Which caliber would you prefer for HD duty?

Which caliber would you prefer for HD duty?

  • Total voters
    165
.357magnum, .44spl revolvers....

For general security or home protection, I'd pick the .357magnum.
The 125gr JHP .357 round was used for years & years by law enforcement/security officers/gun owners with great results. :)
The .45acp round is very good too but a semi-auto platform is not what I'd call "user-friendly" as a basic DA only 3 or 4 inch barrel stainless revolver.
A S&W 686+ 3" or a great Ruger GP100 with custom ports, honed action(DA only) etc will keep you safe.

A .44magnum loaded with .44spl hollowpoints or frangible(Glasers/Magsafe) loads would be better but the caliber was not listed. ;)
 
agreed

The .357 is a great ctg, and I own, carry and shoot several, and got paid to walk next to one for a number of years. But......the .45 ACP, esp in a high cap simple, rugged auto like the Glock 21 would be my choice these days, for all the reasons stated previous.
 
Which pistol cartridge?

I have my trusty old Glock 21 (.45acp) on my nightstand and have had for many years now. It has night sights and Surefire tactical light installed.
Loaded with the new Hornady "Critical Defense" ammo (185 grains). This is an awesome self defense set up. It carries 13 rounds (a lot of firepower) if you ever did need that amount of ammo without taking time to have to reload as in a revolver's six rounds. Nothing wrong with a revolver either, I just happen to like the Glock 21 personnaly for home defense.
 
I'd go with neither... I have a lot more experience with revolvers than autos, but .357 has too much penetrative power for HD in my opinion. If a bad guy ignored the burglar alarm and wasn't phased by my shotgun, it's .38+p for me.
 
and wasn't phased by my shotgun, it's .38+p for me.
Click to expand...

Unless you miss every shot with that shotgun or your apparently bad at shooting and like hit only a toe or something he better go down with the shotgun, if not its a bad XXX zombie and the 38 out of is league. :D
 
i have a 357 mag. it is a snub nose that i carry sometimes for personal protection. i love the size and weight, the power and the fact it can use both 357's and 38's. thats where the love stops. the 357 fills a nitch for a powerful cc gun. the downside it is a handful to hold during recoil making repeat shots slower and the muzzle flash and loud report make it uncomfortable to use except for personal protection. i would have no use for a 357 larger than a snub because other calibers work better for me. for home defense where size of gun isn't an issue i would prefer anything with the numbers 45 in front of it, pistol or revolver.
 
Being curious many years back, I made the mistake of discharging a .357 magnum Hydra-shok out of a 4 inch barrel. It was ear splitting, and this was outside in the woods. I heard a ringing in my ears for at least a day, maybe two. I can't imagine how bad it would be indoors.

While the .45 acp is not a whisper, it doesn't have that ear splitting crack that a .357 does. I only tried a std velocity 230gr .45 loading, but the difference is definitely noticeable.

While neither is gonna be good for your ears, I have to believe that a standard loaded .45 will be less damaging to your hearing than a .357. Of course, there are a lot more different loadings commercially available in both calibers nowadays. But in general, the .45 should be less lethal to one's own eardrums.

Never had a chance to compare how blinding the blast of each is, but from what I've read the .45 apparently has less flash. Again, I'm sure there are .357 loads that are designed for reduced report and blast, but I prefer the .45.
 
My favorite caliber for home defense is 12 ga.

My favorite caliber for concealed carry defense is .45 ACP. To the first poster who said its 6 of one and a half dozen of the other, no it isn't.

Its 6 of one and 7+1 or better of the other :)
 
Personal choice, remember. No bashee bashee!

The 45ACP- The 357 is a narrower bullet with higher velocity

which will pass rightthrough Mr. 3AM, and probably go through my TV, too.

The .45 is wider, and will do more damage to the bad guy,

and less to my stuff.
 
My ideal choice would be a .44 Special DA revolver, but of the two, I voted .45 ACP, and I am a .357 (and not .45) owner. I love the .357 and agree with comments about its versatility, but agree big and slow indoors. I also agree with those that have said "preferably in a revolver" for simplicity and reliability sakes...though I'm not a fan of having to moon clip. That said, I agree it's .38+Ps if shooting a .357 revolver (Smith 65 here) in such circumstances, and don't feel undergunned with such a set up. "Backup"--among pistolas--is actually a .40 S&W, but first go-to is a revolver.
 
If forced to choose between only those two it would be my XD45 loaded with 13+1 of Remington 230gr Golden Sabers.

In reality, I trust my home and family security to a monitored alarm system and a 12 gauge Remington 870 loaded with buckshot.
 
I think that .45 ACP would get the job done while destroying my hearing less, so I'll go with that. I'm kind of surprised how common this theme is here, since on other forums I've had to defend my position from outright mockery.
 
I have 3 calibers within reach at home..9mm(carry gun)...45 cal and .357 magnum..
All have HP ammo..
My first grab choice would be the .45 cal. My last would be the 125GR +p .357 mag.
Only for the over penetration reasoning..I would not be afraid to use any of them.
As for answering the question? Both are excellent for HD.. Just get the gun you are most comfortable/accurate with.When the time comes you are going to rely on muscle memory and training.
 
Voted for .45
My ears are ringing just thinking about shooting a .357 indoors...
Plus with .45 I'm sitting on 13+1 instead of 6. I'm a deicent shot, but any time you can double your chances on something that important I would go for it.
 
Shotgun. In my home I need to be aware of over penetration.

But back to your question:

With that in mind I'd use the 45. It has less penetration than my 357 would. BUT - it is amazing how far a 45 ACP, 230 gr round nose, full metal jacket bullet will go in an urban situation. Don't ask.
 
Actually, either of the listed cartridges would serve me quite well.

Given a choice, I'd likely choose the .45 ACP, but not for any percieved or actual improved performance on target. My reason is that the .357 is LOUD. In any defense situation, I'm not going to stop for hearing protection, and the .357 is far harder on hearing.

But if the zombies break in, grab whichever is closer. They'll both perform more than adequately.

Daryl
 
I'll go with .45 although the .357 is my favorite caliber. An old Remington Rand 1911 full of GoldDots currently hangs on my headboard in an old M3 shoulder holster. It is next to a 12ga. coachgun and there is a .38 M&P full of wadcutters for the wife.
 
In my opinion, you should arm yourself with what you shoot best and feel most comfortable with.

If your confident with your abilities and your firearm and practice/train with it, it really won't matter which one you chose as you will be effective with both.

If you are counting on you spouse or another family member to aid as well, and they are not into the practice/training bit, then I would prefer the revolver for ease of use and dependancy......
 
Several reasons I picked .45 ... my only handgun with night sights is a Springer 1911 Loaded ... I love night sights because they let me see and index the gun in our cavedark bedroom ... I think the .45 is a more effective rounds for SD, although of course the .357 is no slouch ... and finally, for ease of reloading ... far easier to drop an empty mag and replace it than to eject spent rounds in a revolver and fumble with a speedloader ...
 
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