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Concealed carry- caliber or capacity?

6K views 34 replies 32 participants last post by  Dintin9 
#1 ·
When you are thinking of a conceald carry gun, what's the most important criteria for the gun- caliber, capacity, or both?
 
#28 ·
am with the others...... will pick option "c" for COMFORT. If the thing is a brick and you can't carry / conceal it well, and it isn't comfortable for you to shoot so you don't practice, you won't have it with you.

The argument of 9 vs .40 vs .45 I don't think is all that important since any of them with proper shot placement will do the job.

So, after making sure the firearm is comfortable and you can conceal it, then I would try to go for the firearm with the most capacity that fits your needs. In my case, as much as I love my XDM, I don't think I can conceal it well, so I have stayed with the same cal. (.40) and have a single-stack Kahr that is with me most days.
 
#29 ·
For CC the gun has to be utterly reliable. I've always been a proponent of carrying the largest caliber that you can shoot accurately.


A reporter did a human interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him, “Why do carry a .45?”. The Ranger responded with, “Because they don’t make a .46.”
Credit to Retired Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, Alpine, Texas.
 
#30 ·
capacity in a caliber I can shoot well that will do the job.

So a revolver is ruled out - sorry, but under stress I can GUARANTEE my accuracy will be less than I get at the range or at an IDPA match. And I GUARANTEE my reloading ability will be diminished even more. So even with a 44 mag Model 29, which is shootable and accurate, I prolly won't be as 'safe and effective' as I would be with something else that has more capacity.

If I carried concealed everyday that might tweak my thoughts, but I don't. So my choice is 9mm with as many rounds as I can do. No reloads, sorry. If I can't get help/get away/stop the threat with 15-17 rounds I doubt twice that many will do me any good.

Is bigger better? Sure. but 17 of 9mm or half that of 45? gimme more rounds.
OK..12 of 40 or 17 of 9? Again, more rounds gets the nod and with same size guns the 9mm will I think shoot better. Not much better, but every little bit helps.

As others have said, get 'the good ammo' and all are about equal in results til you get into the magnum territory.
 
#32 ·
I like .40 because I get the best of both worlds IMO.

Looking at ballistic gel results, I don't see any difference between .40 and .45 ammo. The penetration and temporary cavity size are pretty much identical. The .40 allows me to carry more rounds though.

Just my personal opinion, I'm sure many will disagree.
 
#33 ·
OK, I guess I am strange cause I want to answer the question. Speed and accuracy (for the most part) is based on ME not the gun. Most pistols out there will shoot better than we can aim. Sure there is some crap out there, but I took what the OP was saying was that if all other things were equal (i.e. comfort, reliable, your ability to hit what your aiming at), would you look for a high caliber (again all equal comfort and such) and sacrifice rounds, or go with the higher round count with a smaller caliber.

IMHO - it would depend on my mood. :) If I wanted to carry a .45 maybe I'd add an extra magazine. But if I didn't want the extra mag, maybe a 9 with more capacity. I think it is a delicate balance, but regardless, I would never want to be out with less than 10 rounds. Why? I don't know, just my opinion really.
 
#34 ·
I've shot the most with my XDm and at IDPA i do better wtih it than the MP. The only 'real' difference is the sights between the two guns.

At PPC I do 95% as well with a snubby as I do my XDm. I'm using bunny fart loads in the revolver. I think the sights are better for accurate aiming on the snubby than on the XDm (hence my acquisition of the MP).

A full house 357 is a completely different ball game than the bunny fart loads. In a practice they're not fun to shoot - but in a self defense situation I don't think I'd care and would like the extra stopping power. But trying to reload a revolver in the dark, fast, under pressure, while running...no thanks. I may try it at IDPA just to see what it would be like.

so what's best?
The XDm is my first choice - based on scoring, more practicing, etc. And I have a fully loaded mag so no reloading while running, hiding, ducking, being shot at or whatever the situation may be.
 
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