[Kelly]

Just got my CCW license and want to pick the best all around weapon for both home defense as well as concealed carry. My concern here is which caliber offers the best stopping power as well as affordable ammo for regular practice.

I know 9MM is probably the best bargain but what are the trade offs? I shoot equally well with the Glock 9 and the .45. Have yet to try the .357. Would appreciate some info on the preference of one over the other. Thanks.

 

[Dillinger]

Holy Crap! Have you light the fuse on what will undoubtably be a long and lengthy debate....I would suggest ducking & covering about now.... LOL

Here are some basic facts:

9mm is a smaller caliber, faster moving round. A 9mm handgun will almost always carry more cartridges in the magazine than either of the other two calibers mentioned.

.45 is a much larger, slower moving round. Advances have been made over the past couple of years to allow for double stack .45 caliber handguns to carry as many rounds as most 9mm pistols.

True .357 is a very powerful round and any pistol that is chambered for it would be a hulking piece of hardware that would prevent most average humans carrying it as part of a normal, daily, activity.

I personally prefer and carry a 1911 chambered in .45ACP. My finacee' has trained and carries a custom 1911 that is chambered in 9mm, but she is carrying some nasty +P 124 grain hollow points and I am comfortable with that.

As this will be a long, and controversy fed issue I am sure, I will leave my first response at that.

JD

 

[chorst294]

I believe all have their merits, but ultimately it's what you prefer. I've carried all of the above and have found most steel frame revolvers in .357 are a little bulky and hard to control compared to similar sized 9mm's and .45's. I personally prefer .45acp compared to 9mm, but have carried 9mm's in the past and not felt at a huge dissadvantage. I keep a .45 in the nightstand, a .357 in the truck, and rarely use my carry gun 9mm.

 

[h&k bigdaddydieseldan]

Holy Crap! Have you light the fuse on what will undoubtably be a long and lengthy debate....I would suggest ducking & covering about now.... LOL

Here are some basic facts:

9mm is a smaller caliber, faster moving round. A 9mm handgun will almost always carry more cartridges in the magazine than either of the other two calibers mentioned.

.45 is a much larger, slower moving round. Advances have been made over the past couple of years to allow for double stack .45 caliber handguns to carry as many rounds as most 9mm pistols.

True .357 is a very powerful round and any pistol that is chambered for it would be a hulking piece of hardware that would prevent most average humans carrying it as part of a normal, daily, activity.

I personally prefer and carry a 1911 chambered in .45ACP. My finacee' has trained and carries a custom 1911 that is chambered in 9mm, but she is carrying some nasty +P 124 grain hollow points and I am comfortable with that.

As this will be a long, and controversy fed issue I am sure, I will leave my first response at that.

JD

JD hit the nail on the head opinions are like a**holes everyone has one personally I prefer the .45acp

But it is what you are going to be the most proficient and comfortable with

 

[Kelly]

I thank you for the responses so far. While I have not made up my mind as yet, I am strongly leaning towards the 9MM. Years ago, I owned a Browning Hi Power 9MM and it was a good gun.

My thoughts are that I can hit my target as well with that as with the .45 ACP. Plus, I will have more rounds to hit him with, should he need further convincing.

The extra motivator is how cheap 9MM ammo is. Without lots of regular practice, no gun is worth carrying. That is why I immediately crossed off the .40 and 10MM Glocks.

Does anyone have any specific reasons to choose the .357 Glock over the 9MM? Thanks again.

 

[DogRanger]

Dillinger reply was right on the money.If you get a big round and can't hit anything with it what good is it.I carry both 9mm and 45acp,depending on what and where I'm going.

 

[lasvegascop]

I have a lot of handguns and I carry the .45 both on and off duty.

If you think you can shoot well and you only want one gun, get the 9mm.
Bullets are cheaper to practice with.

Keep in mind that if you hit the central nervous system with just about any round your threat will stop.

