smallest caliber you feel comfortable carrying?

[Jose]

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

Not even close

 

[Jose]

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

Really? Wow!

 

[CosmicIrony]

This is about the minimum I carry for self defense.

You are your own worst enemy!

 

[boxerjake77]

9mm, or 38sp in the snubbie

 

[Busa]

I carried a .22 for a long time and had no worries. A couple .22 hollow points in anyone will make them think twice. Well unless there on meth but I have seen stories of a .45 not stopping guys on meth.

 

[DoubleDoeHoe]

Shot placement. It always out weighs caliber size in real life situations. Most guns you see confiscated in crimes/murders in the streets you see it's a small caliber. Also the fact that most encounters esp in this state are going to happen within 8 feet shot placement should not be a problem at that distance.


That said .40 EDC for me.

 

[ShadeWPI]

.500 S&W Magnum loaded with 350gn Jacketed Hollow Points...

All kidding aside, I have carried as small as a .32 Auto and didn't worry about its effectiveness. It's not my carry of choice and ammunition choice is extremely important, but there are times that I can't carry anything larger, and it's better than carrying nothing.

I've also carried .380, .38 Special, 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm and yes, .500 S&W Magnum (though only for open carry hiking in NH)

I've never seen the need for a .22LR or .25 Auto pistol though, and I can't imagin being able to carry one and not being able to carry a .32 Auto.

 

[el duderino]

Russian KS-23 in a shoulder rig with either 6g or 23mm shells.


Kidding of course, 9mm but im open to the possibility of a .38 snubbie.

 

[sportycliff]

My 3 season carry is .45 in either a Colt Defender or Combat Commander. That said my hot summer carry is a S&W 642, and with +P ammo, and hopefully proper shot placement I never feel "naked".

 

[william_munny]

I carried a .22 for a long time and had no worries. A couple .22 hollow points in anyone will make them think twice. Well unless there on meth but I have seen stories of a .45 not stopping guys on meth.

I don't want to make someone think twice after I put a couple of rounds in them, I want them to go down and stay down.
9mm is the smallest I'd be comfortable with.

 

[ARV]

.38 snubby is as small as I normaly would go, but I have been thinking of going as small as a .32 for a pocket auto for times a holster just doesnt work.

 

[SemiAutoSam]

I like the 40SW and also carry a Colt 45ACP Commander and Officers models.

I unlike EC dont need to put 50 cal holes in bag guys.

The bad guys (POE) Purity of Essence, will leak out just as good with a 40SW.

 

[scooter]

9mm is the lowest I have gone but really like my .45..Have been carring this only for the past year

 

[wiskie762]

9mm is the smallest I would carry. but i carry a .45 auto

 

[wolf223]

nina

 

[Cape Cod Center Mass]

.

 

[Cape Cod Center Mass]

Not even close

The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.[2] It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since. Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9x17mm. It is not to be confused with .38 ACP

I would say pretty damn close

 

[appraiser]

9mm in a semi, .38spl+p in a J frame

 

[JRyan]

9mm in a semi, .38spl+p in a J frame

ditto, although that 1911 I bought over the holidays is my new favorite shooter, well that's a good carry option. I love the .500 mag, a little big though.

 

[Moderator]

The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.[2] It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since. Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9x17mm. It is not to be confused with .38 ACP

I would say pretty damn close

Kinda like the S&W .500 and the .50 BMG, pretty close.

 

[sportycliff]

Kinda like the S&W .500 and the .50 BMG, pretty close.

 

[william_munny]

Kinda like the S&W .500 and the .50 BMG, pretty close.

Yeah, and .22 LR and .223 Remington, it's real damn close.

 

[pbearperry]

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

Out to 25 ft. they are fairly close together.

 

[Youradolt]

Yeah, and .22 LR and .223 Remington, it's real damn close.

That I will agree with

 

[pbearperry]

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.

The point is not truly knowing what effect either of the 2 38 spl rounds will do to a bad guy,I am sure the 357 round will out perform them.I am fully aware coming out of a 2 inch barrel there is a considerable loss of velocity,it still will be faster than the first 3 out of the gun.

 

[cekim]

.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.

1mm of case length might not seem like a lot, but it is.

This, like comparing a 223 and 22lr and saying they are both 22...

 

[Dench]

.22 Short

 

[Cape Cod Center Mass]

Kinda like the S&W .500 and the .50 BMG, pretty close.

apples and oranges

 

[sig shooter]

9mm. 380 is good for deep concealment or for the summer but they now make pocket guns like the khar PM9 in 9mm that will fit in your pocket nicely.

 

[Jose]

The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.[2] It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since. Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9x17mm. It is not to be confused with .38 ACP

I would say pretty damn close

Okie Dokie!!!!

In honor of my usual blunt force trauma approach, I will say this: anyone who thinks .380 ACP and 9x19 are very close/almost the same doesn't know shit from shinola.

That's like saying that .38 Special wadcutters are almost the same as 125 grain .357 Magnums.

Bullshit.

However, feel free to believe so. No skin off my a$$.