What caliber for home defense?

[C4IGrant]

12 gauge. Buckshot. Anything else is a hobby.

This is incorrect advice.



C4

[Koshinn]

One has to be careful with such advice as people will often take it out of context. I shoot .22 best, as it has essential zero recoil, and it's cheap, but I'd never choose it for HD/SD. It's easy for some to get literal with statements like that. I tend to qualify such advice like so " which ever one you shoot best, using quality duty ammo from major manufactures with known terminal ballistics and quality control" kinda thing, which narrow it down to calibers and brands like Winchester, Speer, etc.

Otherwise, I find it quickly goes south with people recommending 5.7 for SD/HD.

That's my experience anyway.

It should be: What you shoot best, what is cheapest for practice, AND what provides adequate penetration and expansion.

The answer in the civilian market is generally 9mm because it's the cheapest with the minimum penetration, expands well with modern bullets, and recoils less for faster follow up shots. It also has larger magazine capacity than larger rounds in states without mag capacity bans.

I can follow up quickly enough, and 14 rounds is plenty (until I can reach a rifle or shotgun).

Quickly enough? If you and an opponent both miss your first shot, all else being equal, he'll hit you before you get off your next shot if he has a lower recoiling weapon like a 9mm. I don't remember who said this, but no one has ever died of having too much ammo, but the opposite isn't true.

I know that in all probability, my first shot is going to hit,

Really?

so I want to cause as much tissue damage as possible before firing again.

Why not a .44 magnum then?

If it means I lost .13 seconds because of the minimal recoil difference (for me) between 9mm/.40/.45, then I'm not too concerned, because I probably cost the bad guy to lose at least that much reaction time from increased shock.

"Shock" doesn't really exist in a high adrenaline environment. Shot placement matters, but you get that with 9mm. Losing .13 seconds is placing you at half the accurate rate of fire of a good 9mm shooter.

People always argue that modern bullet design makes the whole 9mm vs .45 debate a non-issue - I tend to disagree. Remember why the .45 ACP cartridge was invented. If you put a nasty bullet in a 9mm round, it will be even nastier (if loaded correctly) in a .45. So I would think it evens out.

45ACP was invented because some gentlemen in Hague decided that only FMJ rounds should be used in warfare. We're not bound by that agreement in civil matters.

[WillBrink]

Quite true. I guess I assume people know that I am referring to the popular service calibers........at least on this forum.

Well you know what they say about assuming...and some of the advice/comments in this thread speaks for itself in terms of your latter comment.

[WillBrink]

It should be: What you shoot best, what is cheapest for practice, AND what provides adequate penetration and expansion.

The answer in the civilian market is generally 9mm because it's the cheapest with the minimum penetration, expands well with modern bullets, and recoils less for faster follow up shots. It also has larger magazine capacity than larger rounds in states without mag capacity bans.

And as that's been the consistent advice of those with the knowledge base/creds/experience to give it, why I have followed that advice. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think

[Koshinn]

And as that's been the consistent advice of those with the knowledge base/creds/experience to give it, why I have followed that advice. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think

One thing I've considered is a state with 10 rd mag cap. Would you go to .45 in that case?

I've thought a lot about it since I have family in two such states... but I think I'm still going to stick with 9mm. The faster follow up shots for the same accuracy is a winner over the slightly larger bullet hole that most likely won't make any difference at all.

[GTF425]

I use Speer 55gr GDSP in my AR and 124gr +P Speer GD in my Glocks.

You may be surprised at what even M855 does with good hits. With the modern quality defense loads available, go with a reputable manufacturer (Speer for me) and in a caliber you can afford to shoot often.

Just my $.02

[jonconsiglio]

When it comes to handguns, I pick the handgun based on how well I shoot it and I base the caliber on what handgun I choose. For example, when I only shot and carried 1911's, I went with 45. Not because I believed it to be that much better than 9mm, but because that's the caliber that I trust most in a 1911.

When I switched back to polymer handguns for carry, I tried numerous options. I had a couple Hk45's, so obviously I went with 45. I bought them because they worked well for me and I shot them accurately, not because they were 45's. Glocks seem to work best in 9mm, at least for me, also the 17 feels a little better in my hand than the 21. The M&P I chose 9mm, but because the 40 works so well in that gun, I would have been content with that as well. At the time, I just preferred 9mm and 45 after my experiences with the 40 caliber and Glock 23 (one of the few guns I bought because of caliber well over a decade ago when I believed in all the caliber nonsense).

ARs and AKs, I just prefer the AR. When I first got into them I wasn't carrying a gun for work, so I could get whatever I wanted. I happened to prefer the AR, so naturally I went with 5.56. AKs are great guns, but they serve no purpose for me. Though I owned a few, I ended up parting with them. Mine were chambered in 7.62x39.

So, I needed up with Glocks in 9mm and ARs in 5.56 and 300blk. I will say I tried different calibers in the AR and while the 6.8 was impressive, I didn't like it in a short barrel. So, I decided to stick to 5.56. Then I gave a 9" 300blk a try and was absolutely impressed with the rifle and the terminal effects of the Black Tip TSX. While the main caliber I shoot and train with is still 5.56, the 300blk has taken on the primary rifle role for me. I now use it as a home defense rifle and keep it in the vehicle at work.

Anyway, what I mean to say with my long winded post is that while I stick to common duty/defensive calibers, I choose which caliber based on the handgun or rifle I buy. I choose the handgun by how it feels when handling it, but more importantly how it feels when shooting it.

[RedXd]

357 sig all the way


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[MegademiC]

357 sig all the way


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At least we know why you suggest 357... Or do you mean all the way to the trash can?