Which Caliber?

T

TexanGunNut

Inactive
I am planning on buying myself a new sidearm. Right now I am using my Sig P250 Compact chambered for .40S&W, which I originally bought as a CCW, but with Texas recently striking down open-carry restrictions, I'm preparing to get myself a full-size sidearm.

I am planning on using this handgun for everything from home defense, my open-carry, and as a sidearm for hunting trips or WTSHTF.

I am definitely sold on the Sig P320 seeing as I own two P250's (a Compact and Sub-Compact, my wife and I's CCW's) and the 320 is just an upgraded 250. The striker-fired gun gives it a nice "Glockey" feel to it while keeping consistent with a platform I already know and love while improving on that long trigger pull that, while over 4 years I have learned to effectively use, I could do without.

What I really want to know is what caliber to choose.

The 320 comes in 9mm (17-round mag), .357sig (14-round mag), .40s&w (14-round mag), and .45ACP (10-round mag). I'm not too concerned with .357sig unless someone really convinces me otherwise, but I really want to know what would be better for the general purposes I intend to use it for...

Use 1: as a personal and home defense weapon. For this I am really torn between .40 and .45 but I am also open to the 9mm. I like .40 as a carry caliber because of the penetration power combined with the energy and have come to the personal conclusion/opinion that it is a more effective round than a .45 in an unconventional setting (such as light cover or thick clothing), but for home defense I think a .45 can provide the much needed stopping power (especially someone hopped up on PCP or Meth) combined with the lower penetration of walls and more manageable recoil compared to the "jumpy" .40, obviously the 9mm has these both beat in that category.

Use 2: SHTF sidearm. I am STRONGLY leaning .45 here but am also interested in the 9mm. These are the chosen calibers for the US military for a reason. .45 for the energy and power, but the 9mm makes a strong case in terms of rapid, accurate shot placement and increased carry capacity. The defining factor for me may end up being use 3...

Use 3: Temporary/Light game sidearm. I am still looking at large calibers for large game hunting, something that would work equally well with boar, deer, and even bear or elk if need be. Haven't decided between 10mm and .44mag but that's another topic. I am definitely going to be hunting boar here in Texas and deer in either Texas or a surrounding state and need something that will be able to stop a charging boar, hopefully already heavily injured/almost dead from my 5.56NATO AR, or boar that ran into thick brush that I have to track down OR as an alternative option to the Remington 700 I plan to buy for deer if I find myself too close to effectively use a .308 (not going for overkill). Again this is a temporary use. For this a buddy of mine who is a LEO/SWAT recommended .40 for boar because of the penetration. This gun is probably going to accompany a large sharp knife and a pair of "5.11 Tactical Hard Time" gloves with kevlar fabric and knuckle plates just in case. lol. To be clear this is going to be a sidearm, not my main weapon (again I have a 5.56 AR for that and eventually a .308 bolt-action) And hopefully everyone reads this next sentence which is a huge reason I am even posting my own thread...

I realize the 10mm is a much more effective hunting round and as soon as I decide on a caliber for a definitive hunting sidearm (.44mag, .45LC, or 10mm, or whatever) I will buy either a Glock 20 or a Taurus Raging Bull or other revolver or if possible even a Desert Eagle, !BUT THIS IS NOT THAT GUN! I am simply posting this thread to try and obtain some advice on a good multi-purpose sidearm without the overwhelming majority of comments pointing to the 10mm, .357mag, or .44mag, I realize these are very good calibers and I promise I will get one eventually. lol

Final Comments: I am really considering all three calibers (9, 40, 45) for the various reasons mentioned and I am really okay in the end with whatever I decide and I am confident that eventually I will own at least one handgun in each of these calibers anyways but my question here is;

What would you do?
 
The long and short of it...

9mm


Why?

Well...

In the real world, there is no significant differences in terminal performance between 9, 40, and 45... When using quality hollow point ammo.

The 40 does have some advantages over the 9mm, but most of them are more advantages that matter more to law enforcement than civilians. Things like better consistency after passing through barriers.

But those advantages are being eroded by good bullet design in the 9mm.

40 comes at a disadvantage of higher practice costs, lower capacity for a given size pistol, higher recoil energies, and slower follow up shots. Whether the added recoil matters to you personally, is a different discussion, but the added recoil does exist.

So the 40 has marginal or limited benefits, none that affect its ability to stop an assailant in most shooting scenarios, but real tangible disadvantages.

45 fairs no better in comparison.


Back years ago, you could say that the 40 had a real advantage, but recent bullet technology has closed the gap significantly. As 9mm has gained more from the advanced than 40 did.


