So what caliber does everyone CCW on NES?

[Jose]

Is that a Model 24?

Lew Horton special 29-3, but I only feed it Specials for defense. 44 Mags are a bit much for the street. But if I ever take that gun on the trail I will definitely pack some magnums. I have some wicked Fiocchi 240 JSPs.

 

[Erebus]

It's not that the .38 Special is so powerful... as much as it's simply not "underpowered" or "insufficient" in doing it's job like many like to claim (while they scratch their balls with one hand, hold their beer in the other... and belch ).

It's just a continuation of the caliber war. .45 vs 9mm vs .40 vs .38 vs .357... etc.

These guys are just saying that the .38 Special round is more than adequate for the job... and there are plenty of bodies in cemeteries with .38 size holes to prove it.

Same goes for 9mm (another caliber people like to pick on and subsequently ignore it's long long history of putting people into the ground with 9mm sized holes).

Just watch a few episodes of "The First 48". Most of the shooting victims are killed with 9mm or .38.

I myself carry 45ACP in a full size P220 in an IWB Don Hume H715

 

[Walter Smitty]

While riding my motorcycle, a 1934 Beretta and 95 grain ball. The flat profile is one less bulge to contend with, manly physique not withstanding. For every day carry a S&W 36 or model 19 2.5" bl. I use handloads in both with an emphasis on penetration. We wear LOTS of clothes up here for much of the year. The 36 I carry in town, the 19 when out in the rural areas which is about 99% of our land area

Handloads are not a real worry as there is a different attitude as to self defense. If you have a legitimate right to defend your life, what you use is pretty much irrelevant. When we travel back east I take a Browning Hi-power with Federal 115 or 124 gr ball. The gun is at hand and a magazine on me somewhere. I figure I might be able to talk my way out of an unloaded gun in the passenger compartment of my vehicle. The magazine can be quickly inserted if I need it. I travel at night and am extremely aware of my surroundings while fueling the car.

 

[drgrant]

To those of you that carry a .380 or 9mm, what do you carry, and what do you think of it?

If I ever had to carry a .380 again I'd just use the best ball ammo (FMJ) I could get my hands on. Most JHPs in .380 don't work very well in testing, they rarely expand though even one layer of denim. A lot of .380s also choke on certain kinds of JHPs. Given that problem you might as well get your hands on as much penetration as possible, at least that way it would have a chance of hitting things in the BG's body to make him stop. Someone will say "oh overpenetration!" but .380 ball will not overpenetrate nearly as much as 9mm ball ammo will. I just think that in .380 most JHPs will end up acting like overpriced ball ammo anyways. IIRC even the corbon .380 +P doesn't do that well. The main problem is that in .380 the bullets are just too light, and on top of that, can't be pushed very fast.

In 9mm I use Speer 124 gr Gold Dots, or their 124 gr +P load. Usually I end up carrying the latter but the former also performs well in testing. The +P round, however, doesn't add that much more recoil in 9mm and may improve performance with short barreled guns like a G26, etc. There are a lot of other good choices in 9mm as well.... (like the new Fed HST Tactical loads, among others) just stay away from the gimmick ammo like magsafe and the 115 gr loads. (most 115 gr loads underpenetrate, and as a result usually fail many testing protocols, although I'd stiill put these loads about 100 times better above junk like magsafe! ) The Win ranger 127 +P+ load is also a great one, but is hard to find. Despite the nomenclature modern firearms will handle plenty of it without breaking.


-Mike

 

[drgrant]

These guys are just saying that the .38 Special round is more than adequate for the job... and there are plenty of bodies in cemeteries with .38 size holes to prove it.

Same goes for 9mm (another caliber people like to pick on and subsequently ignore it's long long history of putting people into the ground with 9mm sized holes).

While I agree that certain .38 and 9mm loads are great for self defense.... it's important to understand that "Death" and "Incapacitation" are two different things. Any caliber can kill a BG, but some on average are a lot better
at stopping the BG quicker. That's really what you want- to get the BG to stop what he's doing as quickly as possible. Shooting him with a subcaliber (read, anything below .380, and even .380 is considered on the cusp of being useable) is not conducive to that goal, unless you're robocop and can reliably get a bullet in his eye socket or something. If you shoot the BG 6 times with a subcaliber (like .25 ACP) and he's still able to attack you, him running away 100 yards and then dying doesn't get you much, because he still has ample time to attack you.

Obviously the usual disclaimers apply- only hits count, etc... and even the "better" calibers fail, because handguns are inherently weak most of the time. Better calibers, however, fail a lot less. That's why you don't see PDs and the like carrying around .380 pistols. I'll partially contradict myself here by saying that ANY gun is still generally better than none. EG, if I was told I could only carry a 10 shot .22 LR pistol or "nothing" I'd still choose that over nothing.... but never if I had a choice of something better- eg, .38/9mm or better.


-Mike

 

[EddieCoyle]

Lew Horton special 29-3, but I only feed it Specials for defense. 44 Mags are a bit much for the street. But if I ever take that gun on the trail I will definitely pack some magnums. I have some wicked Fiocchi 240 JSPs.

Nice!

I have the identical gun in stainless (Lew Horton 3" 629).

 

[Hope and Justice]

I carry .40 cal in a Glock 27 usually. I'll pocket carry .32 cal in a Seecamp when clothing makes the G27 tough to conceal.

I am firm believer that it's not the size of the caliber, it's where you place it. A well placed round from a .22 short is just as deadly as a .500 (ok, maybe not JUST as deadly, but you know what I mean)

 

[Dench]

If Medford issued unrestricted LTC's, i would have either a 9mm or a .40 right now. .45's are to big to be comfortable while concealing for my body size.

when i move to FL, if i can get my hands on a 5.7mm, ill be usuing one of those.

 

[Beansie_Time]

Umm, am I the only person on this forum who carries 9x18 Makarov?

 

[abiffmaster]

What does that mean?

 

[KilgoreTrout]

.357 JHP or .40 JHP

 

[maee]

And .45 ACP is for girly men, which is why real men only pack a .50 caliber SW CCW. Anything less is truly ineffective against perps--just has no stopping power. They just bleed to death a few hours later in the ER if you pump em full of .45 auto.

 

[Jose]

Remington's 125 grain semi jacketed hollow point .357 Magnum load is the standard by which all defensive ammunition is judged and the load that gave the caliber its fearsome reputation.

That stuff hits like a bolt of lightning. It routinely generates 1450 - 1500 fps from a 4" revolver and over 1650 from a 6 incher. The bullet has a very exposed lead nose with a deep cavity that shreds tissue as it fragments explosively and yet still penetrates like nobody's business as the bottom, copper clad half powers on through courtesy of nearly 600 lb-ft of momentum.

.45 ACP does not come even close.