defensive cartridges that have stood the test of time

2

2damnold4this

New member
It seems like many of our most popular defensive handgun cartridges have been around for more than one hundred years. 9mm, .45acp, .38 special, .45 Colt etc. It seems like there must be good reasons for these cartridges to have stayed with us so long.

What is your favorite old timer when it comes to defensive handgun cartridges and why?

Is it .44 Special? Is it another?
 
My personal favorite is probably the .38 Special.

Good power in a small, easily concealed package.

The .357 Mag. is right there, too, but it's not 100 years old yet.
 
Over 100 years?

The .38. It gets the job done, there is a plentiful supply.

The .45ACP. It gets the job done, there is a plentiful supply.
 
I used to load my own 38spl for self defense (house) loads. I would use off the shelf 158gr hollow base wad cutter bullets and seat them backwards so that the gaping hollow base performed like a hollow point. They would literally explode on impact, delivering all energy to the target at once. They were fairly accurate out to 30'. I used the same seating depth as that of a flat base 158gr lead bullet thereby keeping case capacity and bullet weight in check with standard load recipes. A few melons met their fate with these bad boys. :D
 
The two colt 45s
38 spc

9/10 mil will not ever make the list. 10 should its a great round but I doubt it will make any kind of resurgence.

40/380 the shorts. While they may be popular they leave a lot to be desired imo. 40 won't last 100 years in any popular form. Not like 45acp. 380 will but like its slightly bigger brother the 9mil it does not cut it as a self defense round for many of us as with the rest of the acp rounds.

357 will. 44mag will although many may not consider it a defense round.
 
I'll take the 9mm. It has stood the test of time and has been improved over the years. Likewise the .38 special which is a very close second, and would be number one if a revolver was my only choice. I don't think there is a nickles worth of difference to tell the truth. It always baffles me when someone accepts the .38 special cartridge and dismisses the 9mm.
 
.45acp. That's more because of the gun it's loaded in than any other reason.

As far as the ability of a cartridge to put holes in people, I would feel comfortable with .32 long on up, if I liked the gun.
 
My hunting buddy is 74 retired NYC cop. He was in Harlem in the 1960. Black Panthers. Malcolm X time a white cop in Harlem. Anyway his statement. I quote: 38 special got the job done.He was awarded many medals for a number of shoot out in his day.Also stated that they used hunters for stake out on high crime robbery areas. Hunter had patiance
 
Bowdog---

You are correct. The stakeout squad, its most famous member being Jim Cirillo, put one hell of a dent in the ranks of armed robbers back during the Lindsey Administration. Theye did indeed find that seasoned deer hunters had the patience to man a stakout more so than non-hunters.

The stakeout squad was abandoned when the bleeding hearts thought we shouldn't be killing poor, mis-understood youths from the poorer neighborhoods, even though they created a reign of terror in New York City.

As an aside, used to drive through Wurtsboro as a boy on the way to my grandfather's property in Rock Hill, on the old Route 17.
 
45 ACP, bigger holes bleed faster.
Also have to admire the 32 ACP, it helped start WWI (archduke Ferdinand) and helped end WWII (fuhrer Hitler).
 
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Back in the days of black powder there were .44s and .36s shooting lead balls that did the deed and did it well enough. Their later counterparts seem to work well today, as do the .45 brothers, both Colt and acp for two legged and 4 legged critters.

The .36 seems to be popular tho we now call them .38s and 9mms, not to mention the newcomer .357, circa 1935.

Hunting is hunting. Speaking of which...

Elmer Keith's design, which we now call semi-wadcutters, improved things over round nose lead, but then came Lee Jurras (you youngsters look him up) and the design of the actual bullet has improved a tad since then. Maybe powder as well, dunno specifics.

So... the .45s
.38spl/9mm/.357
and throw in the .44 spl. just because.
 
For me its the LSWCHP 158gr 38+P round in my revolvers. Three good ones are Remington, Winchester and Buffalo Bore. This round has done the job in LE before the switch to the semi-autos.
Howard
 
The .22 rimfire started life as a self defense round and while many do not use it for self defense today, it's still going strong.
Click to expand...

It's my understanding that .22 rimfire was originally a target round used in arcades.
 
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