 

[Dibby]

I believe all have their merits, but ultimately it's what you prefer. I've carried all of the above and have found most steel frame revolvers in .357 are a little bulky and hard to control compared to similar sized 9mm's and .45's. I personally prefer .45acp compared to 9mm, but have carried 9mm's in the past and not felt at a huge dissadvantage. I keep a .45 in the nightstand, a .357 in the truck, and rarely use my carry gun 9mm.

Nobody came out and said it, but I think the OP was talking about the .357 Sig cartridge. It was developed to provide .357 magnum velocity in an autoloading pistol. It is a hard-hitting round, but what might discourage some from carrying it would be higher ammuniton costs and somewhat snappy recoil (think .40 +p). In my IDPA league, there are a few guys that shoot it competitively, but they are secret service and the gov't. buys their ammo. They use their duty guns as it makes sense for them become more proficient in a tactical setting with what they carry on duty.

It isn't for everyone. On paper, the .357 Sig is more powerful (energy ft lbs. and velocity) than the 9mm. .357 Sig fps numbers suggest it has a pretty straight trajectory as well. Any round you will be counting on for personal defense should be fired from a gun with which you have alot of shooting experience. If you have the means to reload, and/or are an experienced shooter that can handle the snappier recoil, the .357 Sig might make sense. The secret service chose it for a reason. If the premium on ammunition costs will in any way cause you to shoot less often, you might want to steer clear. 9mm is more readily available and from what I have read, modern +P loads come close to the same performance in ballistics tests. You will also be relegated to purchasing a gun from the fewer number of manufacuturers of firearms chambered for .357 Sig.

Shoot them all and then decide.

 

[Jay]

But it is what you are going to be the most proficient and comfortable with

That's it in a nutshell......

1. if the handgun doesn't "feel right" in your hands, you'll not shoot it enough to become proficient with it.

2. if you're not proficient with it, you may as well carry a baseball bat.... and that goes for any caliber, or bat.

That being said, I've carried a .45 ACP for over thirty years, and have no inclination to change. However the shoes that I wear, may make you unable to walk......

 

[CA357]

I may be mistaken, but the impression I get is that you're leaning towards the 9mm. You had and liked a BHP, ammo is inexpensive to practice with and you can carry a goodly amount of ammo.

The BHP is an outstanding handgun, 9mm SD ammo is excellent and will definitely do the job plus 9mm practice ammo is cheap.

You will always fare better with a pistol in a caliber you're proficient with.

 

[chorst294]

Nobody came out and said it, but I think the OP was talking about the .357 Sig cartridge. It was developed to provide .357 magnum velocity in an autoloading pistol. It is a hard-hitting round, but what might discourage some from carrying it would be higher ammuniton costs and somewhat snappy recoil (think .40 +p). In my IDPA league, there are a few guys that shoot it competitively, but they are secret service and the gov't. buys their ammo. They use their duty guns as it makes sense for them become more proficient in a tactical setting with what they carry on duty.

It isn't for everyone. On paper, the .357 Sig is more powerful (energy ft lbs. and velocity) than the 9mm. .357 Sig fps numbers suggest it has a pretty straight trajectory as well. Any round you will be counting on for personal defense should be fired from a gun with which you have alot of shooting experience. If you have the means to reload, and/or are an experienced shooter that can handle the snappier recoil, the .357 Sig might make sense. The secret service chose it for a reason. If the premium on ammunition costs will in any way cause you to shoot less often, you might want to steer clear. 9mm is more readily available and from what I have read, modern +P loads come close to the same performance in ballistics tests. You will also be relegated to purchasing a gun from the fewer number of manufacuturers of firearms chambered for .357 Sig.

Shoot them all and then decide.

Wow, I officially had a "Blonde moment". It's funny because I've had Glocks in all calibers including .357 Sig. LOL.. By the way, I loved that gun, a 9mm on steriods. It sounds like CA357 is right, if the guy really likes his BHP and would be more willing to practice with it, by all means, a 9mm is plenty in capable hands.

