pythagorean
Moderator
If you are going into a "home fight" take out your loaded and ready AR-15 and forget the handgun.
Are Handguns Underpowered?
- Thread starter 45ACPShooter
- Start date
Retired15T
New member
This is like asking if cars (rifles) have more power than bikes (handguns).
You use them for two totally different things. In a home invasion, I would much rather have a handgun than a rifle. In the desert, I'd want an M4 over a Beretta 9mm.
You use them for two totally different things. In a home invasion, I would much rather have a handgun than a rifle. In the desert, I'd want an M4 over a Beretta 9mm.
Not a valid poll, since no parameters or context has been establilshed. The very word "powerful" is a subjective term that has no meaning unless it's compared to something else.
Handguns are extremely powerful compared to BB guns.
Handguns (those typically carried for SD) are significantly less effective than high powered rifles.
Handguns are what we carry for practical reasons and we already know that sometimes they stop and sometimes they don't--even with good shot placement.
They aren't underpowered considering the constraints that must be placed on size, weight, and how much recoil we can handle and still shoot effectively.
Evaluation: They're a good compromise.
Handguns are extremely powerful compared to BB guns.
Handguns (those typically carried for SD) are significantly less effective than high powered rifles.
Handguns are what we carry for practical reasons and we already know that sometimes they stop and sometimes they don't--even with good shot placement.
They aren't underpowered considering the constraints that must be placed on size, weight, and how much recoil we can handle and still shoot effectively.
Evaluation: They're a good compromise.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Nnobby45 said:
This is my feeling also.
The one thing that I will say in addition to this is that handguns are severely underpowered compared to what a majority of people seem to expect from them. Far too many people seem to think that handgun and "Set Phasers to Full!" mean the same thing.
MO. Shootin
New member
I was going to post something but it bordered on sounding a little like a comando nut job so I deleted it. Wow that was close I am surprised at my self a little.
I can't see 15 rounds of 9mm being underpowered.
I can't see 15 rounds of 9mm being underpowered.
It still amazes me that Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald with one round of 38spl. There was a gang in Manhattan, NY known as the "Westies" in the '80s and '90s. They were from the area of the west side formerly known as "Hell's Kitchen." They were, among other things, contract killers for local mafia families.
There is a book on them and it recounts that their main 'hit man' used a 25cal Browning to dispatch his numerous victims. Head shots. The 22LR is known to be a round also favored my contract killers. If handguns are underpowered for killing big game they can certainly do the job on the average human with a well placed bullet.
There is a book on them and it recounts that their main 'hit man' used a 25cal Browning to dispatch his numerous victims. Head shots. The 22LR is known to be a round also favored my contract killers. If handguns are underpowered for killing big game they can certainly do the job on the average human with a well placed bullet.
warningshot
New member
So you think handguns are powerful do you...
O.K. Bring your favorite handgun and one or two mags and meet up with your local gang banger creep armed with a RB 10/22 for a surprise IPDA Match. A surprise to you but not to creep. Creep sets the time & place. Creep isn't accountable for rules, but you are. Better yet...
Creep gets to bring his friends with him and they shoot the same course together. That is, how fast do you think 3 or 4 creeps armed with say, a Rb 10/22, a SkS, a .380, and only one 12 Gauge pump action shotgun, can shoot a twelve round El Presedente as compared to your solo personal best?
You, me, i.e. the Good Guys, are- toast.
O.K. Bring your favorite handgun and one or two mags and meet up with your local gang banger creep armed with a RB 10/22 for a surprise IPDA Match. A surprise to you but not to creep. Creep sets the time & place. Creep isn't accountable for rules, but you are. Better yet...
Creep gets to bring his friends with him and they shoot the same course together. That is, how fast do you think 3 or 4 creeps armed with say, a Rb 10/22, a SkS, a .380, and only one 12 Gauge pump action shotgun, can shoot a twelve round El Presedente as compared to your solo personal best?
You, me, i.e. the Good Guys, are- toast.
I'm not sure what your point here is because your grammar is slightly incoherent.
Regardless, I believe the point you're trying to make is that several bad guys vs. you with your handgun = a bad day for you.
