I knew a police officer who responded to a domestic one night and encountered a drunk and belligerent husband with a large knife. The officer backed through a couple of rooms ordering him to drop the knife, and when he kept coming he fired three times from about 6 feet with a .357 carrying hollow points, probably with a fairly hot load. He later said he could see the rounds entering the guy's 10 ring. The guy stopped, looked down at his now bloody chest and upper abdomen, said "Are you through?" and sat down in a kitchen chair. Of course he fell over and died a moment later, but there was no "stopping power" in those shots. If you want something that will absolutely knock a bad guy down you really need to check with the guys in the field artillery down at Fort Sill.
I carry a G23 but sometimes have my 9mm barrel in it depending on what Im doing. And I carry a G42 when I cant carry a gun.
It basically boils down to the fact that every handgun requires a compromise in some way be it weight, caliber, capacity, price, whatever. I love to shoot my full size Government Model; but I find the Glock 43 much easier to carry. I dig the fact the Glock 17 holds 17 rounds, but I like the slimness of the 43's slide. I like that my Colt Lightweight Commander is a .45 ACP, but I find the new Kimber Micro .380 my wife just bought is a true pocket pistol...and so on.
I carry the LWC a lot these days, but for a quick trip down to the store for the Wife, the G43 is just so much easier to clip on my belt in a little kydex IWB rather than having to strap on a heavy-duty gun belt and a mag pouch and a holster to carry the larger 1911. I compromise.
I totally agree with shot placement as number one, I would not want to take a 22 short up my nose.
For my carry, I need size 35 waist jeans, impossible to find. I buy 36's and carry a .45 IWB to take up the slack rather than having a belt wrinkle and it works well for me. It also helps that I had worn a tool pouch on my side for many years, so the weight feels natural. For shorts or slacks, and while doing some high movement activities like rolling on the floor under a tractor or automobile I sometimes carry a Sig P238 which is a baby 1911 in .380 cal in my front pocket. Both function identically, draw while pushing the thumb safety down, push out to aim, trigger pull, done. I practice two mid body shots, then after I have their attention, one head shot.
I am a little more accurate on my second shot with the 1911 for some reason, I guess the recoil gets my attention more, need to work on that with the .380.
Been thinking about practicing 44-44. I know I will never get there, but I can practice getting as close as I can.
4 yards
4 inch target
4 shots
And THE kicker, 4 seconds
Yep, I got some work to do, especially if I am going to be taking 4 steps backward while doing this. I most likely will not be joining the pro tour soon, but it is fun practicing. Kinda like trying to make babies at 70 yr old. Everyone has to have an ultimate goal in mind to work on while having fun. don't they?
Did I mention shot placement has always been important to me?
Lots of good and some inaccuracte advice in this thread. I've killed over 200 deer in my hunting career, and done personal autopsies on them as well as dozens of other deer from kids/friends that I've guided. Each time, I've noted what round performed the best, and what did the job, but could have been better. Seen deer shot with everything from .458 Weatherby mag to the .22 caliber CF rifles, Pistol from .357 mag to .45 ACP.
Personally killed 10 or so deer with pistols and the rest with rifle.
Here are my observations. All Calibers kill if placed where they need to be. That is the bottom line.
Death comes from loss of blood to the brain. This is why your deer/human attacker can still travel 40 yards or more with their heart/lungs turned into mush. They travel that distance in a couple of seconds in panic mode until they drop. Perps coming at you shot through the chest, are only going to get one lung or the heart. They can stay in the fight at close range for a second or two longer. Enough to pull the trigger several times, or stick you with a knife.
Lots of video's out there of folks that continually pistol shot a person with little to no instant effect. The WWII and Korean war snipers were taught to shoot for the head, (medulla oblongata) shot that would drop them like a rock, but its a small target. Current is center mass.
The central nervous system shot with any caliber be it pistol or rifle is the game stopper.
Personally killed 10 or so deer with pistols and the rest with rifle.
Here are my observations. All Calibers kill if placed where they need to be. That is the bottom line.
Death comes from loss of blood to the brain. This is why your deer/human attacker can still travel 40 yards or more with their heart/lungs turned into mush. They travel that distance in a couple of seconds in panic mode until they drop. Perps coming at you shot through the chest, are only going to get one lung or the heart. They can stay in the fight at close range for a second or two longer. Enough to pull the trigger several times, or stick you with a knife.
Lots of video's out there of folks that continually pistol shot a person with little to no instant effect. The WWII and Korean war snipers were taught to shoot for the head, (medulla oblongata) shot that would drop them like a rock, but its a small target. Current is center mass.
The central nervous system shot with any caliber be it pistol or rifle is the game stopper.
I agree with what many here have already said.
Fire both and use whatever you're comfortable with and can shoot. I can't shoot glocks for anything, that's why i carry a 1911.
No point in having a gun at all if you can't hit anything with it, and the more rounds you can put on target in quick succession the better. 9mms are undoubtedly in many ways easier to handle and shoot for many people. There are great 9mm defensive loads and 9mm is a solid choice.
that being said, a tried and true .45 will do the job. Shot placement is king, but unless you're a Navy Seal or have some serious training, the power of the .45 center mass compared to a 9mm center mass will have a bigger impact obviously. assuming you hit what you're shooting at.
Fire both and use whatever you're comfortable with and can shoot. I can't shoot glocks for anything, that's why i carry a 1911.
No point in having a gun at all if you can't hit anything with it, and the more rounds you can put on target in quick succession the better. 9mms are undoubtedly in many ways easier to handle and shoot for many people. There are great 9mm defensive loads and 9mm is a solid choice.
that being said, a tried and true .45 will do the job. Shot placement is king, but unless you're a Navy Seal or have some serious training, the power of the .45 center mass compared to a 9mm center mass will have a bigger impact obviously. assuming you hit what you're shooting at.
For me, it comes down to which concealable gun I shoot best. For a number of years that's been the Glock 26/19, with a G17 mag weakside, and a S&W M38 as a BUG on my ankle.
I never feel under-gunned with 30+ rounds of 9mm and 10 rounds of .38 Spl on my person.
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I never feel under-gunned with 30+ rounds of 9mm and 10 rounds of .38 Spl on my person.
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Is that from the holster?
I must agree! I love 1911's and own some fine examples. Wilson's, Brown's, and Baer's. I, however, find myself carrying full size Glock's in .45, .40, and 9mm. I use HST for my carry loads. Glock's go bang every time, have more firepower, are tough as nails, are not magazine picky, detail strip easily, and can be customized with drop in parts with no fitting required. I'm no fan boy pushing a particular brand. I merely am speaking from experience.
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