Best CC Caliber?

[Roll Tide]

My question is, when ammo is short, which round is easiest to get? Do 10mm get scarce quickly due to low production rates to begin with? It makes a huge hole, for sure. I'm new to the forum, but not guns, and the mention of 10mm is fairly often here, which is surprising to me, because I have really only heard of the "big 3".

 

[in625shooter]

My question is, when ammo is short, which round is easiest to get? Do 10mm get scarce quickly due to low production rates to begin with? It makes a huge hole, for sure. I'm new to the forum, but not guns, and the mention of 10mm is fairly often here, which is surprising to me, because I have really only heard of the "big 3".

The 10MM suffers most becase there just isn't a lot on most counters. Great round just not much around on the shelves. The easiest rounds to find on any given shelves are 9mm, 40, 45 and 38/357. During the ammo binge seemed like more 40 was available on the shelf at wally world than any other pistol. My recommendation is get any of those mentioned but get a couple hundred rounds of defense and practice rounds and put them back for that rainy day.

 

[Roll Tide]

That's what I've done with my .45.

 

[JetGirl]

For me, its the .380; for JetGirl, I know its the .45 ACP

Dude. Word.

 

[roadrunner681]

Dude. Word.

ya 45acp is very hard to argue with.

 

[Hohn]

The 10MM suffers most becase there just isn't a lot on most counters. Great round just not much around on the shelves. The easiest rounds to find on any given shelves are 9mm, 40, 45 and 38/357. During the ammo binge seemed like more 40 was available on the shelf at wally world than any other pistol. My recommendation is get any of those mentioned but get a couple hundred rounds of defense and practice rounds and put them back for that rainy day.

10mm is somewhat scarce, even when it's "abundant." At Gander yesterday they had a single box of really old hydra-shoks, priced like they were Buffalo Bore or something.

Plainfield had no 10mm at all.

Being a 10mm guy means ordering from Underwood in reasonable quantities.

 

[Skywired]

[h=2]Best CC Caliber?... [/h]Without fail, as has been proven time and time again..... it's the cailber that you NEVER fail to strap on.

 

[sbond]

9mm 147 gr great round and lots of them and can still find ammo for it today vs others

 

[jwh20]

I do like that graphics showing the penetration and wound channel for those calibers but if the only consideration was maximum penetration and wound channel, then 10mm could be the only choice among those shown. But very few people actually carry Glock 20s around, citizens or LEOs. So clearly there is more to it than that.

While I like the 10mm round and the Glock 20, it's a beast to shoot compared with the much more popular 9mm Luger and the pistol is quite large and heavy. So as always, the "correct" choice is a compromise. Pick something that you are comfortable and accurate shooting and is sized such that you can easily carry and/or conceal it. A well placed shot from a practiced shooter will always do much better in a defensive situation than a too large or too heavy weapon that was left home because it was too uncomfortable to carry.

 

[RefuseToBeAVictim]

That's a great study which I had read before. Makes me feel real comfy carrying either my 9mm or 38 spl.

Thanks for bringing to our attention.

 

[Moorephine]

.40S&W, hornady critical defense rounds do a lot of damage

 

[88E30M50]

Last spring when there was not a box of 9mm or 45 acp of any type to be found, I could still buy 10mm Hornady XTPs at the Outdoorsman. The most common or most popular are the first to disappear during a shortage.

 

[Donjr721]

50 bmg 1911 platform. Yeah!!!
just kidding.

Shot placement is key reregardless

my preference is 45

my wife likes 9mm

 

[sgreen3]

I carry 45acp in the winter and 9mm in the summer. Its just what works for me, but ya have to be able to shoot well what ever you carry

 

[Bapak2ja]

I mostly carry loving words and a kind heart for anyone that may try to harm me.

I mostly carry loving words and a kind heart for anyone that may try to harm me.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Bapak2ja]

I think you lose a lot in the averages. I think certain calibers perform better due to bullet selection, who commonly carries them, etc. I think you can draw some overall advice, but don't get hung up in the specific numbers.

Whatever caliber the police carry is going to be over represented because there's at least a modicum of training and there's good bullet selection. Common thug guns are going to be under represented due to generally poor bullet selection and the whole holding the gun sideways thing. Yes, they still do it. Yes, they hit each other in the legs a lot.

