Enlighten Me! :)
Well, I "re-discovered" big-bore revolvers lately, having made an investment purchase of a Colt Anaconda in .44 Magnum, and loving the way I could put most of a cylinder into the kill-zone of a silhouette at 100 yards, with open sights, I ran out and bought a companion Marlin 1894 lever rifle to go with the Anaconda. The .44 Mag can be loaded up to kill anything on this continent, or down to kill just "thin-skinned" game.
The Anaconda would conceal only under a heavy coat, but in these parts, we wear heavy coats/bulky rain parkas 7 months out of the year.
In smaller weapons, though, the .40 S&W is about 95% as effective as a .45ACP.
Jimmyb, I'm with you on the preference of the .45 vs. the 9mm. The 9mm can be an effective man-stopper provided common sense is used. You must use appropriate ammunition (no FMJ's) and proper shot placement. Of course, the same goes for almost any caliber.
Hits to non-vital body parts with any pistol cartridge are going to produce less than instant results. HP's or JHP's enhance the damage done no matter where the round impacts.
My list of self-defense handgun rounds goes as follows:
.357 Magnum/.357 Sig
.45 ACP/.45 GAP
.40 S&W
10 mm (only under the .40 due to recoil)
.44 Special
.38 super
9x19
9x18
.50 (for when you really don't care about recoil)
.44 Magnum (ditto)
There are many good cartridges out there and some of them are semi-effective manstoppers while being wrist-friendly (.380 ACP being about the weakest cartridge that I'd recommend). I have a little .25 that is good for killing rats and apples but it wouldn't be my first choice to save my life.
I love gun posts!
RD - I love the Anaconda (just can't afford one!)
I just got an 1894 myself to go with my 629 Smith. Let me guess, SHTF-wear so you have a long-gun and a handgun that take the same caliber?
Lovely weapon; could do without the safety.
I would concur on the 40 as well. I think the author (and myself too) think the 45 is a good compromise between the cannon-like properties of the 44 and it's ilk, and the less beefy rounds on the other end.
Plus, there is the cool factor.
Heh.
Nightcrawler - Great list. I'm a big fan of the 357, too. Someday, if I can afford the ammo, a 10mm might be in my future.
25's seem to piss off the people you shoot, even if they do die later.
My favorite is the .45 as well, but I think the 10mm would tie it. I reload for the 10, which makes it MUCH more affordable. The recoil of it hasn't been that much of an issue for me either; in fact, I think I'd take it over the .357 Magnum. My ammo isn't quite as hot as what Double Tap makes, but then a 155-grain bullet at 1370-1400 fps is nothing to turn up one's nose at.
jimmyb, that's a fine-lookin' 1911. Is that a Springfield GI?
I'm still waiting for Magnum Research to produce a .444Marlin DA snub that will fit in my Coronado vest. Until then, my every day gun will stay .357Mag. The 1911 is great, but it's also heavy and considerably bulkier than I can tolerate in the vest for long periods of time, and my job makes IWB a bit problematic.
I still need to get the kids .45 to you to get repaired
just one question, unless there is something i dont know about Mary Joe, what bad guys has Ted Kennedy stop?
Oh yeah, 45 rule!!!
Nothing like my old 1917 45ACP/45Autorim revolver :D
pistolero - It is a Springfield, it is not mine (stolen internet pic).
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