What you fail to understand is that scenario equals a bad day for you no matter what type of firearm you're carrying. There is strength in numbers and the odds are against you in this case.
You could carry a Wilson Combat .45, Benelli 12ga, or Noveske AR-15; doesn't matter in this case. The end result will be the same: good guy tries, but dies. However, I'd rather go out fighting (hopefully buying my loved ones enough time to flee) than defenseless and on my knees in an execution along with my wife and children.
I carry a handgun because cops are too heavy and cumbersome to carry all day. This is also true for long guns.
Bottom line: Handguns, by-and-large, are not "underpowered". They are as powerful as they were intended to be for the applications to which they are suited. Call them weak and horrible all you want, but when I wake up tomorrow morning, I'll put a gun on my hip. It's a SigSauer 9mm. Why? Because I'll actually carry it while you leave your rifle or shotgun in the truck.
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MO. Shootin
New member
Maybe I have gotten in over my head here. Maybe I should have read all the posts before posting.
I was assuming I would be facing one armed attacker maybe 2 that are not expecting me to have a gun. Not a couple guys with a rifle and another with a shotgun or what ever the other 2 guys had.
If I stumble upon something like that I am dead. Heck I might even be dead with just the one guy I invisioned when I posted even if he just had a knife.
I guess I will just run if I see something like that. I would guess though they would have to jump out of a van or something like that to not see 4 guys with rifle sized weapons.
I was imagining a different scenario.
I was assuming I would be facing one armed attacker maybe 2 that are not expecting me to have a gun. Not a couple guys with a rifle and another with a shotgun or what ever the other 2 guys had.
If I stumble upon something like that I am dead. Heck I might even be dead with just the one guy I invisioned when I posted even if he just had a knife.
I guess I will just run if I see something like that. I would guess though they would have to jump out of a van or something like that to not see 4 guys with rifle sized weapons.
I was imagining a different scenario.
MO. Shootin
New member
jgcoastie is faster than me at typing otherwise I would not have commented at all.
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^^^--- because anyone below Lt (jg) is expendable? 
Seriously, most handguns are underpowered in comparison to other, larger arms. When it comes to asking are they underpowered as "man stoppers", the answer is no.
No cartridge or gun/cartridge platform is a 100% manstopper with a single shot every time. There are no magic bullets available for us to use.
Fortunately, people are not as tough as game animals and handgun power levels are adequate, even if we have to fire two or three times to stop the stubborn ones.
As always, bullet placement is key. As JimmyDAO correctly pointed out, the Mafia (and CIA btw) most often used a .22 because of it's low noise signature and it was sufficient for close-contact killings. The nape of the neck (vertebrae C2-C3) or behind the ear were favorite spots with assassins.
In one account I read, a CIA agent in the 50's took out one of the Soviet's best NKVD agents with the behind the ear shot, using a suppressed .22 long pistol, in the men's room of a Moscow rail station. Nobody heard a thing and they discovered his body hours later.
warningshot's impossible odds scenario, unfortunately, has been enacted too many times throughout history. Ambushing police officers was a tactic favored by 60's violent radical groups and gangs in the 80's and 90's.
Seriously, most handguns are underpowered in comparison to other, larger arms. When it comes to asking are they underpowered as "man stoppers", the answer is no.
No cartridge or gun/cartridge platform is a 100% manstopper with a single shot every time. There are no magic bullets available for us to use.
Fortunately, people are not as tough as game animals and handgun power levels are adequate, even if we have to fire two or three times to stop the stubborn ones.
As always, bullet placement is key. As JimmyDAO correctly pointed out, the Mafia (and CIA btw) most often used a .22 because of it's low noise signature and it was sufficient for close-contact killings. The nape of the neck (vertebrae C2-C3) or behind the ear were favorite spots with assassins.
