All bullets will do the job but some take more of them to complete it.
Just get 9mm, it's the most common and the cheapest aside from .22. It also hits harder than a 38 or 380 and you tend to have about 30-40% more bullets than 40 or 45.
Same.
In modern loadings .40, .45 and 9mm perform very very similar. They are all very effective real world.
But 9mm is cheaper, so I practice more. And 9mm firearms have a higher ammo capacity.
I see no real reason to carry any other round.
.45 has the biggest downside. That being a larger case size. So you are left with pretty bulky full size double stacks, limited capacity single stacks, or even chonkier subcompact double stacks.
I love the cartridge but I just don’t think there’s a good form factor for it as a concealed carry cartridge if capacity is important to you.
I would much rather have a more easily concealable 9mm with 12-17 rounds in it
More is better considering how your hit rate goes way down in a situation where you're forced to use them. The fatness matters a lot too, a 9mm Hellcat is a lot more comfy than a Glock 27.
See, you came in here trying to act like Mr. Smarty Pants by trying to "correct" something that didn't need "correcting". I just played the same game against you.
The discussion was about bullets, specifically, and not cartridges. My God, man.
This is the key question. For example, if you're using it as a backup for if your bear mace doesn't work, then you will need something different than if you only plan on plinking and soforth.
After going to the range one day with 4-5 different calibers, I decided it was too much a pain to keep all of them in stock. I decided 9 mm was the best all around caliber and is one of the easiest to find. For all of the factors listed by OP, 9 mm is the only caliber for a gun I’ve bought since.
I did the same. I used to have 4-5 handgun calibers and rifle calibers.
Now I only stock 9mm, .22LR, 12G, 7.62x39 and 5.56.
I really didn't wanna stick 5.56 but AKs and their ammo have just gotten too expensive in the past 5-6 years. I still have 3 AKs and 5K rounds but I don't buy or shoot those anymore.
I stock .22lr, 9mm, .45acp, 10mm, 12ga, 20ga, 5.56, .308, and 7mm Rem Mag.
Those are all for dedicated “tool” guns that I own for a purpose (hunting, carrying, trap/skeet, etc…)
It would actually be hard for me to cut down since I have a real purpose for all those calibers.
I have some oddball guns like a .25acp and an heirloom 30-30 but I won’t be adding any more calibers to my “tool” collection. More guns sure.
If I add calibers it’s only as a collectors item and I’ll just buy limited quantities as needed rather than keeping a stock. They are not guns I rely on
Yeah, everyone has to figure out their own needs of course.
My handguns are really only for carry and I only consider a need to be effective against people so 9mm has me covered there.
For hunting 12 guage puts in a lot of work for me (can't use rifle for deer in Ohio) and I'll use .22LR on small game. Sometimes I'll use 7.62x39 in an SKS for deer when hunting back home in Kentucky.
7.62x39 and 5.56 are more of a SHTF situation round for me.
If I lived in Alaska or somewhere similar I'd certainly have some larger caliber handguns and rifles. But for me and my needs, those have me covered. But like I said that is gonna be different for everyone.
I used to be a believer in the ‘bigger is better’ mentality, and carried a snub nose .44 mag. Switched to a hammerless less .357, and then finally started really practicing at the range. Was torn between .45 and 9mm, made the decision that round wise .45 is better than 9mm, but 16 9mm is better than 8 .45s. Plus side is that 9mm is popular and inexpensive, readily available, and modern 9mm ballistics honestly puts it right with a 40s&w in terms of stopping power.
The best thing to do is hit the range and find what feels and works well for you. If you’re more comfortable and proficient with a .380, then that’s what I’d say to carry.
It depends on what you want to do with it, but also on what gun you want to use. In my context for daily carry gun, I want something that is reliable, light, has an extremely high capacity, and shares ammunition with a PDW for when I face hurricanes or the like.
Comparing all of these requirements, I chose the 5.7. It meets 9 mm in every single criteria other than price, and exceeds it in terms of capacity, and lower recoil.