You might as well not even talk about the energy of a handgun round... As the energy differences don't really matter much if anything on how well a bullet performs terminally.


Basically, anything over a certain level of energy, (a level which could be debated, but the 9mm is above) the rounds will all be pretty even in performance on target when using quality ammo.

Now once you get into the energies of rifle rounds, the difference begins to matter.


You may could make an argument based around ball ammo, but that's dubious, as the difference in the hole size is actually not very significant, shot placement is key with ball ammo, more so than hollow point already is.
 
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You really can't depend on an expanding bullet to expand all the time.

The 22LR is a stopper.

I go with the largest caliber that I can reliably shoot. That is why I have a few auto loaders in 45 ACP. Makes a big hole without expansion.

I have four 9s, but I am not a fan of the 9. Not that it can't do the job.

I also have two 10s. Great guns. I just favor the 45 ACP.
 
If #3 is going to be the deciding factor, then you should go with a .45 ACP. Buffalo Bore and Underwood both make a hard cast flat nose, 255 grain bullet, rated at 925 fps.

Other than that I prefer 9mm, and a lot of law enforcement agencies are going back to the 9mm because of the advancement in bullet technology over the years, and the other advantages it offers in regards to capacity, faster follow up shots, and reduced training costs, which allow you to train more. I carry a 9mm, and have a .357 magnum as my woods gun, which is comparable to a 10mm for that purpose.

With all that said, I can open carry in my state, but I never would. Don't want any bad guys to know I have a gun because I feel I could be targeted, and they'd make sure they got close enough to have a gun in my face so I couldn't pull mine out. Rather surprise anyone who tries to attack me.
 
Expansion really doesn't do much for terminal effects.

And when it comes to un-expanded bullets... An un-expanded 45 hole isn't that different from an un-expanded 9mm hole. Not enough to make much difference.

Intuition and standard thought does not always apply well to ballistics.
 
And when it comes to un-expanded bullets... An un-expanded 45 hole isn't that different from an un-expanded 9mm hole. Not enough to make much difference.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? A few hundredths of an inch difference turns a round that bounces off people into a bullet that recruits Doc Brown to eliminate all the ancestors of your adversary! :cool:
 
Not so much a war as me trying to figure out what I want for now. Like I said I am most likely going to have one of each at some point. Heck I might just dump the whole debate and go get me a Glock20 10mm and be done with it xD
 
As much as I love .45, I think that 9x19mm is the ideal caliber. It is light, fast and usually high capacity. I believe there is little reason to carry anything bigger unless you elect to carry a specific platform like a 1911.
 
Since you are used to the 40sw the 45acp are not going to be any better. That leaves you the 9mm so get that.

I have the Sig P250c 40sw and I'll never let go of it. It's loaded with Underwood 40sw 155 XTPs for carry. They're serious problem to the baddies. ;)

I also have an HK USP V1 9mm which is loaded with Underwood 9mm 124+P XTPs as well.

I'll carry either of them.
 
.45 or .40, pick weight or speed with comparable power. 45 is definitely more expensive. Butbweight advantage which is good for living things. The .40s velocity advantage is good for hard barriers
 
How do we know this? Experience or opinion? Jus' wonderin'.
Click to expand...

Just going by the specs here:

1300 fps - 582 fpe

Underwood has XTP and Gold Dot bullets and I chose XTP because they expand slower so deeper penetration.
 
Don't think I would like to depend on a 9mm to drop an injured PO'ed boar. Aside from that one use any of the calibers would work. When you throw in the hunting sidearm though it would be better IMO to shoot some heavier pills. I would opt for the 14 round .40. Ammo is cheaper. Better capacity than the .45. Underwood 200 grain hardcast at 1000 fps in the field and whatever hollow point ammo you like for SD against 2 legged threats.
 
I believe the Glock 19 4th Gen, is the best CCW pistol in the world, for people, in the woods, a rifle, but if you are limited to a pistol? 10mm.
 
When you start trying to press a single pistol into multiple roles, at some point you are going to compromise performance in various categories in order to make it viable in another.

I'm all about realistic expectations for a firearm.

Self/home defense, range use, SHTF... 9mm is good. If concealed carry is a concern, a compact size, like a g19 is a good compromise on size, handling and capacity.


If you want to possibly hunt with it, you will probably want something with good hard cast available, like 10mm.

Worried about dangerous animals like bears... Maybe a 44mag is in order.

But once you start getting into these larger calibers, you compromise on general uses of the pistol. Ammo is less common as well.


Basically, don't try to do too much with one pistol, or understand its limitations, and look at them as emergency only use cases.
 
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