best caliber?

[MDS]

This is all opinion of course, but what do you think is the best balanced bullet to be firing (pistolwise)?
I'm a fan of the .40 personally.

[opskmallory]

Me too. I believe that .40 has the best balance of velocity and size, and has great stopping power. It's easier to shoot (my opinion), lighter to carry, and has better capacity than a .45 which would be the .40's biggest competition for effectiveness.

In my academy class of 32 cadets from 23 departments, only two departments shot something besides .40. One dept shot 9mm Glocks, and a redneck hick county Sheriff's office shoots .45 1911s (Their uniform pants are brown Wranglers, if that tells you anything )

[The Rabbi]

The best caliber is the .45acp. It has documented stopping power.
The other best caliber is the .40S&W because it has most of the stopping power of the .45 but allows higher capacity with less recoil.
The other best caliber is 9mm because it has a long history, is cheap to shoot, achieves high velocities, and comes in a wide variety of loadings.

Seriously, every caliber has its own fan club.

The answer to the question, what is the best caliber is:

"The best caliber is the one you shoot best with."

[WC145]

Me too. I believe that .40 has the best balance of velocity and size, and has great stopping power. It's easier to shoot (my opinion), lighter to carry, and has better capacity than a .45 which would be the .40's biggest competition for effectiveness.

In my academy class of 32 cadets from 23 departments, only two departments shot something besides .40. One dept shot 9mm Glocks, and a redneck hick county Sheriff's office shoots .45 1911s (Their uniform pants are brown Wranglers, if that tells you anything )

I can carry anything I want and my choice is a .357sig but I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 1911, our military and untold others have been using them for almost 100 years so they must have something going for them.

And as far as brown Wranglers and ability are concerned I suggest you get off your high horse and quit making assumptions based on weapons and uniforms, because you never know when one of those redneck hicks will be backing your dumb *** up.

Oh yeah, one other thing, just because the management chooses the .40 for you doesn't mean it's the all that ends all. The choice is based on bulk weapon prices and bulk ammo prices, not necessarily what is the best caliber/weapon combo for the job. We're talking about the government, the contract goes to the lowest bidder, not the best choice.
So, how do you feel about your Glock .40 now?

[JPR]

My two cents worth goes to the 45ACP.....I have heard from some that it is hard to shoot but I have never had a problem. It doesn't hold as many rounds but then one round has twice the mass of a 9mm and a larger diameter. I'll take one well placed 45ACP shot over two 9mm shots. But then again, does it really matter? After all, how many degrees of dead are there?

I guess it's whatever the shooter feels more comfortable with. A friend of mine has both 40 cal and 45 ACP. He is a good marksman with the 45 but has trouble hitting the bullseye area with the 40.

[MDS]

My two cents worth goes to the 45ACP.....I have heard from some that it is hard to shoot but I have never had a problem. It doesn't hold as many rounds but then one round has twice the mass of a 9mm and a larger diameter. I'll take one well placed 45ACP shot over two 9mm shots. But then again, does it really matter? After all, how many degrees of dead are there?

I guess it's whatever the shooter feels more comfortable with. A friend of mine has both 40 cal and 45 ACP. He is a goof marksman with the 45 but has trouble hitting the bullseye area with the 40.

I'm issued a 9mm but don't care for the velocity much. I've got a .45 I keep on me as well and am a pretty big fan. But, still like the feel of the .40s....
As someone else said (paraphrased): best one is the one you do best with.

Just curious what everyone else was into.

[opskmallory]

I can carry anything I want and my choice is a .357sig but I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 1911, our military and untold others have been using them for almost 100 years so they must have something going for them.

And as far as brown Wranglers and ability are concerned I suggest you get off your high horse and quit making assumptions based on weapons and uniforms, because you never know when one of those redneck hicks will be backing your dumb *** up.

