What caliber do you tend to use and like?

Me I am a 9mm and .45 fan myself.  Now alot of people will say that the 9mm is not a good self defense round, but recently it has been updated and its proformance improved.  The .40 S&W has over shadowed this though.  And anyone knows htat knock down power isn't the most vital part, its shot placement.  You can have the most powerful handgun in the world and if you miss, well your shit is in the wind.  The best qoute that I have heard about the 9mm round is from a documentary on the Discovery channel about the Navy SEALs, a SEAL said, "many people will say "oh its just a 9mm, it won't do anything" well when I put two into your chest and one into your head, you won't be able to tell the difference."

I like the 9mm. It's cheap, will be around for a while, gets the job done when you do your part, is accurate for range work, and pleasant to shoot.

I also like the .45 too.

And .38 Spl, .357 Mag.

And 10mm.

Maybe the .44 Spl/Mag too since I just bought a gun in that caliber.

.45 ACP

*Wide variety of ammo available
*Fairly inexpensive to shoot
*Fun to shoot without excessive recoil
*All things being equal, I believe the .45 is a more lethal round than a 9mm.
*The .45 is a relatively slow-moving round and I believe less likely to penetrate walls, etc. and possibly injure an innocent bystander in a shootout.


I have a 9mm that I, personally haven't put 2 boxes of ammo through. But I have used it to teach dozens of people to shoot with. It is cheap to feed and has very light recoil. I just don't like the 9mm because it has no personality. Sort of like shooting a cap gun to me.

I badmouthed 9mm for years & now damned if I don't own 6 or 7 of them! I carry virtually only a .45acp unless it's summer lightweight clothing, then it's .38spl in an airweight.

9mm is great for teaching folks to shoot when they're ready to bump up from a .22LR.

Now, .40S&W, now there's a useless caliber............        

I have owned several 9mm handguns and a .40 S&W handgun. I STILL own the 9mm's...

The 9mm is the most versatile pistol round there is. Loaded in FMJ form it is useful for plinking and training, and even some small game hunting should you need to do it. Loaded with +P or +P+ hollowpoints, it has produced great stopping power on the street. I carry 124 grain +P Speer Gold Dot rounds or 115 grain Cor-Bon +P rounds. I tend to use the cor-bons in my 9mm's with shorter barrels. The Gold Dots work well out of my 4+ inch Berettas.

The .45 ACP is also a very versitile caliber, suitable for almost anything you want to do. I carry 230 grain Federal Hydra-Shok rounds for defense out of my Les Baer 1911. I don't think +P rounds in a .45 are a good idea. They recoil and blast more, but offer little advantage over the standard .45 unless you are hunting big game. Frankly, if you need more power than a .45 ACP, take a rifle...

The .38 spl is a good caliber that is capable of everything from match shooting to plinking to defense when loaded properly. I shoot a 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoint loaded to +P by Remington from my S&W 442 .38 spl. Jacketed rounds do not develop enough velocity to expand from that little .38's short barrel.

The .357 is an even better gun, as revolvers chambered for it can fire any mild .38 load and the hottest .357 loads out there, giving you a ton of options.

The .22 LR is a versatile caliber too. Suitable for small game hunting and plinking, as well as serious match shooting. It is not good for defense, but it is better than having nothing...

Quoted: .45 ACP *Wide variety of ammo available *Fairly inexpensive to shoot *Fun to shoot without excessive recoil *All things being equal, I believe the .45 is a more lethal round than a 9mm. *The .45 is a relatively slow-moving round and I believe less likely to penetrate walls, etc. and possibly injure an innocent bystander in a shootout. I have a 9mm that I, personally haven't put 2 boxes of ammo through. But I have used it to teach dozens of people to shoot with. It is cheap to feed and has very light recoil. I just don't like the 9mm because it has no personality. Sort of like shooting a cap gun to me.

The .45 ACP will penetrate walls, and other objects.  The .45 might be slow moving but it still has alot of kenetic energy.  Just because it may be more lethal does not mean that it will kill all the time.  With a well placed shot the 9mm can create a killing wound.  A Article out of Combat Handguns told of a Deputy being armed with a Sig P226 9mm semi-automatic pistol, he came under fire from a hostile about 30 yards away, with one well placed shot the man died before he hit the ground.  Knock down power doesn't mean anything, its all about shot placement.

