The Best Caliber for a Tactical Situation

Check out this FBI research paper on Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness

http://www.firearmstactical.com/hwfe.htm

The bigger the hole the better (and more of them), all things being equal, which they rarely are. Handgun "stopping power" is an exaggeration if not a myth. In a perfect situation all you'd need was a .22, and in an imperfect one, a 12ga might be barely enough.

I carry a 9mm w/premium ammo, and am good with that. When it's not that, it's .45acp w/premium ammo. Rob Leatham carries a .380 I was told, but we're in a different universe, skill-wise. He'd probably be fine with a .22 :D
 
07-09-2007, 07:18 AM #12

njtrigger wrote:

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The .357, in my opinion, just has too much flash and bang (emphasis mine?). Lets say I wake up and need to use the pistol. Im not sure how that extra flash and bang would help me out in a dark environment where I am half-asleep. I think it would further disorient me. The .40 is just too much and requires a strong hand.
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I likie to think of it as shock and awe. I carry a .357 in the winter and the 9mm in the summer, I find it easier to conceal the 9mm, but I like the power of the .357 magnum ... 800 ft-lbs is a nice feel in a defensive handgun in my opinion.
 
Well, that depends on how you define "tatical situation". If thats blasting targets in the action pistol pit while wearing your black BDU's and fantasizing about the day the world ends, probbaly .22lr. You can shoot it alot cheaper than 9mm or .45.

for self defense, any gun you can conceal comfortably, and shoot acurately. Plenty of people have been killed with BOTH 9mm and .45. Probably more have been killed with .38 special, and more still with .22LR. Nearly any handgun/caliber combination will work if you do your part by shooting accurately. I think if folks concentrated more on accurate shots and not how quickly they could dump a mag of 45 into a target, they'd be getting somwhere.
 
Random thoughts on this thread.

The SAW and the Philippine Insurrection were fought with the primary handgun of the U.S. Army being the New Army Colt DA 38 revolver first adopted in 1891 and firing both the .38 Colt Long and Short cartridges. This was Colt's first swing out cylinder revolver. It was a poor design, tough to work on and firing an underpowered smokeless powder cartridge. It was modified slightly in 1894, 1896, 1901 and finally in 1903, when the barrel diameter was changed, thereby allowing use of the improved .38 Special cartridge, although it was not so marked.

In 1909 the U.S. Army adopted the New Service Colt DA 45 revolver which fired the .45 Long Colt cartridge. Most of the M1909's were sent out to the PI. This was done while the research and development of the Colt Automatic Pistol in .45 ACP caliber was continuing but the need for a more powerful handgun cartridge had become very apparent. By the time the Colt Model 1911 was adopted, the Philippine Insurrection had been essentially quelled. Few M1911's saw action in the PI.

Over a 30 year period of service, my duty handguns were, in order:
Colt M1911A1 .45 ACP
Colt Diamondback .38 Special 4" bbl.
Colt Python .357 Magnum 6" bbl.
Colt Python .357 Magnum 2.5" bbl.
H&K P7 M13 9mm

I never felt under gunned, although I only carried the .38spl 2 years before going to the .357 (we didn't have +P in those ancient times, but we did have Super Vels). I'm not sure what a "tactical" handgun is nor what specific purpose it serves.
 
So which round would you choose and why for a tactical situation?
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Anything black! :D That way it's tactical! Right?

Seriously, they're all effective calibers--that's when it comes down to operator preference and proficiency. Me personally, I go with either a .40 or a shotgun---or both.
 
357 is an incredible people stopper because it has both, mass and velocity. but is a poor semi-auto pistol cartridge due to the ergonomics that would result from a gun that could feed the cartridge. And the recoil is a problem.
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Owners of the outstanding Coonan would no doubt argue. For my money, it's one weapon that should still be around.

I prefer .45 as my ultimate choice of defense in a handgun round. I do at times carry a Glock 26 though, and never feel undergunned. The others are fine rounds, just will never be my choice.


