9mm, .40, .45 what's the BEST

[RetiredSergeant10]

I prefer the .45. My favorite flavor is the Hornady Critical Duty persuasion.

 

[warren5421]

What Uncle Sam showed me in the late 60's to mid 70's was that shot placement was the most important thing. Did not mater if it was a rifle or pistol, .17 cal to 20mm if it wasn't in the right place it could and would get you dead. Had a friend shot and he had just shot the other guy's arm off with a .50 MG, granted the guy having his arm removed that way should have stopped the fight but enough mad over comes pain and blood loss for a few seconds. I learnt there is no such thing as knock down power, you either place a round in the central nervess system or they can keep coming. I do think you need a round that will go into the head and reach the brain no mater what angle you have to shoot from. The shooter needs to carry a gun that they can shoot fast and keep on the head size target. A .32ACP to a .45 ACP fills the bill very well. As you get older people get till they can't shot fast with the .4 starting size and so drop down in recoil to fell able to protect them and were loved ones. If you want to know which one is best you need an age and health restriction.

 

[sonny]

cant go wrong with any of them, I prefer the 45

 

[johny5]

As if you didn't know, the best caliber not listed of the 3 is .36 caliber 1858 Navy. Cartridges are for women and hippies.

How is this not a thread-ending comment? What else can be said?

On an unrelated note, I need to go on the record as a hippie...

 

[Irukanji]

For me, maybe not for everyone, I feel 9mm is best for concealed carry and .45 for "night stand" and in the truck. Basically, 9mm gives me a good round that on my body-type is more concealable. .45 is a round I trust strongly, but does not conceal well FOR ME.

The best round is likely the one you have with you and can use proficiently.

 

[MountieHoo]

Amen. I can't hit followup shots with the .40 and .45acp in any respectable time haha. 9mm all the way.

 

[DMTJAGER]

Whichever one I can consistently put rounds in a fist sized hole with.
^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^^

Honestly, Caliber debates are silly. Most modern rounds penetrate nearly the same amount. All of the handgun calibers suck. Use a rifle or a shotgun.

^^^^^^^^^Correct you are sir.^^^^^^^^^^
You use you HG to fight your way BACK to your RIFLE.

I went 100% 9mm purely for absolute practicality. #1-9mm is for me at least is considerably easier to shoot well than my 40's or 45's or 357's. #2-My teen and preteen sons could handle and shoot a 9mm at a much earlier age and really could not shoot my 45acp or 40 S&W. #3-9mm was and is significantly cheaper to both reload and buy OTC than 45 ACP or 40 S&W and allow me an my boys to shoot a good deal more 9mm for the same as a lot less 45ACP or 40 S&W.

My home defense gun of choice is a Ruger PC 9mm Carbine loaded with 23 rounds of Federal HST 124 grain topped with a co-witnessed Sig Rome 5 shake awake red dot.

But in a strange twist of irony I have found a lot more instances of 40 S&W in stock OTC VS no 9mm, but I sold all my 40 S&W HGs quite some time ago.

 

[DMTJAGER]

What Uncle Sam showed me in the late 60's to mid 70's was that shot placement was the most important thing. Did not mater if it was a rifle or pistol, .17 cal to 20mm if it wasn't in the right place it could and would get you dead. Had a friend shot and he had just shot the other guy's arm off with a .50 MG, granted the guy having his arm removed that way should have stopped the fight but enough mad over comes pain and blood loss for a few seconds. I learnt there is no such thing as knock down power, you either place a round in the central nervess system or they can keep coming. I do think you need a round that will go into the head and reach the brain no mater what angle you have to shoot from. The shooter needs to carry a gun that they can shoot fast and keep on the head size target. A .32ACP to a .45 ACP fills the bill very well. As you get older people get till they can't shot fast with the .4 starting size and so drop down in recoil to fell able to protect them and were loved ones. If you want to know which one is best you need an age and health restriction.

If you guys want to read about some utterly shocking instances detailing just how much lead a human can absorb and keep going and fighting find a copy of the book "Streetwise" a book written by LEO's for LEO's on how to survive armed encounters with criminals. It describes quite a few documented instances where criminals were shot double digit times with HG's and even took full on 12ga buckshot loads to center mass and kept going. One instance I will never forget detailed how one suspect was shot 21 or 23 times with 9mm FMJ ammo and it took a hit to the brain to finally drop him, one suspect was shot IIRC 18 times with HG's before he dropped.

It comes as no surprise to me when police even with the most effective HG rounds like Federal HST or Speer Gold Dots have to shoot a criminal 3, 4, 5 or more times to stop them because HG ammo is so ineffective due to its pitiful velocity VS rifle.

 

[mechmc17]

If you guys want to read about some utterly shocking instances detailing just how much lead a human can absorb and keep going and fighting find a copy of the book "Streetwise" a book written by LEO's for LEO's on how to survive armed encounters with criminals. It describes quite a few documented instances where criminals were shot double digit times with HG's and even took full on 12ga buckshot loads to center mass and kept going. One instance I will never forget detailed how one suspect was shot 21 or 23 times with 9mm FMJ ammo and it took a hit to the brain to finally drop him, one suspect was shot IIRC 18 times with HG's before he dropped.