 

[G21.45]

Just got my CCW license and want to pick the best all around weapon for both home defense as well as concealed carry. My concern here is which caliber offers the best stopping power as well as affordable ammo for regular practice.

I know 9MM is probably the best bargain but what are the trade offs? I shoot equally well with the Glock 9 and the .45. Have yet to try the .357. Would appreciate some info on the preference of one over the other. Thanks.

Trade offs? If you're just starting out, there ain't nothing wrong with a 9mm. As a matter of fact, at today's ammo prices, starting out with a 9 might make a whole lot of sense and allow you to do a lot more practicing with that new pistol.

Me? I prefer to shoot a 45 acp; and, this preference is underwritten by the fact that I own a progressive reloader. You need to train to what you use. I do a lot of pistol shooting; I am so tuned to the heavy, but slow, 45 acp recoil that whenever I switch to a 9mm I feel like I'm shooting a, 'snappy 22 long rifle'!

In experienced hands, there is absolutely no difference in accuracy or rate of fire between a 45 acp or a 9mm. I shoot them equally; except, I'm more accurate with the 45 during rapid fire events. This is because I have conditioned myself to work with the slower recoil impulse of the 45 acp. (It's not enough to simply say; 'The 45 has more recoil.' Yes, it does; but, like many semiautomatic shooters, I have found that a slow heavy push is easier to work with at speed than a hard fast snap.)

Personally, I think there is a progression of calibers involved in pistol shooting. The longer you do it, the larger, or faster, or whatever your preferred (everyday) pistol caliber is going to be. You are just starting out; I think that for the purposes of everyday practice, ease of carry and concealment, and (sometimes restrictive) ammo costs a nice 9mm pistol would be a good choice for you to make.

There is no hard fast rule that you must fire at anything only once; and COM is, still, COM! Don't forget to get yourself a decent gun belt. OTB holsters are great for the range; and, IWB holsters are about as close to perfect as you'll find for CCW carry. Good luck to you!

 

[mkcmace]

FYI there is now a new option in the 1911 style by Coonan, and uses standard .357 ammo, stainless with either a 5" or 6" barrel option. Fixed or fully adjustable sites. I think it holds 9 rounds.

 

[mkcmace]

I thank you for the responses so far. While I have not made up my mind as yet, I am strongly leaning towards the 9MM. Years ago, I owned a Browning Hi Power 9MM and it was a good gun.

My thoughts are that I can hit my target as well with that as with the .45 ACP. Plus, I will have more rounds to hit him with, should he need further convincing.

The extra motivator is how cheap 9MM ammo is. Without lots of regular practice, no gun is worth carrying. That is why I immediately crossed off the .40 and 10MM Glocks.

Does anyone have any specific reasons to choose the .357 Glock over the 9MM? Thanks again.

the problem with the Glock is that it doesn't use standard .357 rounds.

 

[Rick1967]

People talk a lot of crap about the lowly 9mm. But I would not be afraid to defend myself with one.

 

[vincent]

FYI there is now a new option in the 1911 style by Coonan, and uses standard .357 ammo, stainless with either a 5" or 6" barrel option. Fixed or fully adjustable sites. I think it holds 9 rounds.

I think in the 4 YEARS since the original post, the chances are pretty good the OP has made a decision. Doubtful any input now would be useful as he or she probably hasn't been here since then...just sayin'...

 

[Jpyle]

I think in the 4 YEARS since the original post, the chances are pretty good the OP has made a decision. Doubtful any input now would be useful as he or she probably hasn't been here since then...just sayin'...

Well in his reply JD did say that this would be a lengthy debate... His reply, I might add, is as spot on today as it was in 2008.

 

[vincent]

Well in his reply JD did say that this would be a lengthy debate... His reply, I might add, is as spot on today as it was in 2008.

Now how can I refute that logic???

 

[Jpyle]

the problem with the Glock is that it doesn't use standard .357 rounds.

They are different rounds entirely....357 SIG and .357 Magnum that is...

 

[orangello]

{waits patiently for the poster pushing the new phazer}