The best caliber for a tactical situation is a NEF HandiRifle chambered in .45-70...
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I've said it many times, but the one that got away from me was a Street Sweeper in .45-70.:D
 
I'm not even taking the time to read all the posts in this thread....

That being said, I think this thread is a repeat that's gone into syndication too many times! :rolleyes:

IMHO, the best caliber for a "tactical" situation (whichever you feel your definition of "tactical" may be) is the round/caliber you can best handle and shoot well under any condition.

I've carried a .38 Special snub-nose for a long time. It is my 2nd preferred caliber next to the .45, but the last time I qualified with the weapon, I managed a score of 197 out of 200. Not bad for what most call an "underpowered" round.

Since then, the significant other is getting my .38 and will soon be going to the range for me to learn its manual of arms and to practice with it since she intends to have it for a CCW once she obtains her PA LTCF. She qualified with the M16A1 in the Navy, so I think the learning curve should be pretty easy for her. My current carry is a Taurus PT 24/7 PRO in .45 with 2 12-round mags. I've tried the 9mm, the .40, the .357...even the .44 Special and .44 Magnum. The .45 ACP, since I've spent so much time with a short-barreled wheelgun, is a caliber whose recoil I can handle with no difficulty and shoot inherently well. I have friends and associates who prefer the .40 and 9mm, but they'll even tell you its a matter of personal preference and what you feel comfortable with.

Like the old saying, "A .22 in the hand is better than the .45 left at home."

I guess I'm done with my short-lived rant. LOL.

BTW, my .38 was my first handgun and the one I said I'd never part with. Then again, the woman in my life was my fiancé when we were in high school and 14 years later we're together again and just as happy as when we were kids. Seeing as fate has come to my favor after all these years, the transaction of giving my prized first handgun to her will be (to me, at least) as honorable as putting a ring on her left hand. :)

Take care and stay safe,
38SnubFan
 
Thompson tests of .45ACP vs 9mm

I read excerpts from those tests in a Gun Digest back in the '80s. They did the testing on steers at a slaughterhouse. They deliberately avoided shots to brain or heart, wanting to check for non-vital stopping capability.

Effectively, there was none with either round. In virtually every case, the steer was put down with a hammer to end its misery. There was no short-term stopping power advantage to either round.

The only real advantage the .45 had, in autopsy, was a greater tendency to break bones. The author posting the excerpt in Gun Digest postulated that this might make the .45 more effective in an attrition scenario, but wouldn't help in the short term gunfight.

However, Thompson liked the .45, and so he effectively disregarded his own test results.

On a side note, did a boar hunt a few months ago. One hunter in the group used 12ga slugs. Another used a .44mag carbine. Both killed boar, but both required follow-up shots. Boar were able to run 100 or more yards; one holed up in the brush. Saw another guy (not with us) use a crossbow, but not terribly well - hog was down but struggling. He then used a S&W M640 for the coup de grace. While posing for a picture, he failed to notice the hog trying to get back up... when he heard us yell, he shot it behind the ear again with the .38. (Idiot...) Fastest stop of the day - khukri knife between the ribs. Immediate collapse, bleedout in about 20seconds.

Don't bank on immediate stops with anything. Placement is key; luck helps.
 
True during the Morro uprising there were complaints about the 38s, However there were also complains about the 30-40 Krag, 45-70, 45 Colt and the 12 Gauge shotgun when shooting Morro warrior who were both on drugs and tied what were in effect tourniquets to the arms and legs prior to charging the American lines. So the natural solution was adapt a round with similar terminal performance to what already was complained about.
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LOL, and a big +1. One of the most interesting bits of historical research I've run across was an analysis of firearms effectiveness during the Moro uprising, and it indicated that the failure to stop rate of the 45 was almost identical to the 38. Yet the 38 failure is always talked about, and the 45 failures are quietly ignored.
 
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