Smallest caliber you would use for a defensive handgun?

[nkantzer]

There are 2 different guns I think are the minimum to carry. The 380 is a great belly gun or really close range, but the 9 is the lowest I would go. Me personnaly I like my 45 thats the smallest I will carry just because in the Army I liked it and saw what it could do.

 

[VERT]

Smallest gun I carry is a .38 +P. I would not feel terribly bad with wadcutters if it were an older gun that was not rated +P.

I would feel OK with a .380 only if it chambered in a slightly larger gun with greater then a 3 inch barrel. I have no use for the little 10 oz micro guns. In fact I would choose the NAA mini revolver in .22 over a Keltec or LCP.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

.950 JDJ

 

[Bapak2ja]

TCP .380 is the smallest upon which I would rely. Prefer 9mm for EDC, but use the TCP for jogging, manual labor days.

 

[BACKLASH]

I Carry .40 most days but 9 mil BUG so 9mil. I only carry the 40 because its the little M&P Shield. I love that gun!

 

[woody131]

EDC is a j frame air weight 38+p but occasionally I carry a high standard D101 in 22mag. Speer makes a short barrel gold dot 22 mag ammo. I don't know how much better expansion it gives over my CCI's but I'm gonna try em out.

 

[dusterboy49]

Whatever caliber that would end the threat to you and yours.....

 

[figley]

EDC is a j frame air weight 38+p but occasionally I carry a high standard D101 in 22mag. Speer makes a short barrel gold dot 22 mag ammo. I don't know how much better expansion it gives over my CCI's but I'm gonna try em out.

I'd like to try them out, also. Have you had any luck acquiring them?

 

[Birds Away]

Fortunately, you don't have to conceal in Indiana.

 

[pdg45acp]

380 is the smallest I'll do.

I carry this a lot in the summer.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Flame all you want, but my P32 in the pocket beats your .45 at home in the sock drawer every day of the week.

 

[SMiller]

9mm, smallest load out is 15+1, tried the smaller calibers and loadouts, I will take a very slight discomfort so that I can have a firearm that feels good in my hand, carries a larger caliber, and has enough bullets that I don't have to stress if I fire several shots at once.

All this equals a G19 in a MTAC, your results will vary.

 

[nobek102]

I personally carry a 40 but would feel comfortable with a 9 mm but anything that goes boom is gonna be sufficient... Bad guys usually don't stick around to see what caliber u went with...

 

[Lectric102002]

I personally carry a 40 but would feel comfortable with a 9 mm but anything that goes boom is gonna be sufficient... Bad guys usually don't stick around to see what caliber u went with...

So, in your scenario, you shoot and miss and the BG runs away ? Or you fire a warning shot ?

Personally, if I draw my weapon against a threat, I'm shooting and hitting, unless the threat subsides. I want something that will go "boom" and mitigate the threat. You said you would feel comfortable with a 9. I would as well. As a minimum.

Only 3 to go...

 

[88E30M50]

The smallest I use for SD is .380. There are times when that's as big as can be carried but that's not my norm. For day to day carry, 9mm is the least I'll carry. I prefer .40, 10mm or .45 ACP though. Which is it depends on the day, where I'm going and what I'm doing. The location I am heading to determines what I carry. Sometimes I want the capacity of a full size CZ 75 and others it's the punch and shootability of a Glock 23. I have 1911 days and Glock days.

 

[fundy87]

.22lr, I don't feel the need to justify or argue personal preference

 

[CharlesGoodnight]

.380 for me, via Beretta 84 that has 4" barrel. I am most accurate with a S&W Revolver .38 special.

 

[ultra...good]

Flame all you want, but my P32 in the pocket beats your .45 at home in the sock drawer every day of the week.

What if you left the house without your pants? That doesn't just happen in nightmares you know.
What if I happen to spend most of my time at home in front of my dresser? Now who's the prepared one?

 

[.452browning]

In semi auto I only carry 9mm or .45ACP. In revolver it's .357/38.

I used to carry .380 for BUG.

 

[mercop]

Why I yawn at discussion about calibers and rounds.

Well, most people talk about the devastation of OO Buck, one cold night in FEB 200 I put four of them into a guy at 7 yards and he did not burst into flames as advertised on the box. He also soaked up some 9 and 40. What stopped the action was one of my pellets blew off his gun hand thumb so he could not hold it anymore. The COD was a pellet striking the descending aorta. Long story longer, don't trust your gun, don't trust your round, don't trust your shooting, trust in your ability not to become fixated and remember to move.

This discussion is kinda like fantasy football but for gun owners.- George