I’ve had this post brewing in my brain for a while. The title is a bit extreme, but I think it adequately describes my own internal conflict.
On one hand I succumb to the visceral numbers junkie nature of things. Bigger is better, more is more, Maximizing strength, minimizing weakness. You see the extreme version of this with the stereotype of the “Mall Ninja”, the proverbial fat loser with all sorts of crazy guns and gear, and often fetish for Molle gear and Kevlar.
The gag of course is that he’s all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Then there’s the scientist in me. The guy who looks at the numbers. Studies like this, or discussions about the caliber war, or grail guns.
Heck even the Ohio shooting you have a murder with a Ruger MkIII with 10 shots of what’s probably regular target ammo, and 3 people lost their life that day, and 6 people were shot. Now that was a horrible murder, and I don’t want to equate murdered students with criminals, but this does show that .22 pistols are NOT “Glorified BB Guns”.
Still that being said I would not carry a .32 or smaller for ANYTHING but a backup gun. I’m also not a huge fan of rounds smaller than 9×19 +P ammo for self-defense. I also don’t see much use for 5.56×45.
All of this are my personal preference, and no I won’t go down range with a catcher’s mitt and catch your .32 or .380 rounds, and I’m well aware of all the people killed by Police and Military world-wide using rifles in 5.56.
Its all my personal preference, but isn’t that worth something?
I carry a 1911 every day for a number of reasons. The dead-serious reason is that I’ve run more rounds through various 1911 platform guns than any other gun in existence. No matter what platform I pick up, none will feel as comfortable in my hand as a 1911, nor any do I have a better understanding of their inner workings. I could get this familiarity with another gun, but it would take training…for something I already have.
Another thing is that there really isn’t a slimmer gun than the 1911. Most 9mm single-stack guns are thicker, and this slim profile makes the gun carry better. Also the industry has fully adopted the M1911. I can buy magazines and holsters at any gun shop, and parts are easy to find, and if, say I break a slide-stop, I’ll have literally dozens to choose for.
When Dennis from Dragon Letherworks put up his holster-making shingle his first holsters were for M1911 pistols because so many people HAVE them.
Those are hard facts to squawk at, but more silly is the fact that my carry gun is a .45. Not just that but 230gr Bonded +P ammo with the word TACTICAL on the box. (I just prefer bonded hollow points, heavy bullets, and +p is +better!)
A 9×19 gun would offer less recoil, more magazine capacity, for what is essentially the same stopping power.
But I say “essentially”, because they aren’t equal. Frankly I feel BETTER shooting a .45. Can you fault me?
Also my backup/light carry gun was a S&W J-Frame. That gun still has its advantages, overall 5-shots with a complicated reload didn’t make me comfortable. I upgraded to my PM45. This COULD be consider a wiz-bang gun, or a Hipster gun, as its a bit pricy for what it is, fairly uncommon, and its one of the smallest lightest .45s on the market.
Still I needed a pocket gun that was slim, light, and better than a J-frame, and since my primary carry gun is a .45, it would actually cost MORE to get a 9×19 gun as I don’t have a gun in 9×19. Also not only is the PM45 the smallest and lightest .45 out there, and it holds 5+1 to the J-frame’s 5, and you can reload with magazines holding up to 7 rounds, and the trigger pull, bore axis, grip size are all superior to anything similar.
Rifles I’m worse. I love rifles in 7.62x51mm/.308 Win. I just see it at a perfect balance to power and recoil, as well as readily available ammo. I don’t much care for 5.56×45. I know it’s cheap, light, and has very low recoil. But really every time I think about why I’d get a rifle in 5.56, I just say “Why not get one on .22 or something bigger?”
Is it right? No, but it isn’t wrong either. Its the battle between the Scientist who says a well-placed .22 will kill a man dead, and how many people have been put in the dirt by a 5.56 carbine, and that 9×19 is really superior to .45 ACP in every damn way…
But I’m still carrying a pair of .45s, and my go-to rifle is still an FAL…
It makes ME feel better, and isn’t that worth it?
