imfdb.org  

Go Back   imfdb.org > The Forum > Just Guns

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 07-29-2015, 04:51 AM
AdAstra2009's Avatar
AdAstra2009 AdAstra2009 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,067
Default Best handgun round?

I've been doing more and more research on handgun calibers as far as use on self defense/police use and I've decided after looking over the most common handgun rounds that 9x19mm is the perfect handgun caliber for that use. 9mm you can hold more rounds in a pistol, less recoil therefore easier to keep on target and faster followup shots especially in a stressful situation, more velocity and range (not as important in handguns but in submachineguns/carbines) and cheaper to buy and therefore more economical for practice. The arguments for .45 ACP and .40 S&W in my opinion are nullified being that stopping power in handguns has largely been proven a myth. .40 S&W has excessive snap/recoil compared to 9mm holds less rounds and has a drastically reduced service life in comparison to 9mm handguns of the same type. The only reason I can find to use a .45 ACP over 9mm is if your running a suppressor as .45 ACP is subsonic. .45 ACP handguns also tend to have a drastically reduced capacity compared to 9mm. Only merits to use .40 S&W is they can be slightly more reliable shooting through a car windshield.

Can anyone argue a reason to use a caliber other than 9mm for a handgun in self defense/police usage...
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 07-29-2015, 11:48 AM
Excalibur's Avatar
Excalibur Excalibur is offline
IMFDB Admin
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 3,842
Send a message via AIM to Excalibur Send a message via MSN to Excalibur Send a message via Yahoo to Excalibur
Default

I have no argument for other calibers than 9mm as a carry round for a handgun, other rounds like the .45 can be pretty awesome in an SMG.

The 9mm has been improved a lot since the 90s when the .40 was introduced
__________________

"There's a fine line between not listening and not caring...I like to think I walk that line everyday of my life."

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle
Psalm 144:1

“It is always wrong to use force, unless it is more wrong not to.”
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 07-29-2015, 06:04 PM
Yournamehere Yournamehere is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 912
Default

You can have the caliber debate all day but 9mm will always have the most benefits and the least detriments for most handgun uses. As AdAstra mentioned, it is the most cost effective of the big three (9mm, .45 ACP and the soon to be defunct .40S&W), it is relatively low recoiling, and it will always offer a higher capacity than other calibers in similar guns.

There are some other considerations in favor of 9mm as well, though. 9mm guns tend to have better longevity as well considering that a lot of .40 guns were scaled up from 9mm guns to accept the cartridge. There are also subsonic 147 grain 9mm loads that are cheaper than standard .45 ball which mostly negate favoring of .45 for the purpose of suppression (though .45 ACP will be more powerful, but that doesn't outweigh every other 9mm benefit). The amount of micro guns in 9mm also allow the cartridge to bleed into .380 territory and a niche that .40 and .45 can't really touch due to their pressure/size constraints.

The whole stoppin' powah discussion is moot as well, and the small variance in ballistic numbers are mostly just puff. First off, you shouldn't count on your gun to "stop" someone in a less lethal capacity, as bullets are still very very lethal if they hit the right places. The general consensus in a defensive situation where lethal force is being used upon you is to shoot to kill, but not to execute someone if they are incapacitated, which makes perfect legal and ethical sense. Still, you should never go for or count on an incapacitating hit because bullets generally don't work that way. There is a very high likelihood that an individual will not be totally incapacitated by a gunshot, so your best bet is to understand that you may very well kill someone with your bullets and act with that consideration in mind.

As an extension of that, gunshots themselves are typically only definitely lethal if they hit a vital organ (the brain or the heart for example). Otherwise, they are survivable, and according to statistics, 80 percent of gunshot victims survive regardless of the caliber with which they are shot, because the wounds are in nonfatal places. Think about every mass shooting and notice how the amount of dead people is small compared to the amount of wounded, and this stat becomes easy to understand and accept. What kills people is getting to those vital organs, and some will argue that the mass and velocity of .45 and .40 allow for that penetration easily, but so do a lot of modern 9mm loads, according to independent tests conducted with the FBI 12" penetration protocols. Again, in summation, the stopping power point is moot.

.45 ACP will never go anywhere because of the 1911 and because its weight range allows for good penetration and velocity variances for niche practices, especially hunting and competition. .40 S&W was a poor solution to an overstated problem that created a lot of other problems that are just now coming to fruition after 20 some odd years of its use. 9mm Luger, with current bullet designs (and, I would personally argue, before current bullet designs) does just about everything well enough if not exceptionally well. I find it very hard to see reason to dispute this.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 07-30-2015, 05:29 AM
S&Wshooter's Avatar
S&Wshooter S&Wshooter is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,936
Default

I think at this point, with the near limitless varieties of guns and ammunition around for each common caliber, the round itself matters less than what you're doing and what works best for you. For me, I think I'd use 9mm, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, etc for different stuff usually; that being said I can't really think of any reason to use .40 for anything (I mean, I'll still probably end up with one just to have the option, but whether or not it'd be my choice for anything in particular would be 100% dependent on the gun rather than the caliber)

I myself would be way more likely to pick .45 ACP over anything else just for general use/whatever simply because I'm very used to it. However, I feel that .357 Magnum would be more flexible and all-around applicable, but it'd not be my first choice because even though I shoot revolvers pretty well, I highly doubt I'd be able to reload it under stress fast enough for it to be much use past the 6-7 shots I'd get from the first cylinder full
__________________
Get off of my property


http://www.introvertisland.com
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 07-30-2015, 07:07 PM
S&Wshooter's Avatar
S&Wshooter S&Wshooter is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,936
Default

Well now you dicks have me researching the different rounds, thanks a lot. It'd be nice to get an auto in a semi-common round that performs similarly to .357 Magnum, without the gun being absolute ass or the round being expensive/rare
__________________
Get off of my property


http://www.introvertisland.com
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 07-30-2015, 07:32 PM
AdAstra2009's Avatar
AdAstra2009 AdAstra2009 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,067
Default

^Think the closest your going to get is .357 SIG as its relatively common, fairly priced, and I guess the great thing about it is you finally have a use for a .40 caliber pistol-swapping out the barrel and making it a .357 SIG pistol.

Yeah I started this thread as I came to the sudden realization that there's no reason for me to buy any handgun chambered in something other than 9mm except for novelty purposes. I was hoping I would be convinced otherwise.....oh well

Now my S&W 4506 and box of 500 rounds are nothing but a novelty

Though im still getting a 10mm for hiking/camping.

***1,000 post!!!***

Last edited by AdAstra2009; 07-30-2015 at 07:38 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.