What's your favorite caliber, and why?

[jcj54]

.45 ACP because I have fired 1/2 million of them in the last 46 years and enjoyed every one....

 

[Bassat]

16/50. Cuz 2000 pound projectiles traveling at 2700 feet per second is just cool.

 

[Expat]

I mostly shoot 9mm now because I carry what I practice with. I used to like .45, 10mm and 357 Sig. now that I am old, arthritic and soft, the 9mm is easier on me.

 

[DadSmith]

Ok, boomer.

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

Before the call that changed Sergeant Timothy Gramins’ life forever, he typically carried 47 rounds of handgun ammunition on his person while on duty

www.police1.com

This cop should go with 10mm and just carry a few magazines with 200gr hard cast WFNGC ammunition. That way it will go through a few car doors and the criminal without much problem.

 

[DadSmith]

Great example. Ballistics are a very misunderstood topic, particularly in handguns.

Handgun rounds don’t have the velocity of rifle rounds obviously. This is why stopping power is such a myth. Bigger bullet does not equal bigger dead, as so many 45 aficionados claim.

In handguns, stopping a threat in their tracks requires shot placement in the central nervous system. Even then (see article) that’s sometimes not enough. More rounds is better. Faster, more accurate follow up shots is better. Shoot until the target is on the floor, the shoot some more. This “shoot him once because it’s a 45” stuff is nonsense.

Before anyone argues that plenty of people have died from non-CNS shots, yes. That’s why I specify “stop somebody in their tracks”. I don’t care if an attacker died 15 minutes later from blood loss after he already killed me.

Rifles are a little different due to their velocity and the more violent temporary wound channel it creates and its ability to do indirect damage.

I read about ER Dr in Chicago.
He said bigger bullet do bigger holes, and cause more blood loss than smaller bullets.
Also deeper penetration was key as well.
He also said that a pass through not hitting anything vital in the torso presented 2 holes to plug and caused more bleeding than one that stayed in with no vitals hit.
I can't remember the Dr name but I read it in a book years ago on this subject.
Also bigger caliber HP make bigger holes than smaller caliber HP, and according to him had a better chance of causing more bleeding, than smaller calibers.
However, it didn't matter if it was a 44 Magnum, 22lr, or anything in between if the bullet hit the heart, or brain that person was dead.
So we are are right back to shot placement, and how accurate you are under stress.

All that said shoot the caliber you are able to shoot accurately under stress. Hopefully it's more than a 22lr

 

[tude]

41 Magnum. I have had the disease for years, no cure.

 

[ECS686]

I read about ER Dr in Chicago.
He said bigger bullet do bigger holes, and cause more blood loss than smaller bullets.
Also deeper penetration was key as well.
He also said that a pass through not hitting anything vital in the torso presented 2 holes to plug and caused more bleeding than one that stayed in with no vitals hit.
I can't remember the Dr name but I read it in a book years ago on this subject.
Also bigger caliber HP make bigger holes than smaller caliber HP, and according to him had a better chance of causing more bleeding, than smaller calibers.
However, it didn't matter if it was a 44 Magnum, 22lr, or anything in between if the bullet hit the heart, or brain that person was dead.
So we are are right back to shot placement, and how accurate you are under stress.

All that said shoot the caliber you are able to shoot accurately under stress. Hopefully it's more than a 22lr

Not disputing he Dr however there are exceptions. Dave Spaulding mentioned a case where a victim shot was at the hospital getting an MRI and something was jumping around inside his heart….it was a 22LR bullet he had just been shot with like a jumping bean every heart beat. He survived.

Real thugs don’t read gel tests. That said the best way is upper thoracic hits to the heart and aorta of the brain stem.

So no matter what you care practice in 3x5 cards and B8 repair centers.

 

[Zjhagens]

I read about ER Dr in Chicago.
He said bigger bullet do bigger holes, and cause more blood loss than smaller bullets.
Also deeper penetration was key as well.
He also said that a pass through not hitting anything vital in the torso presented 2 holes to plug and caused more bleeding than one that stayed in with no vitals hit.
I can't remember the Dr name but I read it in a book years ago on this subject.
Also bigger caliber HP make bigger holes than smaller caliber HP, and according to him had a better chance of causing more bleeding, than smaller calibers.
However, it didn't matter if it was a 44 Magnum, 22lr, or anything in between if the bullet hit the heart, or brain that person was dead.
So we are are right back to shot placement, and how accurate you are under stress.