I don't have anything I specifically disagree with. I just believe there are so many variables that getting to a precise number of shots down to the 1/100th strikes me as unlikely. Yes, I get its an average. Here's the problem. I had a victim shot approximately 14 times with a .40. 10 in the limbs and 4 in the gut. He was right in front of a firehouse, they got him patched up in time, and he lived. Which bullet "stopped" him? #1? #14? I dunno. He claims amnesia, so I'm guessing he's not telling any researcher, either. Another one comes to mind on the other end of the scale. Suspect says he wants to fist fight, victim goes out to meet him, suspect pulls gun, victim starts backing toward his house. The suspect goes ahead and shoots him twice anyway, with the victim continuing to back away. Is that a two, one, or zero? The victim was "stopped" from fighting by the sight of the gun, but didn't stop his intended course of action despite being shot twice. Is it a stop or a failure to stop? If its a zero shot stop, how do you know what caliber to credit it to? How do you situations like these and enter it into your statistics? Regardless of how you do it, even if you kick it out, you aren't getting "true" results.

You may get a good count in a police action shooting or in a civilian defensive shooting, especially at a business where there's video and you can go back and actually see, but even when people want to be helpful, there's so much stress its unlikely they are going to be able to tell you if it was #2 or #3 that stopped him. Especially with modern higher capacity guns and the training to shoot until the threat stops, you may stitch a guy after he's stopped but before that info gets to your brain and back to your hand to stop firing. A heavier recoiling gun like the .357 may end up showing it takes less shots simply because there's more time between each shot and the "evaluate that he's stopped, let's stop shooting" time frame has less shots fired.

Moving beyond that into the general recommendations and we're basically on the same page. .380 and up = good. Smaller = bad. (With the caveat that I don't make a recommendation on the .32 one way or the other from first hand observation because its so uncommon I don't have a good data set. My belief is that it should be avoided, but that's not the same as seeing it. I'm deeply suspicious of how he got his numbers on that one and would bet the sample size is tiny)

There are so many variables, and frankly even if you have statements from everyone, video, and an autopsy, you probably still don't have the entire picture. Carry whatever you shoot accurately the fastest in a caliber that's capable of penetrating bone and still getting to the vitals. I personally carry a .45 or a .357 as a main gun and a .38 as a backup. I'd carry a .40 or 9mm with no problem. There's not much in the way of duty sized pistols in .380, but I'd be ok with one as a backup. I will say I'd rather carry a .380 with good sights, a nice trigger, and an intuitive grip angle than a .45 without them.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.

 

[Bapak2ja]

I have consolidated to 9mm because that is what I shoot the best. I am transitioning to an alloy version of my all steel EDC because I think it will help slightly with transitions. Deciding on the caliber you shoot best with out a lot of time wasted just allows more time to train with that weapon/caliber and maximize your potential. Previously, I wasted time in going back and forth until finally deciding to concentrate on one. This was the best decision for me and may apply to others as well. Having too many platforms and calibers can be counter-productive. Lots of wisdom in your posts, as usual.

Wisdom in your comment, too. Selecting one caliber and staying with it, training with it, mastering it, is good advice. I checked out several guns/calibers when my boys (one Army Reserve and the other USMC) got me started on pistols. Army Reserve son's SP101 in .357 was too powerful (sore thumb and wrist for a week) and the trigger pull was too long. USMC son's Taurus 1911 in .45 was manageable recoil, but the hair trigger had me firing before I was fully on target (I wanted to pause an instant once on target before firing actually firing, but the trigger fired if I breathed on it). I found the G26 was perfect for me. Fit the hand, good trigger for me, and I could re-acquire the target quicker with 9mm than with any of the others. So I have trained exclusively with 9mm and I have improved significantly in handling skills and marksmanship. Staying with one caliber was a good decision for me.

I have practiced with .380 as a BUG, and .38SPL in a revolver just so I am familiar with them in case of need, but I train with 9mm.

 

[Snapdragon]

I mostly carry loving words and a kind heart for anyone that may try to harm me.

Fixed that for you.

I see what you did there.

 

[JetGirl]

50 bmg 1911 platform. Yeah!!!

Ha! I told HistoryGuy to say that, but he didn't.
He can't sit at the cool kid table with us!!

 

[k1500]

Personally, I'd say no less than 9mm but any caliber carried is better than the "best" one left at home.