Your minimum SD handgun - Where do you draw the line ?

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Mine is...

A Keltec P3AT
For me it's the last line of defense, but also the one I always carry. I can't beat it for a BUG, 7 rounds of .380acp in about the size of a cigarette pack. I always have mine in my hip pocket. I have a few friends that carry the Keltec P32 as a BUG as well. It sure beats going unarmed. My P3AT and a close friend's P32 didn't require any work at all to be 100% reliable and only a little hold modification to achieve suitable accuracy. Our rule is the gun you have with you when you need it is the best gun for the job.
Dalton
 
Regardless of caliber, 500 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy. That puts my floor right at say, a 158 grain 357 load.

That's my criteria.
 
9mm would be the minimum of what I would want to carry, but I would still feel somewhat comfortable with any gun (within reason), even a .22. Almost anything is better than nothing.
 
Doesn't really matter which gun as long as the caliber begins with 4 and ends with 5 :D
 
For the last 4 months I've carried a Glock 29. Have to admit it's become a favorite, plastic and all. Also, I find I can conceal and carry it comfortably in situations and with clothes I didn't expect possible. My old standby BUG/Summer carry gun is an SP 101.

I also have a .380 Bersa that I like a lot, but would not be entirely comfortable with it in a self-defense situation and choose not to carry it since I have 2 better alternatives. Also, I have an older AMT Backup .380 that's been 100% reliable for me. Disappears in the back pocket of a pair of jeans, but again, why do that when I can have a .357 or 10mm along for the ride?
 
22lr is the min. But the Spyderco:evil: and good training enables me to feel better prepared mentally anyways. Never shot any 17 rimfire, but would love a NAA in the 17HMR, use a NAA mini revolver already. The Beretta 22 auto's would work excellent for me- at 5 yards it's all in a 4" square. I just despise getting my cute little pistols sweaty- my 84f corroded under the nickle on the aluminum alloy frame.
 
That's why I passed on a nice nickel 84 I saw recently. It was just begining to have some of the plating flake around the back of the slide rails. I saw a used blue 84 with 3 mags at Gander yesterday, for $499!!! Insane. It wasn't anywhere new looking, but was in decent shape. I would have given them 300for the gun and another 50 for the two new, in the box mags, no more.
 
Well, leaving out the "_______in hand is better than __________ at home", I only own practical handguns in two calibers: 9mm and .45ACP. So, 9mm, is as low as I go.
 
The smallest I'd carry as a primary weapon would be a 9mm with good 124 grain hollow points. I'm far more comfortable with a .40 S&W, .45 ACP or 10mm.
 
minimum of .38 or .9mm. Don't own either though. 40 is my pick. A .45 would be fine with me too. To each his own.
 
Winter or Summer? Primary or for back-up?

In winter, you need more umph to get through heavy winter coats. Also, I never carry just one.

Winter:
Primary: Series 70 (.45 ACP)
Back-up 1: G19C (9MM)
Back-up 2: P3AT (.380)

Summer:
Primary: G19C (9MM)
Back-up 1: P3AT (.380)
Back-up 2: NAA (.22 Mag)

Doc2005
 
My minimum caliber is .380ACP; I only carry that (Keltec P3AT) when I can't carry anything larger. When I can carry something larger, I go with 9x19 or .45ACP.
 
I figure my locked breech .32 (Kel-Tec P32) is about the lowest I'd go. Not sure if I'd want to throw .32's out of a straight blowback with that short of a barrel... I used to carry a .25 mainly for grins, but after shooting it at a variety of targets I promply relgated it to fun gun duty and not self defense.

I kept it in a cheapo Uncle Mike's left hand waistband holster (I'm right handed) which my boss asked me about one day. This was back when it was the only pistol I owned. My reply was that the gun was on the weak side so I could make enough smoke and noise with it to distract while I stuck the enemy with my knife from my strong hand.

He thought it the best plan for that caliber.

I've carried .22's on occasion but usually for smaller critters than thugs. With the .22 I'd be more confident that I could put seven or eight between a BG's eyes in short order than the .25 or .32, though. I'd drill a hole through him eventually...
 
I'm a pretty big guy at 250lbs - and the question I always ask myself is this:
"Would I go stand at the pointy end of a .22LR and let someone shoot at me before running?"

I've carried .22 as a primary before - it was my very first carry gun because I already had it when I came of age. The kind of criminals we had to deal with was a bit more "determined" than the garden variety I see here in the US - a friend of mine saved his bacon with a .22 derringer. The one time it failed him? They were waiting behind a door in his house and chopped him in the head with a wood axe.

So my personal bottom limit would be a .22lr derringer. If all I had was a dang air pistol, well, as mentioned, it beats tossing rocks.

On a lighter note...a company in S. Africa used to make air pistols for self defense. In .22 cal I believe. It looked exactly like a regular pistol. The regime, in it's constant fight to disarm law abiding citizens and arm criminals, enacted a registration process that included firearms and air powered weapons alike.
Nice...
 
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