Home Defense Handgun

[Loaded for bear]

Would you rather have a home defense handgun that holds more rounds of a small caliber say 9mm, or one with less rounds of a large caliber say 45 cal. ????

[NaSir510]

9mm

[DMotivate]

Does it make a difference when you live in California? I have firearms in both 9 and 45 that hold 10 rounds. If this were a free state where you can fit 15-17 rounds of 9mm in a magazine I would go for the higher round count over the 45.

[Snoopy47]

Use the platform you are most comfortable with shooting.

An HD firearm should be something one enjoys shooting and is vary familiar with.

Pray and Spray isn't usually a good home defense plan. In a home invasion situation a full magazine of 8+1 is just as capable as 10+1. After the first volley is fired get cover and reload.

I don't worry about how many are in the gun. I worry about how much I have with me behind cover.

That's why I keep 20 loaded magazines, and ear pro in my night stand. You never know when an entire city gang is going to invade. The 160+ rounds should allow me to make it to the garage where I can get to my 5,000 rounds, and rifles. Then I'll be able to engage the gang bangers at 300 yards, and kill hundreds of them (even those wearing body armor).

I kid, but my bias is still toward keeping something you enjoy shooting regularly near by, as no matter what it is it will serve you best than that ideal HD gun you may rarely shoot.

[OmegaTrader]

Does it make a difference when you live in California? I have firearms in both 9 and 45 that hold 10 rounds. If this were a free state where you can fit 15-17 rounds of 9mm in a magazine I would go for the higher round count over the 45.

Yup...And I vote for the .45cal. I know that I will be under a lot of stress in that situation and that most of my rounds ain't gonna land on the bad guy. But if it does, it'll better count.

[Trenchfoot]

Any of the common service calibers will do the job if you do yours.

[ShooterStymie]

In the past I relied on a Sig P226 9mm as my HD gun, however I recently changed to a Sig P227 .45acp. With practice I am about equally accurate with both, and whichever one I'm shooting the most is the one I'm most comfortable relying on at that time.

If I were somewhere where I could use the 15/18/20 mags, I'd definitely go with the 9mm P226. However, here in California, they sit legally as a pile of springs, tubes, followers and base plates.

The one round that I'd consider going to would be .357SIG with its excellent performance characteristics. 13-15 rounds of that would be great, although in some setups you only get 12 rounds; and of course in California you only get 10, in which case I'd just rather use .45.

[SoGetThis]

Moot point here in Cali with 10 rd limitations. You can find a 10rd option for practically any caliber in a handgun.

[NytWolf]

30 years ago, maybe caliber mattered. But bullet and ammunition technology has made such big strides that caliber doesn't matter anymore. So if I can have more rounds in the same amount of space, why not?

[teg33]

9 mm or .45 will not make any difference if you can not shoot accurately under stress. Shoot placement is more important than caliber

[ElDub1950]

Moot point here in Cali with 10 rd limitations. You can find a 10rd option for practically any caliber in a handgun.

Yep, that makes the choice easy .. use whatever you can put 10 rnds on target in < 5 seconds.

[surefire232]

9mm for me.

[Wild West]

I don't think there will be much of a difference between the 2. All you need is a shot or two to hit the mark and they will be done.

[erratikmind]

My HD handgun is a G21SF (.45 acp).

[pilote]

9 mm or .45 will not make any difference if you can not shoot accurately under stress. Shoot placement is more important than caliber

EXACTLY...it took me A LOT of rounds to be able to hit a 7yd target consistently, and that is with NO STRESS OF FEAR...

most people think "7yds; how can you miss a freaking target at 7yrds"...it is freakin EASY to miss a 7yrd target with any caliber .32 and higher, with every round in your mag...

it is never easy to shoot a human target...yeah, i own a handgun but i hope i never have to be tested.