Your carry caliber choice

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What I Don't Want To Carry

Lots of folks feel the need to carry a huge caliber gun...I can get by with a .38 or 9mm. I will say that I recently bought an FEG Hungarian 9x18. It kicked like a mule and jammed on all ammo-even ball. How can they even sell crap like this. Have more than one residence. I like my Smith 10, my Smith 13 and Bersa Thunder 9 Ultra. If I ever see an FEG sales rep I will urinate on him.:fire::fire:
 
My Choice

I go with a 9m.m. using +P or +P+ if I have a choice. At work I use a .40 caliber with 155 grain JHP. I would prefer the 9m.m.

Under summer clothes, I go with a alloy framed, snubnosed .38 special with 125 grain +P.

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BERETTA 92
BERETTA 96
GLOCK 17
WALTHER P-99
SIG 226
SMITH&WESSON 5926
SMITH&WESSON 12
 
9mm +P. Why? I don't object to a larger caliber with a larger gun, but a smaller gun is easier to conceal and a .40 compact tends to climb out of my small hands, so I went with 9mm. Shoot what you carry, is good advice, and my budget dictates 9mm considering the cost of ammo. If I got another carry pistol it would be smaller yet.
 
40 S&W for me, more punch than a 9mm, more capacity than a .45, and its packaged in a 9mm sized frame, what's not to like?:D
 
Cold Weather - .45 LC+P from an Alaskan (I don't feel the need to carry .454 for self defense in the city, actually do most of my plinking with cowboy load .45LC)

Hot Weather - 9x18 from a Bulgie Makarov
 
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.380


Cause its oh so light in my pocket
Click to expand...
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Cool, I'm not alone! .380 may not be a powerhouse, but my Kel-Tec holds 6 of em' (I don't keep one in the chamber). In the woods 'though, I carry a .40; Good compromise of power/capacity IMHO.
 
45 ACP is my first choice. 2nd would be whatever is available, any gun is most likely better than none.
 
9mm. I like it because I can control it fairly well, and rapid follow-up shots are relatively easy.

That said, I'd happily carry a .40 or a .45, or even a .38 Special. I'd just make certain I was proficient with it before I put it in my holster and stepped out of the house.
 
.45 ACP when I carry a full sized 1911.
9mm compact, esp. summer wear
.38/.357 hunting, hiking, daily carry most of the time
.32 backup or when nothing is better with dress.
 
.357mag every day. It's also by my bedside. I trust the caliber and he platforms that shoot it.
 
Allow me to slip on my flame-proof suit, because I regularly carry .380s. Though hopefully I'm a little vindicated by totin' a .357 in the woods.
 
Why +p

I carry +p or +P+ 9m.m. instead of standard velocity ammo because I find the difference in recoil to be small and the increased power to be worth the effort.

I carried the +P+ HYDRO-SHOK 9m.m. load for many years. It was my issue load and was chosen by the Border Patrol based on their experience in gun fights. Border Patrol gets in more gunfights than any other federal agency.

When they replaced the .357 magnum and 9m.m., they invented the 155 grain JHP load for the .40 caliber BERETTAS. I never heard a single complaint about this combo.

My guess is that a modern hollow point in the 1200 to 1300 feet per second range is just about ideal. The real factor in ammo is the level of recoil. I like the 9m.m. and carry it off duty.
I have to carry the .40 cal-155 grain at work. No complaints about it, I just prefer the lower recoil of a 9m.m.

I also carry .38 special when I am off duty. An alloy, small framed revolved is very easy to conceal. For my needs, it is often enough.

Jim
 
My duty pistol load is .40 S&W, chosen by my agency, though we buy our own ammo, and have a great deal of discretion in that regard. For back-up and on my own time, my other weapons are .357 mag, because the weapons themselves work well for me. (Ruger GP100, SP101, Speed Six) I also have real-world experience with the .357's terminal effectiveness, coupled with anecdotes and data I trust, which is a confidence builder, and confidence does help in a defensive situation. I have in the past carried .45 ACP with confidence, and may again, someday. I have nothing against the better .38 +P and 9mm loads. On some occasions, I carry a Seecamp .32, with full realization that .32 Gold Dots will not cause as much tissue destruction as service cartridges.
 
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