It comes as no surprise to me when police even with the most effective HG rounds like Federal HST or Speer Gold Dots have to shoot a criminal 3, 4, 5 or more times to stop them because HG ammo is so ineffective due to its pitiful velocity VS rifle.

I can affirm this from the medical side. There is no comparison of handgun vs rifle or shotgun slug damage. I have seen countless HG or birdshot wounds to perps coming to hospital, but have never seen a living rifle or shotgun slug or buckshot victim.

From my professional experience in healthcare, if you want to end the fight the choice of firearm matters most (rifle/shotgun/HG), followed distantly by caliber and bullet type.

The best HD in my opinion is an AR-15. Next is 12 or 20 gauge, with defense branded buckshot ammo (birdshot is a total zero, I have literally seen a failed suicide attempt with birdshot to the head).

Handguns are more versatile but much less effective. Bullet design is most important - personally I prefer HST or Lehigh/Underwood Extreme Defense style bullets. The problem with handguns is that they donÂ’t create a large temporary wound cavity. HST and Lehigh machined copper bullets are much better for this, so if all you have is a handgun, they will help you win the fight.

All that said, regarding handgun calibers, 9mm is king given increased capacity and the availability of advanced defense ammo. ThereÂ’s no added functionality to .40 or .45 when you have the best 9mm ammo. (I have all 3 and others, IÂ’m no caliber snob.) The argument for .45 is the absolute weakest, because of the low velocity - energy matters most, and E = mv^2 (m=mass, v=velocity) so velocity is far more important in delivering energy to tissue. .357 magnum and 10mm have nearly double the energy of 9mm, so if you can handle them, those calibers are far more effective. However, no handgun comes close to rifle or shotgun ammo (ALL birdshot excluded, birdshot is for birds and is useless against human attackers).

 

[DadSmith]

Several manufacturers agree with you. The magic number is 2,000 fps or higher on impact is what bullet engineering is saying.

Handgun wise you basically shoot until the bad guy decides he has had enough. Unless you can put one into the brain, or heart. Heart shots still can give them upto 15+ seconds to live and do more bad things.

How many are so well trained that they can shoot a person in the brain or heart in a violent confrontation with a Handgun?

 

[Amishman44]

If you guys want to read about some utterly shocking instances detailing just how much lead a human can absorb and keep going and fighting find a copy of the book "Streetwise" a book written by LEO's for LEO's on how to survive armed encounters with criminals. It describes quite a few documented instances where criminals were shot double digit times with HG's and even took full on 12ga buckshot loads to center mass and kept going. One instance I will never forget detailed how one suspect was shot 21 or 23 times with 9mm FMJ ammo and it took a hit to the brain to finally drop him, one suspect was shot IIRC 18 times with HG's before he dropped.
It comes as no surprise to me when police even with the most effective HG rounds like Federal HST or Speer Gold Dots have to shoot a criminal 3, 4, 5 or more times to stop them because HG ammo is so ineffective due to its pitiful velocity VS rifle.

Like the Sheriff's deputy in LA County this past spring...the one who is getting sued because she is also a competative shooter...it took six (6) shots from her 9mm to put the aggressor down...it'd be scary to have to shoot someone, and then have them continue towards you, or get up from the ground after taking 2 shots to the chest and continue with their aggressive approach!

I can affirm this from the medical side. There is no comparison of handgun vs rifle or shotgun slug damage. I have seen countless HG or birdshot wounds to perps coming to hospital, but have never seen a living rifle or shotgun slug or buckshot victim.
From my professional experience in healthcare, if you want to end the fight the choice of firearm matters most (rifle/shotgun/HG), followed distantly by caliber and bullet type.
The best HD in my opinion is an AR-15. Next is 12 or 20 gauge, with defense branded buckshot ammo (birdshot is a total zero, I have literally seen a failed suicide attempt with birdshot to the head).
Handguns are more versatile but much less effective. Bullet design is most important - personally I prefer HST or Lehigh/Underwood Extreme Defense style bullets. The problem with handguns is that they donÂ’t create a large temporary wound cavity. HST and Lehigh machined copper bullets are much better for this, so if all you have is a handgun, they will help you win the fight.
All that said, regarding handgun calibers, 9mm is king given increased capacity and the availability of advanced defense ammo. ThereÂ’s no added functionality to .40 or .45 when you have the best 9mm ammo. (I have all 3 and others, IÂ’m no caliber snob.) The argument for .45 is the absolute weakest, because of the low velocity - energy matters most, and E = mv^2 (m=mass, v=velocity) so velocity is far more important in delivering energy to tissue. .357 magnum and 10mm have nearly double the energy of 9mm, so if you can handle them, those calibers are far more effective. However, no handgun comes close to rifle or shotgun ammo (ALL birdshot excluded, birdshot is for birds and is useless against human attackers).

