your question.
 
I prefer to carry the most comfortable gun for the dress at hand. My primary carry now is a S&W shield (9 or 40 whichever I grab) but also regularly carry a S&W 642..when dressing nice grab a Kimber (mainly because it is one of my cleaner guns) and when out doing yard work or just not caring who is looking grab my full size M&P 40. Almost always grab an extra mag for all cept the revolver. So for me caliber does not matter. Amount of caliber does matter some but not over comfort for the day.
 
I really don't care one way or the other. Sometimes I carry 8+1. Sometimes 19+1. Sometimes 6.*

I carry reloads regardless.




* -- [sarcasm]I figure with a .45 or .44 one shot should do it. But with a 9mm I might have to shoot him lots![/sarcasm] :D LOL!
** -- 'Course, most of the time I just carry a tape recorder with the sound of someone racking a pump shotgun, 'cause you know ... :neener:
 
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A highly qualified trauma surgeon that has written on this matter has said no police round from .38 special to .45 ACP has any real advantage over the other. It's all about hits in incapacitating areas.
 
Neither. I have never found a pistol I was comfortable carrying. I dont know why. I am not a fat guy but I have always hated tight clothes or anything real restricing.

I guess if I HAD to pick one it would be the 9mm
 
I would say the 9mm, because that's what I carry the most (Glock 19). But I have carried a G30 (10+1) and never felt any less armed than with the 19.
If I can shoot both just as well I would tend to probably carry the 9mm, but the .45 if I could not get good JHPs and if the mood for good 'ole American steel takes me (I'm assuming 1911).
I carry at least one spare mag no matter what, but normally two.
 
I'm a civilian CCW holder, and I carry the 8+1 .45 option. I like the 1911, and shoot it well, and I can carry what I like. In what I consider the 'real world" of self defense 9 rds. is plenty. If I were an LEO, and had the possibility of having to use a pistol offensively, I would want a high cap pistol. In the end, it probably won't make a difference anyway, if we stay smart, and alert, the vast majority of us will never draw a pistol in anger, and in that unlikely event the "winner" will be the one who shoots accurately, and quickly, and in that order.
 
My vote goes to the 9 em em.

Like someone else said, with modern bullets a solid hit with a 9mm will do just as much as a solid hit with a .45, and hits that aren't so solid in un-vital areas, neither can be counted on to be effective. Sure the .45 might make a bigger hole but in the critical seconds it hardly matters if they bleed out somewhat faster than a 9mm wound would make. It's all about hitting the vitals, so give me 15 rounds of 9 ANY DAY over 8 rounds of .45 if I can get away with carrying the 9.

That said, I usually carry 5 shots of .38 special +P with 5 rounds in reserve and I don't feel undergunned.
 
DeltaZulu, I believe you are quite correct! If you are smart you will carry a pistol you shoot very well, it will come down to skill over caliber every time. If most of us spent as much time practicing as we spent obsessing over a few thousands of an inch, we would likely be much better off should we ever need our dinky little pistols. The caliber wars should have ended long ago, a reliable handgun in the hands of a skilled user will suffice regardless of bore diameter.
 
DeltaZulu, I believe you are quite correct! If you are smart you will carry a pistol you shoot very well, it will come down to skill over caliber every time. If most of us spent as much time practicing as we spent obsessing over a few thousands of an inch, we would likely be much better off should we ever need our dinky little pistols. The caliber wars should have ended long ago, a reliable handgun in the hands of a skilled user will suffice regardless of bore diameter.
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Yep in a defensive situation they all serve as the starter pistol for the fatman mad dash to cover anyway.
 
When it comes to semi-autos carried in a defensive role, I much prefer 8 rounds of .45 over 17 of 9mm. The fact of the matter is that I shoot the 1911 much, much better than my polymer pistols. 8 rounds of .45 with a spare 7 rounder is the most I carry day to day.

Actually, most of the time I just carry an SP101 with another 5 rounds in a pouch on my hip.

When it comes to responding to a bump in the night, I much prefer the high cap 9mm. I don't want to fumble with extra mags and my 9mm pistol has a light on it.
 
I like single stack semi's, so 45 in this case (I'm assuming it's a full size). But if the option allowed for a single stack nine, I'd jump on it.
 
I'm taking this question as theoretical, where it is not a choice between specific, existing platforms. Rather I'm considering the question as:

If you carry a 1911, would you rather carry it as is? If there was a magical way for it to shoot 15+1 rounds of 9mm just as accurately and reliably and with the same size and weight, would you rather have that?

If you already carry a 45 that holds 13 rounds, you still have only the two options. Either you are only allowed to carry 8+1 in 45ACP, or the gun can magically hold and shoot 15+1 rounds of 9mm.

If your Glock 19 could magically shoot 8+1 45ACP, would you take it?

Well, if this includes 9mm being lower in recoil, I would take the 9mm most of the time. No matter what the platform, the 9mm will have less recoil in addition to a lot more capacity, and I don't think 45ACP is that much better at what we're talking about. Also, I would really like a magical 1911 that defies science and packs 15 rounds of 9mm. That would be way cooler than a G19 that shoots only 8 rounds of 45ACP. :)

If we're going to get really fantastical and say that you can shoot either/or in a [insert any gun of your choice] with no recoil, then I could go with 8 rounds of recoilless 45ACP in something like a Walther PPS. :) Of course, it would be even more impressive out of a little NAA revolver, but I would rather have this in a gun with a really good trigger and ergos. It would be worth a fortune! :)
 
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Bexar said:
A highly qualified trauma surgeon that has written on this matter has said no police round from .38 special to .45 ACP has any real advantage over the other. It's all about hits in incapacitating areas.
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I'm sorry but that means nothing at all to me. Unless you find 2 victims willing to stand still and be shot in the same exact spot with the same exact bullet brand your "highly qualified trauma surgeon" can not tell you anything about which cartridge does or does not have an advantage over the other.
 
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