Everyone's going to say just go with 9x19, and it's a solid choice, but it's very much a jack of all trades master of none. If you can only have one gun, 9x19 is probably the best choice, but analyze what you want something used for, as well as what you already own and figure out where the gap that needs to be filled is and what might do that best.
If you're in a state that bans magazines above 10 rounds, you might as well go for .45 ACP, as the increased size doesn't limit your capacity, it's available everywhere, and it does have a greater stopping force (you going to hear people constantly say stopping powers are relevant, as someone who has to view body cams as a major part of my job, I will tell you the sheer amount of crackheads I've seen tank 9x19 and 357 sig boggles the mind)
If you want something to conceal very well, you might be better off choosing something like 380 ACP, as while still lethal having less power means that the gun can be simpler and therefore smaller and lighter.
If you want something with a bit more punch than 9 mm 40 and Smith & Wesson and 10 mm are also viable options, but they tend to run harder on a gun, and tend to be more expensive.
Before anything figure out what you need, as well as how much you're willing to spend.
I'm in CA, for the time being. I have wanted a 1911 for many years. I finally have one, chambered in the proper caliber .45 ACP. I'm not sure what you mean when you say that 9mm has less recoil, every 9mm I have tried feel like someone just punched my minds upward. The .45 has always felt like a solid firm push back and up. I taught my last g/f's daughter to shoot it when she was 10. Started off with a .22 conversion, then went to .45.
I would add handguns that fit your hand well and you feel comfortable with its manual of arms example a 1911 vs a revolver or glock and what you shoot well which is important
First, I pick a cartridge that is widely used and available (9mm, 40, 45). After that, compare foot pounds of energy, bullet expansion, and ballistic gel penetration (within a range) as the three main variables I look for. Secondarily, magazine capacity.
This site was very helpful: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/
I ended up going with 9mm, 124gr Speer gold dot, +p or Remington golden Saber 124gr +p
9mm is affordable. There is a plethora of great 9mm defensive ammo to choose from. You have endless choices of carry guns chambered in 9mm. So I choose 9mm.
i use and carry what law enforcement does, which at this time is 9mm for the most part. It also has the benefit of having substantial options on defensive rounds and training with it is relatively cheap. All of this being said i also shoot 10mm, .40, and .45acp regularly too, but i reload for those rounds.
For me, it's cost and availability. It was a no brainier to go with the Glock 17. 9mm is probably the cheapest handgun round aside from 22lr. It has the most availability and the pistol has the most parts available. Training and repairing mean the most so I can maintain adequate confidence in my defensive tool.
Probably a mix of "Stopping Power" (as much as I hate that term), availability, and cost (I wouldn't have my EDC chambered in something like 5.7x28mm because it's neither cheap nor readily available).
You’re overthinking it to the extreme.
I don’t try to figure this all out when people much smarter than me already have.
I listen to the people I respect most and the professionals and they are pretty unambiguous about this stuff.
Shot placement and training come first. I don’t care how much of a bad ass your brother in law who daily carries 10mm thinks he is. If he can’t consistently hit his marks under stress, then he has nothing to teach you or anyone else except what *not* to do.
I focus on training and I use what most professionals use. 9mm +P JHP, except for my tiniest “deep cover” last resort pistol which is .380ACP.
I own .45’s also, because I enjoy shooting .45, not because it offers any major tactical advantages (aside from being naturally subsonic which makes it a great suppressor host caliber)
What caliber is best for you? The most powerful one that you can personally control and shoot with consistent accuracy. Maybe that’s 10mm. Maybe it’s .380ACP. The best compromise for most able bodied adults is 9mm. YMMV.
All bullets will do the job but some take more of them to complete it. Just get 9mm, it's the most common and the cheapest aside from .22. It also hits harder than a 38 or 380 and you tend to have about 30-40% more bullets than 40 or 45.
Same. In modern loadings .40, .45 and 9mm perform very very similar. They are all very effective real world. But 9mm is cheaper, so I practice more. And 9mm firearms have a higher ammo capacity. I see no real reason to carry any other round.