And I like how 9mm fans keep saying the 9mm caliber matches or exceeds the big, slow, meandering .45 acp round...try going to a junk yard and watching 9mm ricochet off windshields, or not penetrated heavier metals, because it's too 'light' whereas the .45 acp just keeps on going, through-and-through stuff, because it's greater weight generates 'momentum' and helps push it through...the 9mm, despite increase velocity, gets stopped because it doesn't create enough force to actually penetrate as much! The 9mm caliber might look good on paper, but the .45 acp still has better
'real-world-skills'!

 

[IndyBeerman]

Like the Sheriff's deputy in LA County this past spring...the one who is getting sued because she is also a competative shooter...it took six (6) shots from her 9mm to put the aggressor down...it'd be scary to have to shoot someone, and then have them continue towards you, or get up from the ground after taking 2 shots to the chest and continue with their aggressive approach!



And I like how 9mm fans keep saying the 9mm caliber matches or exceeds the big, slow, meandering .45 acp round...try going to a junk yard and watching 9mm ricochet off windshields, or not penetrated heavier metals, because it's too 'light' whereas the .45 acp just keeps on going, through-and-through stuff, because it's greater weight generates 'momentum' and helps push it through...the 9mm, despite increase velocity, gets stopped because it doesn't create enough force to actually penetrate as much! The 9mm caliber might look good on paper, but the .45 acp still has better
'real-world-skills'!

Here's the whole thing al over again, this thread is about 9mm, .40 & .45, not about rifle rounds. Most people are not going to be able to maneuver through a home with a AR efficiently.

It's about being able to place hits on the target. A .40 or .45 don't mean if you can't put follow up rounds on target if you miss on the first shot. I'd rather see someone have a chance to live hitting their target even with a .380 rather than missing on the first show on larger calibers and not being able to get back on target with larger calibers.

 

[Amishman44]

Here's the whole thing al over again, this thread is about 9mm, .40 & .45, not about rifle rounds. Most people are not going to be able to maneuver through a home with a AR efficiently.

It's about being able to place hits on the target. A .40 or .45 don't mean if you can't put follow up rounds on target if you miss on the first shot. I'd rather see someone have a chance to live hitting their target even with a .380 rather than missing on the first show on larger calibers and not being able to get back on target with larger calibers.

But yet be able to utilize the best caliber available with which to defend one's self and if I can use a .45 acp to adequately defend myself and/or my family, why not use it!
If one is weaker, and needs a lighter/smaller caliber, that's fine for them...feel free to go for it...everyone has God-given, Constitutionally-protected right to defend themselves!!!
I'm not against a 9mm...it's just the 'least' that I would carry...and, believe it or not, I actually like the. 355 diameter bullet...when it's sitting atop a necked-down .40 caliber casing!!! Sweet round then!

 

[Indhawkeye]

I prefer the 9mm for concealed carry. And the 45 for OWB Carry or Nightstand. I found the 40 to be very snappy on recoil. But there are many that would tell you they prefer the 40. And with very legit reasons.
So it all depends on each individual. I recommend you try all three. If you do, you’ll quickly know which one you prefer.

 

[88E30M50]

It’s been well established that all handgun calibers suck. I am glad though, that I live in a country where I can choose which suckage to embrace in a handgun caliber instead of having some douchebag politician decide what I’m allowed to use.

Ain’t America Great!

 

[Amishman44]

What in your "opinion" is the best defensive handgun round?
9mm .40 .45
Inquiring minds want to know!

The term 'best' is always a subjective response, whereas the term(s) 'most-efficient' or 'most-effective' may be more applicable to this question?

I prefer the 9mm for concealed carry. And the 45 for OWB Carry or Nightstand. I found the 40 to be very snappy on recoil. But there are many that would tell you they prefer the 40. And with very legit reasons.
So it all depends on each individual. I recommend you try all three. If you do, you’ll quickly know which one you prefer.

I've carried 9mm as a concealed caliber...but I prefer a .45 acp, mainly because I'm most comfortable with it, I shoot it the best, etc.
One's personal preference is often a result of having shot several different calibers, and then selecting a caliber of choice based on their experience.
I actually prefer .357 magnum, but am limited to 5-6-7 rounds, depending on the revolver one has...
That being said, there's a nod to .357 SIG, which is a great round, but has been known to be rather expensive for EDC and monthly practice!
I've also carried .40 S&W, as it's an effective caliber, but still prefer the .45 acp...guess that's why there are so many calibers...to each their own!

 

[DadSmith]

Be it 9mm 40S&W or 45acp just shoot until the bad guy stops.

 

[sempifi99]

Really, the question is, what ammo do you have or what ammo can you buy right now... I've only seen 45 ACP for sale around here.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Really, the question is, what ammo do you have or what ammo can you buy right now... I've only seen 45 ACP for sale around here.

You spelled .45 Long Colt wrong.

 

[seagullplayer]

It's 9mm at my house. Somehow it seems to fit best in my gun...