If the 9mm is a cap gun then I don't know many people that would want to be on the receiving end of the "cap gun".

Quoted: The .45 ACP will penetrate walls, and other objects.  The .45 might be slow moving but it still has alot of kenetic energy.  Just because it may be more lethal does not mean that it will kill all the time.  With a well placed shot the 9mm can create a killing wound.  A Article out of Combat Handguns told of a Deputy being armed with a Sig P226 9mm semi-automatic pistol, he came under fire from a hostile about 30 yards away, with one well placed shot the man died before he hit the ground.  Knock down power doesn't mean anything, its all about shot placement. If the 9mm is a cap gun then I don't know many people that would want to be on the receiving end of the "cap gun".

The question presented was "what caliber do you tend to use and like"

I prefer the .45 over others including the 9mm. I'm not knocking the 9mm. I just don't prefer it.

Having said that. Let me clarify.
All things being equal the .45 is more lethal than the 9mm.
Because the .45 is a relatively slow-moving round, it is less likely to penetrate walls, etc.
To me, recoil is part of a weapons personality. The .45 gives me a good feeling when fired. It lets me know that death and destruction is on it's way. The 9mm, on the other hand, has fairly light recoil. It just doesn't give me a hard-on when I shoot it.

If the 9mm is your bag, have at it. It's just not my preferred weapon.

I like the 10mm and .45  the 10mm gives around the same effect as the .45 but you get more rounds. I like to stick with the rounds that are used in competitive marksmanship, hence the .45.  I don't know lots of people who choose the 9mm as an accurate gun at a 25 meter event even though it has low recoil.  Most will opt for the .38 special or .32 S&W long.

.45ACP (What I'd want if I actually had to shoot someone... However, it costs a fortune for ammo)
Gun: M1911A1

9mm (More accurate than .45, more rounds per mag, and cheaper. But if I have to shoot something besides paper, I'd rather have my .45)
Gun: Beretta 92FS

.22LR (C-H-E-A-P! I have a .22 conversion for my Beretta. Nothing beats being able to fire 500 rds for the price of 50...)
Gun: Beretta 92FS w. caliber conversion installed.

I agree with Cougar8045 on the .45 round.

Quoted: The question presented was "what caliber do you tend to use and like" I prefer the .45 over others including the 9mm. I'm not knocking the 9mm. I just don't prefer it. Having said that. Let me clarify. All things being equal the .45 is more lethal than the 9mm. Because the .45 is a relatively slow-moving round, it is less likely to penetrate walls, etc. To me, recoil is part of a weapons personality. The .45 gives me a good feeling when fired. It lets me know that death and destruction is on it's way. The 9mm, on the other hand, has fairly light recoil. It just doesn't give me a hard-on when I shoot it. If the 9mm is your bag, have at it. It's just not my preferred weapon.

I prefer to shoot teh .40 SW.  It has proven itself to me in several meeting engagments with feral hogs.

That being said, I don't think I would feel adequately armed with a 9mm and I am a poor shoot, so the .45 does not give me as many chances to miss as I sometime require.  

Besides, my AR is the main gun, the pistol is the transistion piece.  

For the weight and firepower alone, I prefer the .40

Not as many bullets as the 9mm in the same frame (G23 vs. G19) not as hard hitting as the .45 but I have a few extra chances to miss.  The .40 gives me the right gun 'in my mind' to do the job at hand.

TRG

I wouldn't want to miss a target, when ever I go target shooting a miss to me means a possible animal wounded, scared off, and otherwise if you practice for "real world" situations a miss could mean that you hit someone else other than the target, and that is not exceptable.  In hunting you could hit another hunter around you or wound another animal.  In the LE world you miss your going to catch alot of flak about it, also you might hit someone and a law suit can happen.  In the military it isn't that important but it still you need acuracy.

Quoted:  In hunting you could hit another hunter around you or wound another animal.

If you take a shot, at lets say a deer, and miss by 8 feet (pretty bad aiming) and hit another hunter, you shouldn't have taken the shot. Same goes if it was another animal. Anything that close to your target, and you shouldn't shoot.