All that said shoot the caliber you are able to shoot accurately under stress. Hopefully it's more than a 22lr

it sounds like we reach basically the same conclusion

However I’m not arguing that bigger holes don’t cause more blood loss, all else being equal, but reference my 4th paragraph. In a self defense situation the goal is not to kill the attacker, it’s to stop him immediately. Not from blood loss an hour later on a hospital bed. Him getting unalived is a consequence of stopping him.

I’m saying that 45 guys often oversimplify this to bigger bullet = more immediate lethality, and that’s not the real world. More shots on target ups the chance of a CNS hit. For those reasons, a caliber that is easier to shoot quick and has a higher capacity, while still maintaining adequate penetration, ballistics, and reliability, is a better choice.

 

[DadSmith]

it sounds like we reach basically the same conclusion

However I’m not arguing that bigger holes don’t cause more blood loss, all else being equal, but reference my 4th paragraph. In a self defense situation the goal is not to kill the attacker, it’s to stop him immediately. Not from blood loss an hour later on a hospital bed. Him getting unalived is a consequence of stopping him.

I’m saying that 45 guys often oversimplify this to bigger bullet = more immediate lethality, and that’s not the real world. More shots on target ups the chance of a CNS hit. For those reasons, a caliber that is easier to shoot quick and has a higher capacity, while still maintaining adequate penetration, ballistics, and reliability, is a better choice.

Yep it goes back to shot placement, and accuracy. I'll add this. A reliable handgun as well.
So test/practice with your EDC often with the ammunition you plan to carry.

 

[Scott58]

I carry a .45 because I'm a boomer, but at the range my favorite is .38 special through my Dan Wesson .357 magnum. Love target shooting that round. Here lately though affair bit of time with .22 magnum.

 

[Route 45]

This cop should go with 10mm and just carry a few magazines with 200gr hard cast WFNGC ammunition. That way it will go through a few car doors and the criminal without much problem.

The bad guy had 6 fatal wounds. Well, "eventually" fatal, anyway. 10mm would have done no different. In fact, the hollowpoint .45 ACP ammo probably created bigger wound tracks and did more damage than a .40 caliber bullet poking all the way through. Penetration wasn't the problem. And there's likely no worse choice for a law enforcement pistol round than hard cast flat nose. Unless you don't give a damn about bystanders on the other side of the bad guy.

 

[DadSmith]

The bad guy had 6 fatal wounds. Well, "eventually" fatal, anyway. 10mm would have done no different. In fact, the hollowpoint .45 ACP ammo probably created bigger wound tracks and did more damage than a .40 caliber bullet poking all the way through. Penetration wasn't the problem. And there's likely no worse choice for a law enforcement pistol round than hard cast flat nose. Unless you don't give a damn about bystanders on the other side of the bad guy.

It must not be the one I'm thinking of.
The one I'm thinking of his caliber i believe was a 45acp wasn't penetrating the car doors, and hood etc. So he wasted a lot of shots in the shootout.

 

[SmokingTrigger]

45... because it's God's caliber!

 

[Bigdog357]

I'll bet you can't guess mine

 

[CrazyBagel169]

I'll bet you can't guess mine

hmmm, is it a 45?

 

[99zhuggerz99]

.22 because it's cheap, like me

This. Plus it’s just fun.

 

[CrazyBagel169]

Personally, I love the .357 Magnum. If you handload, it can be a downloaded to a light 38 spl level with hardly any recoil or noise. A good 125 or 158 grain hollowpoint loaded to magnum levels will put the hurt on anything two legged. Heavier cast SWC can take almost any game found in the continental US.

A good stout revolver like a Ruger or S&W L or N frame can handle just about anything you handload (within reason) and the same rounds put through a lever action carbine will be downright brutal to anything they hit.

What are the differences between the different S&W frames?

 

[firecadet613]

What are the differences between the different S&W frames?

www.handgunhero.com is a great resource when comparing specs and sizes.

 

[CrazyBagel169]

www.handgunhero.com is a great resource when comparing specs and sizes.

Ooh, thank you!

 

[Route 45]

I tend to shoot more 9mm these days due to price, but that does not mean that it is my favorite.

If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the universally beloved .40 S&W.

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