Journal RailGunner's Journal: RG's Self Defense and Caliber opinion. 10
So a question that often comes up in numerous gun forums is: What caliber bullet is the best?
Short Answer: The one you can handle the best -- where you have an accurate grouping -- plus, any gun is better than no gun if you find yourself in a situation where you need it.
Long Answer: The one rule of Hand Guns is that "stopping power" is largely a myth. Bad guys are stopped one of two ways - hitting a critical organ (heart, brain, spinal cord), which in the case of the heart could still give the attacker as much as 30 seconds of fight left in them -- or, puncturing enough holes so the attacker bleeds out and passes out from loss of blood pressure.
Compared to rifles and shotguns, all hand guns suck.
But since you can't conceal an AR-15, here's my opinion on some of the various handgun calibers and why I would or wouldn't recommend them for self defense / concealed carry.
First -- just forget about .50 Cal or .44 Magnum. You're not going to find a small frame gun to conceal chambered for these rounds. (No matter how awesome they may be.)
Second -- no matter what caliber, do not carry FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) rounds. In a number of states, Texas included, you are responsible for the round. If it goes all the way through a bad guy and hits an innocent person, you're on the hook. For self-defense, you want a round that's going to hit the bad guy, expand, and stay in them causing as much damage as possible. So buy and carry some form of expanding round. Remington Golden Sabre Hollowpoints are good, so are Federal Hydra-Shoks and Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Now one to some of the more popular rounds.
.45 ACP -- This is what I carry in my everyday carry gun (a Springfield XDS). I am physically strong enough to more than handle the gun, and the .45 ACP is a heavy, slow round (compared to the 9mm and .40 S & W) but leads the pack in FBI statistics in "one shot stops". For a handgun round, the .45 ACP is a pretty devastating round. However... the recoil can be a bit much, and if you aren't strong enough to reliably control the gun, it's not for you. If you can, .45 is the way to go.
.40 S & W: Sometimes called the .40 slow and weak when compared to it's 10mm sibling, the .40 caliber round is also an effective round. The recoil tends to be a little sharper in pulling up as opposed to the .45 (where the recoil is more of a back push) but some people can handle the .40 better than the .45. It's a good choice.
9mm: The 9mm round is often denigrated, but the fact is I used to carry a 9mm as my everyday carry until I bought my concealable .45. The 9mm is smaller, but faster, than the .45 and the .40, and carrying a hollowpoint round here is even more critical. However, 9mm often takes 2 shots to stop, so if you're going to carry a 9mm (or any other gun, really) practice is very, very important. Double-Tap!
That's it. That's the, uh, unholy trinity of hand gun rounds that I'd recommend.
The rest are too small in my opinion. And no, I especially recommend against a .357 magnum -- it's a small bullet (even smaller than the roughly .38 9mm round) and much, much faster. Even with an expanding round I think the risk of the bullet passing through the target and wreaking havoc on innocents is too great. .380 ACP, .38 Special, .22 -- better than nothing, but unless you hit a vital organ you might just piss the person off.
Home defense? IF you can handle the recoil, get a shotgun. Otherwise, or if you're married, the AR-15 is an excellent choice. Or even better -- get both! I have one of each, as my wife is not physically strong enough to reliably handle the 12 gauge boomstick. The AR-15 on the other hand, has very little recoil (part of why they're so popular) and most women can easily handle it. Plus, most magazines are 30 round capacity (and MagPuls are awesome). The AR-15, despite the claims of our mentally retarded Vice President, is EASIER, not harder, to handle than a shotgun.
For the AR-15, you can buy expanding rounds, typically both Hollowpoint and Softpoint (especially in .223 Remington - but be careful here. If your rifle is not rated for the 5.56x45 NATO rounds, DON'T USE THEM IN YOUR RIFLE. However, if your rifle is rated for 5.56 NATO (like mine is) you can use either 5.56x45 or .223 Remington. The 5.56 round is same bullet, but the 5.56 NATO variety has a lot more powder behind it, meaning a much faster muzzle velocity. For the shotgun -- double-aught buckshot, and maybe for the last one load it with a 1 oz slug. Though be sure of what you're shooting at, that slug may pass through your brick and your neighbor's brick.
Finally -- always aim for center mass. Unless the bad guy has body armor, headshots are stupid. And if you think you can "shoot the gun out of the bad guy's hands"... well, the gene pool is better off without you in it.
Short Answer: The one you can handle the best -- where you have an accurate grouping -- plus, any gun is better than no gun if you find yourself in a situation where you need it.
