The Official Gun Brand and Caliber Debate thread!

[Evil D]

I know there are gun guys here. I also know this topic can get a little heated but if we can keep it civil this is usually a good topic to have around.

Personally I love them all, steel and Tupperware guns are all welcome at my house. I love my Glocks just as much as I love revolvers. There are reasons I would or wouldn't carry any of them though. Caliber wise I like 9mm+ and my CCW's are all 9mm, but again I get people's reasons for other calibers.

Discuss!





(civilly please)

[LDB]

Anything 9mm that's top shelf quality.

[mb1]

Haha - way to kick the door down D!

[bearfacedkiller]

I have an LCP because it is just too easy to carry. I cannot say I love it or the .380 but I do love how easy it is to have with me.

Other than that I am a died hard revolver guy and without question my favorite handgun caliber is .357. Ruger wheelguns are what float my boat.

I handload 158 grain wadcutters over a very stout load of 2400 and it is a cannon. While not quite as hot as Elmer's original load it is quite a bit more powerful than most factory .357 ammo.

[Evil D]

Darby that's the exact reason I own a Glock 43, it's just too easy to carry. I carry my 19 a lot too but I can conceal my 43 under any t-shirt with ease.

[Donut]

I play a video game that has a Glock 18 (9mm) and against guys with body armor on, it takes like 8 bullets to stop someone.

I've been wondering if it's BS or if 9mm isn't really that great. It looks and shoots pretty strong to me.

[mb1]

We have an LCP in the family as well. My wife picked it...because it was pink of course. Then she shot it. That's a snappy little beast. Not so fun at the range, but delightfully small indeed.

[Doc Dan]

I am a die hard Glock fan, and for good reason...they work. I sold the first one in my State and bought the first G19 that arrived in State, many, many years ago. I owned Colt 1911 types but the Glock was better. My father made fun of my plastic gun. One day, when we were out at the ranch and he was lugging that heavy 1911, we stopped at the back side of the dam to do some shooting. I was hitting everything, but my father was hitting close, but not dead center. He was taught point shooting in WWII and if it had of been a man he would have hit him square, but he was not shooting with the precision I was. He asked to shoot my plastic gun and, point shooting, he hit every target dead center. He went down that day and traded his ".45" for a G19 and carried it to the day he died.

Years of real life shooting things, and talking to people who had actually been in combat with both calibers, convinced me that the .45ACP being better than a hot 9mm is a myth. Also, I have read Fairbairn, where he states that the most effective caliber in his real world daily shooting experience was the .30 Mauser (same as a Tokarev round) because of the high velocity. It would do a lot of damage as it exceeded 1400fps. My favorite cartridge gets that fast in some loadings, and that is the .357 Sig. My next favorite carry load is a 9MM +P+ running about that speed. I think the bullet in the 9MM and 357 Sig should be at least 115gr. and better at 124gr running at 1400fps. Recoil is still better than a full house .45 ACP with 230gr projectile.

While I like a .38 Special +P+, there is nothing wrong with carrying a pocket pistol (Kel-Tec, Ruger) in .380 ACP with the right ammunition. You should see what it will do to an attacking pack of large dogs! So, while I prefer something more powerful, I do not feel under gunned for most scenarios.

Thankfully, I have never had to shoot a man, but I have shot deer, dogs, and other critters with handguns, plus other assorted media.

[bearfacedkiller]

I think people think that the LCP is a good gun for women or that in general because it is small that it is an easy gun to handle. It is neither.

It is quite the opposite in my opinion. It is a snappy little gun with a small grip and a short sight radius that has almost non existent sights. Becoming proficient with it is not easy. If anything they are guns better suited to experienced hands.

[Evil D]

I play a video game that has a Glock 18 (9mm) and against guys with body armor on, it takes like 8 bullets to stop someone.

I've been wondering if it's BS or if 9mm isn't really that great. It looks and shoots pretty strong to me.

Real life body armor would probably act in a similar way especially the fancy military stuff, but you'd be just as SOL if you were firing a .45. Thankfully most civilian situations where you may need to defend yourself don't involve body armor, but there have been some cases where it really did cause some havoc (look up the North Hollywood Shootout).

[mb1]

I think people think that the LCP is a good gun for women or that in general because it is small that it is an easy gun to handle. It is neither.

It is quite the opposite in my opinion. It is a snappy little gun with a small grip and a short sight radius that has almost non existent sights. Becoming proficient with it is not easy. If anything they are guns better suited to experienced hands.

Yep yep. Tried to talk my wife into a 42. But it wasn't pink. Found a great video when we were in buying mode where hands down, every woman who shot the 42 against the main competition offerings shot the 42 better.