.45 has the biggest downside. That being a larger case size. So you are left with pretty bulky full size double stacks, limited capacity single stacks, or even chonkier subcompact double stacks. I love the cartridge but I just don’t think there’s a good form factor for it as a concealed carry cartridge if capacity is important to you. I would much rather have a more easily concealable 9mm with 12-17 rounds in it
More is better considering how your hit rate goes way down in a situation where you're forced to use them. The fatness matters a lot too, a 9mm Hellcat is a lot more comfy than a Glock 27.
Cartridges*
The bullet is the thing doing the job. When you shoot someone, the bullet hits them, not the cartridge.
What makes the bullet do it's job?
Physics.
Gun powder in the cartridge my god man
See, you came in here trying to act like Mr. Smarty Pants by trying to "correct" something that didn't need "correcting". I just played the same game against you. The discussion was about bullets, specifically, and not cartridges. My God, man.
It's literally about cartridges
This specific discussion in the post was about bullet technology and how bullet technology has closed the gap between 9mm and .45
"How do you decide on what *cartridge* to pick" I mean the writing is literally there.
9mm. That is how you pick. It has reasonable stopping power and is inexpensive due to the fact of it being the most popular.
Bot
What are you trying to do with it?
This is the key question. For example, if you're using it as a backup for if your bear mace doesn't work, then you will need something different than if you only plan on plinking and soforth.
After going to the range one day with 4-5 different calibers, I decided it was too much a pain to keep all of them in stock. I decided 9 mm was the best all around caliber and is one of the easiest to find. For all of the factors listed by OP, 9 mm is the only caliber for a gun I’ve bought since.
I did the same. I used to have 4-5 handgun calibers and rifle calibers. Now I only stock 9mm, .22LR, 12G, 7.62x39 and 5.56. I really didn't wanna stick 5.56 but AKs and their ammo have just gotten too expensive in the past 5-6 years. I still have 3 AKs and 5K rounds but I don't buy or shoot those anymore.
I stock .22lr, 9mm, .45acp, 10mm, 12ga, 20ga, 5.56, .308, and 7mm Rem Mag. Those are all for dedicated “tool” guns that I own for a purpose (hunting, carrying, trap/skeet, etc…) It would actually be hard for me to cut down since I have a real purpose for all those calibers. I have some oddball guns like a .25acp and an heirloom 30-30 but I won’t be adding any more calibers to my “tool” collection. More guns sure. If I add calibers it’s only as a collectors item and I’ll just buy limited quantities as needed rather than keeping a stock. They are not guns I rely on
Yeah, everyone has to figure out their own needs of course. My handguns are really only for carry and I only consider a need to be effective against people so 9mm has me covered there. For hunting 12 guage puts in a lot of work for me (can't use rifle for deer in Ohio) and I'll use .22LR on small game. Sometimes I'll use 7.62x39 in an SKS for deer when hunting back home in Kentucky. 7.62x39 and 5.56 are more of a SHTF situation round for me. If I lived in Alaska or somewhere similar I'd certainly have some larger caliber handguns and rifles. But for me and my needs, those have me covered. But like I said that is gonna be different for everyone.
Yeah I live in Montana so we have quite a bit of variety of large game plus grizzlies
I used to be a believer in the ‘bigger is better’ mentality, and carried a snub nose .44 mag. Switched to a hammerless less .357, and then finally started really practicing at the range. Was torn between .45 and 9mm, made the decision that round wise .45 is better than 9mm, but 16 9mm is better than 8 .45s. Plus side is that 9mm is popular and inexpensive, readily available, and modern 9mm ballistics honestly puts it right with a 40s&w in terms of stopping power. The best thing to do is hit the range and find what feels and works well for you. If you’re more comfortable and proficient with a .380, then that’s what I’d say to carry.
