What's your favorite caliber, and why?

[88E30M50]

My favorite is .357 Sig for all of the reasons mentioned at the top of this thread. Second is a .40 S&W. Third would be .45 ACP and 9mm at the bottom. 9mm is capable given today's self defense loading, but it has the potential to make shooters look better than they are. Too many guys build confidence with soft shooting 9mm target loads, then load up with high end defense ammo that they can't afford to shoot on occasion.

All that said, I still recommend 9mm for new shooters. A new shooter needs to shoot a bunch to get comfortable and build skill. Save the higher powered stuff for later on if you want. Practice with 9mm target loads and carry with 9mm standard pressure HD loads. Later, maybe dip your toe in the waters of the higher powered stuff and see if it's for you. A lot of folks are fine with staying with 9mm.

Just be careful of carrying with ammo that you can't afford to occasionally practice with. Shooting somewhat quickly is not too hard a skill to master with target ammo. Needing to shoot quickly with higher powered ammo that you are not familiar with is dangerous.

 

[Gingerbeardman]

My preferences for handgun calibers are based more on which guns I love to shoot. My favorite is a CZ in 9mm but who's to say I wouldn't also like it in some other caliber? My two other favs are revolvers in .22 and .38.

 

[profjeremy]

My favorite? 10mm, hands down! But I definitely shoot 9mm far more and .45ACP is growing on me (I must be getting old).

 

[CrazyBagel169]

There's not enough barrel length to fully burn all the propellent, so you get a huge fireball and lots of recoil and blast since much of it burns outside the barrel. You still get more velocity that you would with a .38+p, but usually not enough to be worth it.

Some loads like Speer's Gold Dot Short Barrel use low flash, fast burning powders to get the most out of the short barrel, but most traditional magnum loads are going to see significant performance improvements out of the longer barrels.

This is .357 Mag out of a 2" S&W 640, just to give you an idea:
View attachment 378930

That load runs 1080fps out of the snubby, and 1260fps out of my 4" GP100. I haven't chronographed it out of my 18" Marlin 1894, but it's probably somewhere around 1700-1800fps based on other loads that I've measured.

Ok that's pretty cool. In what instances would a snub nose be worth it, if this is the case?

 

[Squid556]

What does the snub nose do that makes the 357 not magical?

@92FSTech summed it up perfectly.
Its scary how alike we think.

These are all just tools and likewise need to be used appropriately. IMHO, putting a very short barrel on a 357 magnum is vaguely like putting a cheap socket on an impact driver. Can't put the power to good use cause the socket won't transfer it well.

Here's a good resource to learn from.

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .357 Mag Results

(statement of intent)

ballisticsbytheinch.com

 

[Squid556]

Ok that's pretty cool. In what instances would a snub nose be worth it, if this is the case?

Snub nose would be better accompanied by a cartridge like .38 Special, 9mm luger, .44 Special

Faster burning non magnum cartridges.

 

[CrazyBagel169]

Snub nose would be better accompanied by a cartridge like .38 Special, 9mm luger, .44 Special

Faster burning non magnum cartridges.

There's not enough barrel length to fully burn all the propellent, so you get a huge fireball and lots of recoil and blast since much of it burns outside the barrel. You still get more velocity that you would with a .38+p, but usually not enough to be worth it.

Some loads like Speer's Gold Dot Short Barrel use low flash, fast burning powders to get the most out of the short barrel, but most traditional magnum loads are going to see significant performance improvements out of the longer barrels.

This is .357 Mag out of a 2" S&W 640, just to give you an idea:
View attachment 378930

That load runs 1080fps out of the snubby, and 1260fps out of my 4" GP100. I haven't chronographed it out of my 18" Marlin 1894, but it's probably somewhere around 1700-1800fps based on other loads that I've measured.

Ok, thanks for the resources and explanations!

 

[foszoe]

Basically need a 16" barrel on my revolver. That leaves enough room to hang my bang flag!

 

[firecadet613]

 

[DadSmith]

@92FSTech summed it up perfectly.
Its scary how alike we think.

These are all just tools and likewise need to be used appropriately. IMHO, putting a very short barrel on a 357 magnum is vaguely like putting a cheap socket on an impact driver. Can't put the power to good use cause the socket won't transfer it well.

Here's a good resource to learn from.

