smallest caliber you feel comfortable carrying?

[Independence Arms]

does anyone feel inadequate carrying certain calibers?
I know shot placement is whats important, but with all the mouse guns in production in .380, I just don't feel "protected" enough with a small round like that.
Anyone else feel the same?

 

[CRSIII]

Its not the size of the round, its how you use it.

That said, .9mm.

 

[atmay]

Its not the size of the round, its how you use it.

That said, .9mm.

.9mm? And I thought the .25ACP was small

9mm here. I have no trouble CCing a full-size handgun, so the .380 et al have absolutely no appeal to me, whatsoever.

 

[Cape Cod Center Mass]

Keep in mind a .380 is a 9mm, just a little shorter. And if you shoot a quality round and not a cheap fmj you will be fine.

 

[yanici]

9mm or 38 special.

 

[DukeNukem]

9mm or 38 special.

+1

 

[saltydude]

9mm here., so the .380 et al have absolutely no appeal to me, whatsoever.

Yep same here.
Despite me knowing modern .380 ammo appears to be up to the task. I never owed one & have no plans to.

 

[Mr Weebles]

9mm for me.

It's my daily carry.

 

[TWBARRETT]

7.62x25

 

[BearArms]

I have no problem carrying a 380 but I try and stick with 9mm.

 

[atmay]

Keep in mind a .380 is a 9mm, just a little shorter.

.380 typically uses bullets in the ~90gr area, going about 1000fps. 9x19 is usually 115-150gr, going atleast 1000fps, sometimes upwards of 1400.


Most loadings in 9x19 produce twice the kinetic energy that the equivalent load in .380 produces.

2mm of case length might not seem like a lot, but it is.

 

[jcetto0351]

9mm... I have to trade off between having a large round like a .45 with low cap mags(for the most part) or smaller round like a 9mm with a few more rounds per magazine.

If you feel okay carrying a .380 then go right ahead but you better hope that 300lbs bad guy doesn't kill you while he bleeds out from your entire magazine of little slower moving rounds

 

[WPDC13]

I carry my LCP everywhere now and have no worries about the .380. If a 300lb guy was coming at me and it warranted me having it drawn (ie in fear for my life) I would worry at all about him bleeding out, I would be going for the light switch

 

[Speedway]

7.62x25

One of my favorite calibers!

 

[pbearperry]

Although I have had .380 guns and carried them,I always considered them marginal at best.Most of the time I carry my S&W 340PD with a mixture of ammo.My first 2 rounds are 158 gr HPSWC +P,followed by a 125 gr Corbon HP +P in 38 spl,followed by 125 gr Gold Dot .357 Mag.Because of the terrible recoil of 357's in this lightweight gun,I pray the first 3 rounds will take care of the problem.

 

[Moderator]

Though I have carried just about every popular caliber, I only like to carry two. 9mm and .45

 

[Acme.Armament]

230g .45 for the stopping power. I carry it everyday.

 

[saltydude]

Although I have had .380 guns and carried them,I always considered them marginal at best.Most of the time I carry my S&W 340PD with a mixture of ammo.My first 2 rounds are 158 gr HPSWC +P,followed by a 125 gr Corbon HP +P in 38 spl,followed by 125 gr Gold Dot .357 Mag.Because of the terrible recoil of 357's in this lightweight gun,I pray the first 3 rounds will take care of the problem.

Have you tried grouping this mixture at target? What were the results? Just curious.

 

[Southern Redneck]

45, 40 and the 50 cal is all i would use if the 40 0r the 45 caliber wont bring down the 300 pound bad guy then he will get a very warm welcome with the 50 call that I do have and rarely do i ever bring that out

 

[DrNVP]

Although I have had .380 guns and carried them,I always considered them marginal at best.Most of the time I carry my S&W 340PD with a mixture of ammo.My first 2 rounds are 158 gr HPSWC +P,followed by a 125 gr Corbon HP +P in 38 spl,followed by 125 gr Gold Dot .357 Mag.Because of the terrible recoil of 357's in this lightweight gun,I pray the first 3 rounds will take care of the problem.

huh? you carry 3 different ammo types in a 5 shot revolver? I don't understand what the point of that is. In fact, I don't even understand what the point of carrying 357 magnum in a j-frame revolver is. All you get is a incredible amount of recoil with negligible velocity improvement due to the short barrel. 158gr HPSWC or 135gr Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel is excellent out of snubby barrels and is very controllable.

 

[tele_mark]

This is about the minimum I carry for self defense.

 

[Mr Weebles]

This is about the minimum I carry for self defense.

Yeah but you can only use it once.

 

[saltydude]

This is about the minimum I carry for self defense.

Isn't that self offence?

 

[Independence Arms]

does that come with a "siderlock"

 

[tele_mark]

Yeah but you can only use it once.

Noone will ever screw with me again.....

 

[Bit]

For every day carry I use a .32 Seecamp w/Winchester silver tips. It's extremely concealable as is evidenced by the fact that it's never being noticed in a pat down at a sporting event. In most encounters your assailant will be within 20 feet and I can double tap anything at that range.

For other instances (e.g.: carrying large sums of money to an auction) I carry my Glock 33, chambered in .357 sig. The .357 sig is basically a 9mm magnum and has excellent stopping and penetrating power.

Sometimes smaller is better.

In this holster it gives any impression of a wallet in your back pocket.

It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

 

[whatluck]

I usually carry an 88 magnum.

Lol, j/k. I usually carry a Smith 360PD with Speed 135Gr short barrel. They make about 300 ft/lbs.

 

[john m]

does that come with a "siderlock"

Do we need to go there again I carried a ppk/s 380 for a while anything is better than nothing. IMO

 

[Independence Arms]

I usually carry an 88 magnum.

haha, It shoots through schools!

 

[Independence Arms]

Do we need to go there again I carried a ppk/s 380 for a while anything is better than nothing. IMO

no, I just like to