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

[Teachu2]

Here in sunny California, 10+1 is effectively the limit. I often carry a G26 (11x9mm) or a G30 (11x45acp) but have been known to carry a Shield (8x9mm), a G36 (7x45acp) or a 1911 (8-9x45acp). Sometimes a .38 Airweight with 5x38Special.

Summer carry has evolved to usually be a G36 with two rounds of CCI snakeshot over 5 Gold Dot HPs. We have these annoying rattlesnakes here,...

 

[Bobson]

I prefer 9mm, for all the usual reasons.

.45 ACP is an awesome round, there's no debate there. I just prefer 9mm when it comes to an EDC.

 

[dickydalton]

The 45.

 

[snapshot762]

I go for the higher capacity 9mm.

For carry a CZ P-01 - 14+1 rounds.

For home a CZ SP-01 - 19+1 rounds.

 

[handloader357]

If i carried 15 rounds of 9mm id have a handful of metal to throw at something... They don't feed well in my 45s.

Sorry, im in a sarcastic mood today... But I do prefer the 45 over the 9.

 

[RussellC]

If i carried 15 rounds of 9mm id have a handful of metal to throw at something... They don't feed well in my 45s.

Sorry, im in a sarcastic mood today... But I do prefer the 45 over the 9.

For the same opposite reason, I will take the 15 rounds of 9....my Glock 17 just WILL NOT function 45 rounds. Yeah I know, a million comedians out of work....

Russellc

 

[MCgunner]

How's about 5 rounds of .38 special? It's a LOT easier to pocket all day.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

I've tried them all - five rounds of .357, six rounds of .357, seven rounds of .380, eight rounds of .45, nine rounds of 9mm, thirteen rounds of .40, thirteen rounds of .45, sixteen rounds of 9mm, eighteen rounds of 9mm. I may have left something out. Five rounds of .357 is the most comfortable to carry, and what I carry most often, but probably the least comforting. The idea of taking on two opponents with a five-shot revolver is daunting, to say the least. This is fresh in my mind because of a couple of aggressive dogs that were loose in the neighborhood again today. I refer to this excellent thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=665883

These days I am leaning toward a higher round count, with a bias toward a larger caliber. More and more my P229 (thirteen rounds of .40) seems the ideal balance between concealability, capacity, and caliber.

 

[Yetiman]

Voting with my holster, I generally have 9 rounds (8+1) of .45acp.

 

[TennJed]

Since this thread has never been done, I will put my $0.02

I carry 6 guns all loaded with 1 round each

1 -22 LR (shoot it first at the bad guy, if it don't work then....
2nd shot 1- 380 acp
3rd shot 1 -38sp (wait should I shoot it 2nd? I forget which is more powerful)
4th shot 1 - 9mm (oh crap, the 38sp goes here)
5th shot 1 -357mag (reserved for bad guys on drugs)
6th shot 1 -45acp (reserved for black bears, 44mag if I am in Grizzly country)

 

[JR24]

If faced with more than one adversary, simply shoot the leader and the rest will surely scatter before your baleful gaze and well waxed mustache.

Thank you for the laugh, very well said.

I'll participate again in the age old. Between the two I'll take the .45, as I shoot it best and its what I carry.

That said, I currently carry 13+1 of .45, with 2 spare mags.

 

[fastbolt]

Would you rather have 15 round of 9mm, or 8 rounds of 45 in yor carry gun
...
I am curious to see if folks are drifting away from the 45 due to the cost of practice ammo.

Simple answer? I'd carry either an 8-rd capacity 9mm or 8-rd capacity .45 and feel fine with either. Which is lighter and/or smaller? I've done my time having to carry full-size duty weapons 8-18 hours every day.

My personally-owned 9's have mag capacities of 7, 8 & 10-rds.

My .45's have mag capacities of 6, 7, 8 & 10-rds.

As a daily weapon for my retirement CCW needs? Mostly depends on my planned activities, clothing choices and how large/heavy of a pistol I feel like carrying.

Now, if I were going to return to active/uniformed duty? I'd opt for whichever hi-cap 9mm was available for issue. FWIW, I've carried issued 9, .40 & .45 on-duty over the years, and I really don't have a preference one way or another when it comes to caliber considerations anymore.

If I'm going to be required to carry a larger duty pistol? I might as well go for the higher capacity mag model, if available. And/or the lighter one, too, if possible. (I'd no longer care to use a personally-owned weapon that might be taken into property after a shooting incident, or could end up being damaged during duty usage. If something were to happen to my primary weapon, I'd rather be using the agency weapon and have them hand me another one that looked just like the first one. )

For some marginally skilled shooters? The reduced recoil of the 9mm might offer an advantage when it comes to recoil management, controllability, both of which can have an influence on being able to shoot accurately. It's certainly not a surprise that a lot of folks find it easier to shoot 9's than .40's or even .45's.

For the folks who think (hope) sheer mag capacity might help offset lack of training, skill and experience? It's probably not unfair to give some thought to the old saying that often goes along the line of that you can't miss fast enough (or miss with enough rounds) to 'win'.

Of course, I'm also someone who often carries one of my assorted J-frame 5-shot snubs, instead of any of my pistols, most of the time.

 

[gbran]

I live in CA where we are restricted to 10rnd mags so other than size, there are only a couple rounds difference between my 1911 and my G26. I find myself preferring the 1911 in the winter and the G26 in the summer.

But to be honest, I'd probably choose to go with the much higher capacity 9mm if I didn't live in CA.

 

[Strahley]

9mm. If I am in a situation where 16 or 31 rounds of 9mm won't be enough, I don't feel that having (fewer) .45 rounds would be either. I'd need a long gun

 

[armoredman]

Love the Howdah!


As for me...well, 15 is kinda light, I'll go with 20.

 

[1911 guy]

Bullet design has virtually eliminated advantage between calibers of decent defensive value. Yes, I am throwing the popular .380 under the bus. Defensive calibers in autoloaders start at 9mm. and go up from there. Pick a gun you can handle and shoot well. End of story.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Well the 9mm that I carry is 7+1 so I guess it wouldn't matter to me.
And I generally don't carry a reload.

 

[tinygnat219]

I'll carry the 9MM as I'd rather have the extra ammunition than be wishing for it.

 

[CraigC]

Given the same size guns, the .45ACP every time. I only carry smaller chamberings because they're in smaller guns. The "they all work the same" argument is hogwash.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

am I doing it wrong if I carry 8+1 of 9mm?
I live in cali so anything over 10 is out.

That being said, i would LOVE to have 15+1. I think I would prefer the extra rounds.

 

[Deaf Smith]

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

15 .45s sound even better.

But since I am a great believer in SKILL, either one would do. Might even split the difference and get a .40 or .357 Sig with 12 or so rounds.

Deaf

 

[Sam Cade]

The "they all work the same" argument is hogwash.

Further exposition on this subject would be read with interest.

Preferably ironclad, irrefutable, quantitative data sets proving this point.

If it isn't any trouble.

 

[Sam Cade]

Carry what you can shoot best.

In all seriousness, my thoughts on the subject are the same.


My usual carry gun is a 16+1 9x19.

 

[Manny]

I have two choices in carry guns, a 5-shot .38/.357 (Ruger KLCR) & a 15 shot 9mm (G34/17L w/ 15 rounds in mags). The KLCR is my CCW gun, the Glock is kept for home defense. I like the additional capacity of the Glock over the Ruger, but don't care to try and conceal a full size Glock.

 

[sonick808]

location location location

Ill take the 9mm since i shoot it better than .45 , and paperwise, it's "better" to have more rounds. Still, impact location is key and ultimately most important