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .357 Mag Results

(statement of intent)

ballisticsbytheinch.com

View attachment 378966

Real ballistic gel test. I was surprised by these HST and the penetration and expansion.
I figured the 2" would not do as well. I was wrong. HST is a good bullet.

 

[Squid556]

Real ballistic gel test. I was surprised by these HST and the penetration and expansion.
I figured the 2" would not do as well. I was wrong. HST is a good bullet.

Recoil looked pretty hard but hey the penetration and expansion are BOTH there. Good to see federal continuing development.

 

[92FSTech]

Ok that's pretty cool. In what instances would a snub nose be worth it, if this is the case?

I am a big snubby fan, especially the centennial Smith and Wessons (340, 442, 642, 640, etc) because they are snagless and easy to draw. They make a great pocket gun. Safe to carry with a long heavy trigger pull, simple manual of arms, and extremely reliable. The airweights are light enough that you almost forget they are there, yet still give me the ability to reliably make hits out to 25 yards and beyond with a full-power "service" cartridge.

They obviously have their shortcomings: capacity, cumbersome reloads, and ballistic limitations being some of the most glaring. They also require a lot of practice to get proficient with them. They're small, have a short sight radius, and that long double-action pull is a developed skill. Recoil can also be pretty harsh, especially in the airweights. I use those for .38s and save the magnums for my steel Model 60 and 640.

Ammo selection is important. Because you're giving up velocity, you need a bullet that will penetrate. A lot of guys advocate full wadcutters as they don't expand and the flat face cuts a nice clean hole in tissue. I shoot a ton of those on the range.

I personally like the Speer 135Gr Short Barrel load for carry, which is optimized for snubbies. It uses fast burning powder with flash suppressant to get the most velocity possible out of the short barrel without the massive muzzle blast pictured in my earlier post. They make it in both .38+P and .357 Mag, but the magnum load isn't too spicy, chronographing right at 1050fps out of my 2" 640. The "low-flash" thing isn't just marketing hype, either...I've used it to put an injured deer down in the dark before, and there was no significant flash. The biggest problem with the Speer load is that they suck at production and distribution...I haven't seen any on shelves around here since before Covid.

 

[92FSTech]

Real ballistic gel test. I was surprised by these HST and the penetration and expansion.
I figured the 2" would not do as well. I was wrong. HST is a good bullet.

That looks like some pretty good stuff. I may need to pick some up and see how it does in my guns. I like the Gold Dots but I'm having trouble finding any.

ETA: They're sure proud of it! Just looked it up...MSRP is over $2/round! I like HSTs, but dang! I also don't see a .38+P version on their website, so it looks like they're only offering the magnums for now.

 

[Doc1980]

+1 for 9mm Luger.

Cheap, effective, versatile, ubiquitous.

But yeah basically all other calibers are more… interesting. Doesn’t make them my favorite tho.

View attachment 378151

Still enjoy "staring" at these comparison photos. No matter what the size of ammo! I agree with Squid and his choice of Luger adjectives. Reliable and more accurate in my hands as well.

9mm is my favorite to practice with and carry. 45 ACP is second for me, I like shooting targets with it. But typically in a longer 1911 style 5" + barrel. Shorter carry length ACP barrels, like the Glock 30 and Kimber UCII, are more difficult for me to hold on target in rapid fire scenarios. Am I likely to just fire one and done in a defense situation? Shoot what makes you more personally more comfortable and more consistent - whatever size that may be. And get out and practice.

 

[10mm]

10mm being the obvious choice for those of us that can comfortably mistake a 2x4 for a baseball bat, I also like 308 as a handgun caliber.

 

[knot4reel]

45 cal because like me it's old and proven to work.

PS I love to reload it

 

[JTKelly]

30-06

 

[stevezx2]

I guess for me, it depends on the Purpose:
Plinking- 22LR
Personal protection-45acp
Shooting for enjoyment- 44Mag

Very similar for me.
.22 is what I end up shooting the most because ammo is cheap and plentiful.
If I'm going out to shoot something a little bigger I usually grab one of my 357 or 454/45LC revolvers.
9mm for protection guns.

 

[wizardfitz]

9mm bc when the shtf it will be everywhere

 

[Falcon Flyer]

38 Super. I like the high speeds possible while recoil remains moderate and very managable. My 38 Super gun is a Tanfoglio (Italian) large frame with a optional long slide. Long sight radius, good sights, and very accurate. Almost .357 power but with 17 rounds on hand.