Long Answer: The one rule of Hand Guns is that "stopping power" is largely a myth. Bad guys are stopped one of two ways - hitting a critical organ (heart, brain, spinal cord), which in the case of the heart could still give the attacker as much as 30 seconds of fight left in them -- or, puncturing enough holes so the attacker bleeds out and passes out from loss of blood pressure.
Compared to rifles and shotguns, all hand guns suck.
But since you can't conceal an AR-15, here's my opinion on some of the various handgun calibers and why I would or wouldn't recommend them for self defense / concealed carry.
First -- just forget about
Second -- no matter what caliber, do not carry FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) rounds. In a number of states, Texas included, you are responsible for the round. If it goes all the way through a bad guy and hits an innocent person, you're on the hook. For self-defense, you want a round that's going to hit the bad guy, expand, and stay in them causing as much damage as possible. So buy and carry some form of expanding round. Remington Golden Sabre Hollowpoints are good, so are Federal Hydra-Shoks and Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Now one to some of the more popular rounds.
9mm: The 9mm round is often denigrated, but the fact is I used to carry a 9mm as my everyday carry until I bought my concealable
That's it. That's the, uh, unholy trinity of hand gun rounds that I'd recommend.
The rest are too small in my opinion. And no, I especially recommend against a
Home defense? IF you can handle the recoil, get a shotgun. Otherwise, or if you're married, the AR-15 is an excellent choice. Or even better -- get both! I have one of each, as my wife is not physically strong enough to reliably handle the 12 gauge boomstick. The AR-15 on the other hand, has very little recoil (part of why they're so popular) and most women can easily handle it. Plus, most magazines are 30 round capacity (and MagPuls are awesome). The AR-15, despite the claims of our mentally retarded Vice President, is EASIER, not harder, to handle than a shotgun.
For the AR-15, you can buy expanding rounds, typically both Hollowpoint and Softpoint (especially in
Finally -- always aim for center mass. Unless the bad guy has body armor, headshots are stupid. And if you think you can "shoot the gun out of the bad guy's hands"... well, the gene pool is better off without you in it.
Plus with a shotgun (Score:2)
If you happen to be more of a pacifist, I have never heard of a bad guy that rock salt load won't stop, especially if you use enough powder to insure penetration of the skin. The pain is excruciating.
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One day, one of her colleagues was involved in a shootout. The bad guy was a horrible shot armed with a 5 shot revolver. All 5 missed the cop. The cop was armed with a
After which, the perp got in the cops face and yelled "STOP SHOOTING ME!!". He was hardly "stopped", and despite being in considerable pain, was pissed off enough to still be very, very dangerous.
Rock S
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My Benelli Nova Pump is my in-service gun and it is loaded, chambered all the time. Anybody who gets on the receiving end had their warning before they entered the property. That door is there for HIS protection, not mine.
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What RG said. If someone needs shooting, rock salt likely ain't gonna do it.
tl;dr (Score:2)
heh (Score:2)
I own a few guns - they are in a safe in Arizona.
And if you'd asked me when I left the US if I'd ever say this, I'd tell you that you were crazy - but living in a place where I really don't need to think about this stuff and gun crime is for all intents and purposes non-existent is incredibly nice.
My cousin in Slovenia lives on a farm and hunts - so he has a nice shotgun, rifle and pistol. So it isn't that it's impossible - it's just unusual. And contrary to my expectations the results are v
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Must be nice. I live in a place where feral people can run amok, and when seconds count the police are minutes away.
Had a home invasion in my neighborhood a few months ago, and I live in a "nice area". Problem with that, is, it's a "nice area" so we tend to have stuff that feral people want. So, they get groups of 3 or 4 and invade homes. I hope that ne
Living with two women... (Score:2)
I live with two women (don't ask...), one of whom is a fairly avid shooter. Both can more easily handle the AR-15 with .223/5.56 than a 12 gauge. And I'm much more confident in the AR to not jam than a 12 gauge to not suffer a short stroke.
AFAIR, NJ bans hollow points, don't they? Moot point for me, but relevant for some.
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Aside from the fact that it's completely stupid -- since while an expanding round is *more* likely to deliver a fatal wound, it is also *less* likely to pass through and strike an innocent bystander.
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That's my understanding, but I could be wrong. Don't live in that state. That is just 'what I've heard'. And IIRC, it predates Christie. I think it was part of their gun control crap from the 90's, along with mag limits.
Oh, speaking of mag limits, NJ does not exempt tube mags from them. So if you've got a Marlin 60, NJ considers it an assault rifle due to round capacity.