I'm more inclined to go the one-caliber route if we ever upgrade her to another compact. I'm already heavy into 9mm, with a little .38 spcl snubby on the side.

[paladin]

I have a CZ PT01...shoots like a dream. Zero malfunctions with a half dozen different kinds of cartridges.

Ditto for my SigSauer P239...the SRT trigger group on my pistol is AMAZING...don't know how they make the DA feel as smooth & light as SA almost!

Star model B 9mm para <not Super>...my first 9mm...all it does is shoot, shoot , shoot...

These guns eat any brand/size ammo without regurgitations...all you could hope for and more. Every 9mm enthusiast needs these 3, IMHO.

[Doc Dan]

Because of my wife, I simplified out gun and ammo selection. I did not quite get to one caliber, but I got close. I also eschewed any handguns with safety levers. All had to work like a revolver...pick it up, point it, and pull the trigger. So, basically I got rid of everything but Glock and S&W Lady Smith 9mm, S&W Bodyguard .38 (w/laser), and a small .380 ACP that I carried to work in my suit pants (could not have a gun showing or printing).

[LDB]

I'm thinking about getting my first HK, a USP Compact 9mm. I need it like a hole in the head but we all know how that goes with knives and guns.

[greencobra]

edc a g20 10mm. as big as a cinder block but 10 will put most anything down. won't penetrate the higher level of body armor but will put the little thug on his behind seeing stars and birdies.

[Evil D]

I also went one caliber, everything I own is 9mm. The wife likes the 43 and Shield because she has small hands but she shoots better with the 19 and won't carry it because it's hard for her to conceal.

I'm also on board with the no safety mentality.

I also have 2 kids in the house, about to turn 15 and 9. Both know how to shoot and both know what trigger discipline means. That said, my guns stay locked up in a safe unless they're on my hip.

[yablanowitz]

edc a g20 10mm. as big as a cinder block but 10 will put most anything down. won't penetrate the higher level of body armor but will put the little thug on his behind seeing stars and birdies.

G20 with +2 floor plate and one in the chamber. The ultimate hand held power tool. I used to shoot IPSC and the 20 always gave me the best results of anything I shot, including stock and modified 1911s, revolvers and my much loved Desert Eagle .44 mag.

[El Gato]

I have owned and used Glocks and liked them all. Never have I had a Glock malfunction and I wouldn't hesitate to own another. It is hard for me to turn my back on a good S&W revolver however, perhaps because of my years as a LEO in the revolver era, and a business doing revolver action jobs after taking the S&W Armorers School course. I also like the idea of taking all the empty cartridges with me in the case of a serious situation, just something else left over from LE. For calibers I like the .44 Spl. or .357 for a carry gun, or .38+P Gold Dot for my J-frame 3" M-36 S&W, which is an old favorite for concealed carry. The late Bill Jordan had a lot to do with my LE career and I owe him a great deal, in many ways.

These days, with aging eyesight I tend to keep a short shotgun, in a 20 ga. Cruiser style with Choate pistol grip, in my vehicle and an identical, but full stocked, model as a house gun. The Cruiser doubles as a handy camp and/or snake gun and is just plain fun to shoot. Front sights may be hard to see these days but I can still point shoot.

This is a fun thread. :)

[holeshot]

The only Glock I own is a model 22 and I love it. It feeds anything I run through it and has never malfunctioned. My go to revolver is my Colt Python the action on it is smoother than any other revolver I've ever fired. For around the house I have a S&W Governor loaded with 410 buckshot. I've also have Kimbers in 9 and 45. The only one I carry regularly is Kimber Micro Raptor 380 with a TLR-6 light and laser. :)

[yablanowitz]

Also, I have read Fairbairn, where he states that the most effective caliber in his real world daily shooting experience was the .30 Mauser (same as a Tokarev round) because of the high velocity. It would do a lot of damage as it exceeded 1400fps.

With all due respect to you and Fairburn, I own a C96 in .30 Mauser and a Tokarev in 7.62X25, and while the two cartridges are the same dimensions externally, the cases are not constructed the same, nor are they loaded to the same pressures. A standard Tokarev load would likely cause catastrophic failure in the C96, and a standard .30 Mauser load will often fail to cycle the action on the Tokarev. If you're in the "penetration is the key to stopping power" camp, that Tokarev is definitely your gun. I dislike the thought of killing two more people that happened to be behind the one I was shooting at, myself, and I've seen damage to steel knockover targets from the FMJ Tokarev rounds that makes me believe such a thing could easily happen. To say that it is "overpenatrative" is a bit of an understatement. It's great in a war situation when everyone downrange is an enemy, but I try to avoid those situations.