Best Personal Defense Caliber?

[chrisxd45t]

Don't know if this has been done for awhile. What's best in general and why. This comes from a debate with some friends and I would like outside advise. Give your personal preferance and why. I'm looking for popularity not advise on choosing for myself, since where I live you need a "legitimate reason" to apply for a cc permit.

Specify=whatever you like that I missed on the list, it can be anything. Doesn't have to be a handgun.

Best= best for your personal defense, your needs and circumstances. For example if you don't carry but still use a shotgun for home defense, then say that or whatever else you like.

I'm looking for the most popular defense/carry round among shooters (I'm doing empirical research here). People here are given the opportunity to explain themselves and the circumstances leading to their choice, not necessarily convince anyone to switch.
I realize this is not a perfect poll and I chose my title poorly, and for this I apologize.
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[Prometheus]

The best placed shot...

9mm, 40s&w, .45auto... with proper ammo and 'decent' shot placement any of the 'big three' are equally as capable.

The only differene between the three are when it comes to ball (FMJ) ammo. Since only the military is forced to use ball ammo it becomes a moot point as to which initally punches the bigger hole.

I'm pretty sure they burried the old '9 vs 45' argument in the same box with Cooper. Heck even Ayoob Massad (sp) carries a 9mm on most days.

I switched from a HK USP 45 to XD in 9mm, 17 rounds of HP+p's make more sense than a bunch of lumbering old antiquated flying ash trays To each his own, but with two spares mags thats 49 rounds of fury... You need anymore you should brought a rifle

[chrisxd45t]

Designed by his majesty John Browning it's the one of the more prolific rounds. It's large and slow moving, but less likely to over penetrate a body. Not everyone can carry hi-cap mags so for some, the extra rds. you get carrying 9mm is negated (in ca. we would have to carry 4 mags + the one in the gun). For those people, it's a matter of what can do it in the least shots fired. thank you though.

[Apdl]

I voted other because it is what ever you fee most comfortable shooting and will have with you when you need it

[Jmanwit]

I once heard it said, "Self defense begins with a .4 and ends with a 5." Sooo...

[Bycyclist]

9mm - cheaper to practice and get good and there's plenty of good defensive +p loads out there....but I usually carry .45ACP

[Lee Bell]

Since I'm an autoloader fan, my choices are pretty easy. 10mm is a walkaway first. No caliber has ever matched it's versatility and one shot stop record . . . in the hands of someone that can handle the gun and recoil. Unfortunately, not everyone can, or will.

The .45 is next. It's more controllable, by more people, but can still be a handful. It has excellet stopping power, but has to be loaded hot to approach the versatility of the 10mm. When loaded hot, it can be as hard, or harder for some to handle.

The .40 is next, but not a close next. It shares the strong recoil of a 10mm without the stopping power of the 10mm or the .45, but it's not bad. It's best feature is that the bullets and guns tend to be smaller, more concealable.

My next choice, and the gun I actually carry concealed, is the 9mm. It does not have the stopping power of the other choices, but it's not exactly weak either. You have to use expanding ammunition to control expansion, which raises legal questions if you ever have to use one, but I'd rather be judged than carried. It's biggest advantages are the bullets size, and the size of the guns it will fit in and the controlable recoil when fired out of one of those small guns.

When in the woods, I carry a 10mm.
When in the urban jungle, I carry an XD 9 SC.
When I can't carry anything else, I carry a KelTec .380.
Sometimes I leave all my guns at home, but not often.

Lee

[ichy_trigger]

I think withh todays bullet designs, there really isnt a BAD option from 9mm on up. .380 is as small as I would go and while I do carry one at times, I feel more comfortable with something bigger. I used to carry my .357sig ALOT but in the past year, I find myself carrying my .45 more than anything else.

[vafish]

Best for who? Best when? Best where?

I prefer the .45 ACP. My wife prefers the 9MM. Some folks have problems with even the recoil of a 9MM and are better served with a .22 LR. Some folks value concealment above all else and for them a small gun like a Keltec P32 is the best choice. Others can dress around the gun and a full sized 1911 works best for them.

Handgun rounds are all relatively poor fight stoppers compared to rifles and shotguns. You can puff out your chest all day long about your wonder caliber, but with proper bullet selection there is very little difference between any of the service calibers (9mm, .40, .45, .38, .357).

Asking what's the best self defense round is like asking what's the best car?

The real anser is "It Depends"

[ElJimmyStrappo]

Even though I don't own one, I have to say .357 Magnum. Talk about damage.