Whats the LARGEST caliber you would carry for self defense?

One of my 1911s in 45 acp, but also a big fan of the .38 Super. If hunting bear country, would have my old Ruger SA .44 mag with me, although I really and truly wonder why. Years ago hunted in an area that had grizzly bears for elk and just had my rifle and did not worry about it.
 
Since you said 'largest' I would have to respond with .45 since it's the largest caliber handgun I own. I've carried .45 ACP concealed and .45 LC (Ruger-level loads) in a Blackhawk in the hills.

I've also carried a Super Blackhawk, Redhawk & occasionally a Glock 20 in the hills depending on what mood I was in at the time. For concealed carry, I've toted everything from a .380 Kel-Tec to a .45 ACP 1911 Colt at one time or another. Lately I have mostly carried a Kahr in .40 S&W as it conceals well and is easy to carry.
 
Same-species SD: .45 ACP in a "commander" style 1911: steel frame to help with recoil; .38 +P in a Model 10.

Big animals: if I'm out there where they are I'm probably carrying a Mini -14 .223 or a 12g deer gun loaded with slugs, so why draw the handgun?
 
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Human - Customized Springfield 1911 in .45acp - Golden Sabre or Hydra-Shok
Animal - Customized Ruger Bisley in 45LC - 275 LFN @ 1300fps
 
Guncrafters' .50 GI is pretty sweet, and many could pull off concealed carry with it. Not sure of capacity, but an extra magazine or two would do the trick...
:D
 
Depends on the weapon and ammo. I carried a Glock 23 for almost two years and love it, but I can not afford to shoot .40 ammo as much as I want to stay proficient so I picked up a M&P in 9mm. If/when I get a reloading press that might change to a 45.
 
My 10 gauge, it's only a single shot but it doesn't take long to reload and I don't think a second shot will be needed. Hard to find a holster for a gun with a 36" barrel, I will have to work on that. :D
 
On a lot of threads here guys are worried about getting attacked by grizzlies. I never imagined it was such a problem. We don't have them in the Ozarks so I won't address that question.
As for personal defense carry. My theory is different than most. First and foremost, I believe a concealed carry pistol must be concealable. I also believe the presence, or showing, of a gun is a huge deterrence to a possible attack. (it has worked three times in my lifetime) I also believe that while bad guys are usually pretty stupid they are still smart enough to know they don't want to get shot regardless of what caliber the potential victim is carrying.
Bottom line, I carry a .22lr pocket semi. Admittedly, there are some .380s on the market now about the same size. I am considering getting one of those. But, I also belive at gun to be useful must be shot and practiced with. A .22 is a lot cheaper to practice with than .380.
 
I also believe the presence, or showing, of a gun is a huge deterrence to a possible attack. (it has worked three times in my lifetime) I also believe that while bad guys are usually pretty stupid they are still smart enough to know they don't want to get shot regardless of what caliber the potential victim is carrying.
Bottom line, I carry a .22lr pocket semi.
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If your decision as to which handgun to carry for self-defense is predicated on the assumption that the mere "presence or showing of a gun" will deter most attacks, no matter how many times it has "worked" for you in the past, imo, you might want to rethink your position. In almost thirty years of dealing with thousands of convicted felons, I can assure you that bad guys aren't "usually pretty stupid" and that many of them are not only smart but are ruthless in the extreme. And many are not going to be deterred by even the sight of a .44 Magnum leveled at them. Until you have had to deal with a person high on crystal meth or other addictive, mind-altering substances, you really will never be able to appreciate just how irrational and unpredictable an otherwise sane person can be. And then there are the sociopaths who, stone sober, won't think twice about killing you and/or your family and loved ones, without ever shedding a tear now or ever.

Don't expect the "mere presence or showing of a gun" to make the monsters run. Choose a handgun to carry concealed not to make you "feel" safer but to be safer if that awful attack should happen when you have to actually use it to stop someone hell-bent on killing you or yours. And that should be the only real reason you've decided to ccw in the first place.
 
For CCW my 2 largest carry guns would be a 1911 45acp, and a 3 Inch 625 that has been rechambered to 460 Rolland. I carry the 625 in a Lobo Model 1 Pancake.

My largest woods gun is a Super RedHawk in 480 Ruger with Hogue Tamer Grips, and a Marble Green Fiber Optic Front Sight. When hunting the sight is a 30mm UntraDot. My ammunition varies. My Summer loads are 7 grains of Unique under a 400 grain Lee, and 4 grains of Clays under 180 grains of #9 Shot for snakes. My hunting load is a 400 grain Lee with 18 grains of AA #9 under it. If I were in bear country my hunting load would do.
My Summer woods carry gun that I normally pack is a 4" Model 64 Smith & Wesson with 2 shot shells and 4 SWC's. Winter loads would be all SWC's.

Bob
 
For SD against 2 legged animals, I carry anything 9mm and up. I have a pair of Glocks, on in 9mm and one in .40. As far as most powerful I own, that's a 1911 gov't in .45. The 10mm is one I really want to get soon in a full size package, and that has more energy than the others I have. .357Sig is an awesome round, but price is kinda restrictive. .50GI in a 1911 seems like a real winner though.

For 4 legged animals, I have a .44Mag with a 6.5" barrel that's good enough for anything south of a Grizzly, which means I should probably get a bigger gun since I live in MT. I've shot the .500 S&W, and I'm not a huge fan of the amount of recoil. I'd rather have a .454Casull with less recoil but I can get a follow up shot much faster.
 
I can actually conceal carry my Ruger SRH with 7.5 inch barrel in .44 magnum with a denim long sleeve shirt and bandolier, cross carry holster. Since some folks still get freaked out when they see someone with guns, I choose to conceal it.

I have heard that the recoil on the Buffalo Bore +P+ 340 grain bullets is about the same as other 300 grain bullets. If so, that gives me .454 Casull power with this platform with manageable recoil to boot. It all comes to shot placement after that.
 
Alaska444,

I can actually conceal carry my Ruger SRH with 7.5 inch barrel in .44 magnum with a denim long sleeve shirt and bandolier, cross carry holster. Since some folks still get freaked out when they see someone with guns, I choose to conceal it...
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Heck--That beats Inspector Harry Callahan's!
 
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