Oh yeah, one other thing, just because the management chooses the .40 for you doesn't mean it's the all that ends all. The choice is based on bulk weapon prices and bulk ammo prices, not necessarily what is the best caliber/weapon combo for the job. We're talking about the government, the contract goes to the lowest bidder, not the best choice.
So, how do you feel about your Glock .40 now?

Easy there buddy, didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, but you clearly took my comments the wrong way. I have nothing against the deputy I went to the academy with. We still talk here and there. There were no assumptions; "hick redneck" was a self-given title by him. The Wranglers were just to illustrate that that department is a department of Good'ol cowboys that like their 1911's. I never claimed that the .40 was the "all that ends all". But it is very popular around here for a variety of reasons, including the ones I listed, and likely the ones you listed. It's all subject to opinion, and in my opinion it offers a great balance. I feel about my Glock 40 the exact same way I felt before I read your response.

[pulicords]

.40 or .45?

IMO if you don't mind having a slightly lesser number of rounds in your magazine (8 or 9) go with a .45. If your hand isn't big enough to comfortably handle a double column .45 magazine (or you prefer a slightly higher number of rounds) use a .40. Properly placed, a bad guy won't notice the difference between a hit from a .40 and a hit from a .45.

[JSam21]

One well placed shot with a .22 will take someone down just as quick as a well placed .45ACP round

[pulicords]

One well placed shot with a .22 will take someone down just as quick as a well placed .45ACP round

Actually they won't. The .22 LR caliber bullet is too light to penetrate dependably when it strikes hard bone, heavy clothing or muscle to cause consistent damage. It can (and often does) kill, but if it was as dependable as larger caliber rounds, we'd all be carrying .22s. I've seen many people shot with .22 caliber weapons who were not stopped by the round or even received life threatening injuries due to it's lack of penetration.

[JSam21]

Thats why I said well placed.

[Bearcat357]

Me too. I believe that .40 has the best balance of velocity and size, and has great stopping power. It's easier to shoot (my opinion), lighter to carry, and has better capacity than a .45 which would be the .40's biggest competition for effectiveness.

In my academy class of 32 cadets from 23 departments, only two departments shot something besides .40. One dept shot 9mm Glocks, and a redneck hick county Sheriff's office shoots .45 1911s (Their uniform pants are brown Wranglers, if that tells you anything )

1. The .45 is a good round. LOTS of agencies use it.....including some Federal.....

2. The 1911 is a good platform. Ask LAPD SWAT.....

3. Making fun of someone's uniforms......that's pretty classy......regardless if he's the one who called himself that....

4. I will stick to my .357sig in Glock format.....

[Bing_Oh]

If we're discussing this from a totally ballistic viewpoint, it could be realistically argued that the .357 Magnum is the "best" pistol round available.

Now, if you're discussing this from a tactical LE viewpoint, then any widely-available semiauto round has its advantages. The 9mm has the advantage of penetration and high magazine capacity. The .45 has the advantage of size and weight. The .40 (and, to some degree, the .357 Sig and 10mm, even though neither has yet gained wide popularity) is widely considered the "middle ground" between the 9mm and .45, giving a firearm a relatively high capacity and good penetration, but with a larger round than the 9mm.

In the end, there's no real "best" pistol round. None of them is a magic bullet. Unless you're issued a howitzer, shot placement is absolutely everything when you're compairing modern LE rounds.

[pulicords]

Thats why I said well placed.

Pencils, paper clips, a "well placed" wad of Post-it notes could all be effective given the right circumstances. The question was about the most effective handgun calibers (for defensive purposes) and the .22 doesn't rate. I'd never recommend this caliber to anyone I cared about. Even if you do place the shot well, the round's lack of penetration could cause you serious problems. Serious situations should always be met with serious solutions. As useful as the .22 caliber round is, it's not to be depended on for defensive purposes.

[JSam21]

Puli I know where you are coming from. I'm just playing Devils Advocate. In reality the real focus should be on how you shoot, in realistic situations, not what you shoot