Is it worth it? Heck yeah! There are always tradeoffs with anything, and when you can go down the checklist and say “ok, that’s where this choice is good, that’s where the weaknesses are,” you can come at the problem without being blindsided. What I can’t stand are the people who come at the problem on their high horse and call me an idiot for choosing 9mm (a an example) “because it doesn’t start with a 4.” Excuse me? Hard data, please, or else not only are you loosing me for this discussion, but you’re loosing me for everything else. And I find that when someone comes into the conversation with hard data, they are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the various calibers or platforms under discussion.
So basically what you are saying is that emotionally you feel safer carrying your preferred weapons?
And that emotionally you feel safer armed, right?
Nothing wrong with that at all and the point I would make is that not only do we have reason, logic, statistics, and the law on the side of pro-rights; but we can also make a strong, reasonable emotional argument as well.
And the antis have what?
Lies, distortions, fear mongering …..
There is no doubt that a .22 will kill someone. But will it kill the guy mugging you quick enough that he doesn’t hurt you? Maybe, maybe not.
To put it bluntly, there’s a difference between executions and self defense. In an execution you don’t really care if it takes a while for the guy to die, he’s not going anywhere anyway. On the other hand, if someone is mugging me I don’t have the luxury of waiting for him to bleed out from a .22 hole. I have to stop him instantly.
A larger bullet makes that stop more likely.
Kinda’ hard to argue against a .308/.45 combination.
Oh you can argue the shit out of it! The rounds are expensive, have a lot more recoil than their smaller cousins, and the guns that chamber them tend to have smaller capacities and are bigger and heavier.
You can argue it, I’d just say, my life is worth a bigger heavier gun!
To me, the whole calibre war is a bunch of BS. Any of the common self defence calibres (9mm, .40, .45 etc.) are fine and will kill a goblin. Some may be more efficient at it, some less, but as long as you can shoot Minute of Badguy, with whatever you choose, you’re fine. Carry what makes you happy.
Personally, I have a few. Sometimes I carry a Walther P99 9mm (because I like it and it’s one of the most accurate handguns I own, ymmv). Sometimes I carry a (somewhat) vintage S&W M19-4 .357Mag (because it makes me happy to do so). As soon as I get a few parts in it and have a few range trips to make sure it’s reliable again, I will be carrying a crappy Para Expert .45 ACP.
I particularly like my Para Expert. Not because it’s nice, or really anything other than a piece of crap, but because as pieces fall off or malform or become unreliable, I am gradually replacing them with good parts that I order from Brownelles. This go round it’s an extractor that never fit quite right from when it was new and a firing pin stop because I want to and it isn’t too expensive. At least in a small way, I’m living my own personal dream of being self sufficient and doing my own gunsmithing (or at least armororing… is that a word?). One day, I hope to build a 1911 from the ground up (geesh, haven’t you gotten it yet? Because I want to!) I also like the 1911 because, as WB points out, it’s slim and tucks away (in a holster that I hand sewed myself. See? I’m sick I tell ya!) and just disapears under a t-shirt. Spare magazines are also easy to deal with by slipping two in a leather mag wallet (I also made) and slipping the whole thing in my back pocket, left cheek (my regular wallet goes on the right side). That’s 25 rounds, an entire box, of 230gr .45 ACP JHP goodness ready and waiting to do nothing more noble than to protect me and my children. Unlike WB, I don’t do the +P. Why? Because I’m free, happy, and I don’t have to just because someone else says it’s better. See how easy that is?
For a rifle, all I have is a Polish AK underfold. Cheap ammo… Minute of Badguy… Just a fun little rifle. I don’t really expect to be in a war zone anytime soon, but then again, the AK was pretty much made to thrive in a war zone so if one finds me I don’t think I’ll be too under-gunned.
The point here is, carry what makes you happiest. If you are perverse enough to want to carry a .41AE… well, more power to ya!
s
On a per round basis .45 and 7.62 are hard to argue with. Per second or per pound and 9mm/5.56 take the prize.
Why I carry a 9mm? Because it is a good man stopper no matter what other gurus say. Outside the US, Mexico, the Philippines and to a ceratin extent Argentina, the World does its killing (handgun wise) with either a 9mm or a .38 spcl.
And trust me, there is a lot of killing out there.
Many inexperienced shooters see the .45 as some sort of grenade: They don’t have to hit anything vital and still brings the critter down. Rubbish!
Now, you feel good shooting with a 1911? by all means do so! As long as you are proficient with it and place the little lead projectiles where it counts, the rest is just fantasy.