In one account I read, a CIA agent in the 50's took out one of the Soviet's best NKVD agents with the behind the ear shot, using a suppressed .22 long pistol, in the men's room of a Moscow rail station. Nobody heard a thing and they discovered his body hours later.
warningshot's impossible odds scenario, unfortunately, has been enacted too many times throughout history. Ambushing police officers was a tactic favored by 60's violent radical groups and gangs in the 80's and 90's.
underpowered for what? are you hunting deer or people? most handguns are close combat weapons. if you fire a 44 mag at someone from 8 feet and that person is 160lbs where does the bullet stop? did you hit bone or soft tissue? in the person the wall or the person in another room? if that person is 4 feet tall it probably stays in the target. if the person is 6 feet tall it might be in the wall or the next room somewhere. if you use a fmj it might go through the 4 foot person. if you want a rifle in your hands get a TC and put a 308 barrel on it.
Another thought does anyone want to tell our WWII vets that their Tommy Gun didn't work well? Its a pistol cal in a rifle body that fact that its a submachine gun and spits bullets like cops eat donuts should not be a factor.
If you want to know more ask a doctor in a major city ER room I'm sure they can answer this!
PS to the police out there it was done to be funny we do know better.
Another thought does anyone want to tell our WWII vets that their Tommy Gun didn't work well? Its a pistol cal in a rifle body that fact that its a submachine gun and spits bullets like cops eat donuts should not be a factor.
If you want to know more ask a doctor in a major city ER room I'm sure they can answer this!
PS to the police out there it was done to be funny we do know better.
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This is a question with no answer, because you haven't said underpowered compared to what. Handguns in general don't shoot bullets as far, as fast, or with as much stopping power as a rifle. Handguns in general don't shoot shot/slugs as fast or with as much stopping power as a shotgun. If the question is about stopping power, with no other considerations, then they're less powerful than long guns.
However, a handgun can be kept at hand when a long gun cannot. You can carry it concealed, where anybody who isn't over 7' and wearing a trenchcoat cannot conceal a long gun successfully. You can maneuver with it in a tight space, and use it at close quarters to defend your life when a long gun would get stuck or be grabbed by the bad guy.
It's all a matter of tradeoffs, and making the right decision for the situations that you expect to face.
However, a handgun can be kept at hand when a long gun cannot. You can carry it concealed, where anybody who isn't over 7' and wearing a trenchcoat cannot conceal a long gun successfully. You can maneuver with it in a tight space, and use it at close quarters to defend your life when a long gun would get stuck or be grabbed by the bad guy.
It's all a matter of tradeoffs, and making the right decision for the situations that you expect to face.
Very true statement. Humans are 'very thin skinned' and a shot to the boiler room(even with smaller cal.) most often means fairly quick incapacitation/death
On the other hand, I've shot deer that have run 50-60 yds with their heart and lung blown out. Remember one that ran downhill almost 90yds. before falling and he was shot with a 12 ga. slug.
A shot to the brain , spine (central nervous system) is usually instant stoppage on any human/animal, again even with small cal.
Also jg,
Thank You for your service's
.
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rattletrap1970
New member
Irrelevant and meaningless the way its worded.
The question should have been worded, "Is a handgun underpowered to do "X".
I contend that a .44 mag to hunt deer is sufficient to do the job. Also, a 9mm to stop a home break-in, will "in most cases" do the job (I'm talking shot placement here). A .32 ACP for countersniper use... Ummm no. But a blanket statement like is it underpowered? That is ridiculous.
The question should have been worded, "Is a handgun underpowered to do "X".
I contend that a .44 mag to hunt deer is sufficient to do the job. Also, a 9mm to stop a home break-in, will "in most cases" do the job (I'm talking shot placement here). A .32 ACP for countersniper use... Ummm no. But a blanket statement like is it underpowered? That is ridiculous.
stargazer65
New member
For a question with no answer, there sure are a lot of responses on this thread.
It could be rephrased, but I believe the intent of the OP question is clear.
But it's true, the poll by itself is probably meaningless because some will answer it:Yes (because in general most handguns are underpowered compared to rifles)
Some will answer it:
No (my handgun is powered just fine for it's task, they don't need to increase it's power)
My handguns are underpowered compared to my rifle; as my pocketknife is underpowered compared to my 10" chef's knife. But I hate carrying that Chef's knife around everywhere I go. It keep's poking me in the leg.
Obviously though, my handgun is not underpowered. Otherwise I would have bought a bigger one, or traded it in for a bigger one.
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