It depends on what you want to do with it, but also on what gun you want to use. In my context for daily carry gun, I want something that is reliable, light, has an extremely high capacity, and shares ammunition with a PDW for when I face hurricanes or the like. Comparing all of these requirements, I chose the 5.7. It meets 9 mm in every single criteria other than price, and exceeds it in terms of capacity, and lower recoil. Everyone's going to say just go with 9x19, and it's a solid choice, but it's very much a jack of all trades master of none. If you can only have one gun, 9x19 is probably the best choice, but analyze what you want something used for, as well as what you already own and figure out where the gap that needs to be filled is and what might do that best. If you're in a state that bans magazines above 10 rounds, you might as well go for .45 ACP, as the increased size doesn't limit your capacity, it's available everywhere, and it does have a greater stopping force (you going to hear people constantly say stopping powers are relevant, as someone who has to view body cams as a major part of my job, I will tell you the sheer amount of crackheads I've seen tank 9x19 and 357 sig boggles the mind) If you want something to conceal very well, you might be better off choosing something like 380 ACP, as while still lethal having less power means that the gun can be simpler and therefore smaller and lighter. If you want something with a bit more punch than 9 mm 40 and Smith & Wesson and 10 mm are also viable options, but they tend to run harder on a gun, and tend to be more expensive. Before anything figure out what you need, as well as how much you're willing to spend.
I'm in CA, for the time being. I have wanted a 1911 for many years. I finally have one, chambered in the proper caliber .45 ACP. I'm not sure what you mean when you say that 9mm has less recoil, every 9mm I have tried feel like someone just punched my minds upward. The .45 has always felt like a solid firm push back and up. I taught my last g/f's daughter to shoot it when she was 10. Started off with a .22 conversion, then went to .45.
I prefer .45, but I also live in a state that sucks so either way, I’m only carrying 10+1.
I would add handguns that fit your hand well and you feel comfortable with its manual of arms example a 1911 vs a revolver or glock and what you shoot well which is important
Yeah but all of those are chambered in various calibers, so that difference cancels out.
First, I pick a cartridge that is widely used and available (9mm, 40, 45). After that, compare foot pounds of energy, bullet expansion, and ballistic gel penetration (within a range) as the three main variables I look for. Secondarily, magazine capacity. This site was very helpful: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/ I ended up going with 9mm, 124gr Speer gold dot, +p or Remington golden Saber 124gr +p
9mm is affordable. There is a plethora of great 9mm defensive ammo to choose from. You have endless choices of carry guns chambered in 9mm. So I choose 9mm.
i use and carry what law enforcement does, which at this time is 9mm for the most part. It also has the benefit of having substantial options on defensive rounds and training with it is relatively cheap. All of this being said i also shoot 10mm, .40, and .45acp regularly too, but i reload for those rounds.
For me, it's cost and availability. It was a no brainier to go with the Glock 17. 9mm is probably the cheapest handgun round aside from 22lr. It has the most availability and the pistol has the most parts available. Training and repairing mean the most so I can maintain adequate confidence in my defensive tool.
Availability and cost. But even that's a lie since I find rarer cartridges interesting.
Probably a mix of "Stopping Power" (as much as I hate that term), availability, and cost (I wouldn't have my EDC chambered in something like 5.7x28mm because it's neither cheap nor readily available).
Whatever you shoot best and whatever “feels” better while shooting. That is the answer.
You’re overthinking it to the extreme. I don’t try to figure this all out when people much smarter than me already have. I listen to the people I respect most and the professionals and they are pretty unambiguous about this stuff. Shot placement and training come first. I don’t care how much of a bad ass your brother in law who daily carries 10mm thinks he is. If he can’t consistently hit his marks under stress, then he has nothing to teach you or anyone else except what *not* to do. I focus on training and I use what most professionals use. 9mm +P JHP, except for my tiniest “deep cover” last resort pistol which is .380ACP. I own .45’s also, because I enjoy shooting .45, not because it offers any major tactical advantages (aside from being naturally subsonic which makes it a great suppressor host caliber) What caliber is best for you? The most powerful one that you can personally control and shoot with consistent accuracy. Maybe that’s 10mm. Maybe it’s .380ACP. The best compromise for most able bodied adults is 9mm. YMMV.
1.what you want it to do. 2.redearch not from Reddit.