“Now, you feel good shooting with a 1911? by all means do so! As long as you are proficient with it and place the little lead projectiles where it counts, the rest is just fantasy.”
Word.
Yeah that’s kinda my whole point. If I can’t hit it with my 1911, and certainly can’t hit it with anything else!
Yeah, any of the “main” calibers will do.
What’s more important is trigger time and from that shot placement.
That being said… I wonder if a PM45 demotivator could be made.
Maybe something with the tagline “I was into pocket 45s before they were cool.” or “It’s a PM45; I’m sure you haven’t heard of it.”
LOL! You know me and my Fragile Ego! If you make one be sure to let me know, and help yourself to any of the photos from my reviews.
Here’s your sign
http://www.fakeposters.com/posters/2012/03/11/ad6zpp1irq/
It helps if you spell Hipster right
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LOL you made my day!
Putting ordinance on the target is vital. Do that with any of the “main” calibers and you’ll have success.
I definitely get behind the idea of carrying what is familiar. I just got my first 1911–what has pretty much been my dream gun since I first started researching firearms. I do not carry it, however. I still carry my Makarov every day, because I have thousands of rounds through it and know exactly how it performs. Even though the caliber isn’t the greatest, I have no doubt it will go bang every time I pull the trigger and it points very naturally for me.
Tell me about said 1911!
The moment my permit was minted I grabbed my 5″ Stainless gun. By the time it looked like I would be able to one day actually CARRY a gun, I went out and got my S&W642, and eventually found my S&W1911Sc which is both shorter and a good bit lighter, and I carry it damn near every day.
It all comes down to placement, penetration, and potential. Can you put it where it needs to go, will it go deep enough, and can it do enough when it gets there. (Minds out of the gutter, please. I’m talking about sex here. . .) I took my .32 Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless to a qualification and put nine rapid shots into a three inch circle on typing paper at seven yards–it’s not a target gun, but the instructor held the sheet up to his face to make the point: a .32 ACP in the eyeball will ruin your day.
And I’m with you on the 1911. It just feels good. Yes, I like the .45 caliber, but I have a Springfield XD in the same. It’s mechanically somewhat better, and it’s got the neato coating (I carry it when I go hiking), but it feels like a 2 x 4. Of course, I’ve put enough rounds through my cap and ball revolver to know how to run it, so someday, I might rig up a carry system and a shorty in that format. After all, if you were a bad guy, wouldn’t you rather get shot by an aesthetically pleasing gun, rather than something that looks like Bill Gates designed it?
I have also thought about carrying my cap and ball pistol. Just for the fun of it. I carry every other handgun I own at some point or other (because it pleases me to do so) but I threw out the idea the first (and only) time since I recieved my CC permit that I really thought I was going to have to shoot someone.
A friend of mine and I came across a very drunken man who was busy trying to choke his wife to death. The friend went to intervene physically and, knowing I was armed, asked me to back her up in case things got nasty. My hand was on the butt of my pistol. She got the guy to let go and he stepped back a few feet, then put his hand in his pocket as if trying to get at something. “AW CRAP!” Went through my mind, but just as my gun was about halfway out of it’s holster, the guy shrugged and stumbled off like he had forgotten what he was doing. The woman was ok, my friend was ok, the cops had already been called (turns out the didn’t show for another 45 minutes). Me? I was grinning from ear to ear. Later, my friend asked why and I just had to show her. Just that afternoon I had finished sewing a new IWB holster for my .44Mag Bisley and was giving it a test run. Unfortuneately, all I happened to have on hand to load it with were some full-power 240 gr. JSP boomers that were more designed for hunting rather than self defence. Talk about some serious over penetration!
After that, I decided to carry only guns that were at least somewhat appropriate.
s
I don’t really care what you carry, just carry it. Goblins don’t make appointments. The gun you have is the best one for the moment.
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I prefer the subtlety of a mark 9 flamethrower.
Except that’s not an FAL. That’s some mutant SLR abomination made by angry beavers! 😉
You said it perfectly why I carry a 1911. I’ve been lugging one around for nearly 25 years. Wow, that’s 25% of the time the damn thing has been around!
You are also correct that in choosing a battery we have not ended the debate.
I own an FAL, but my go-to rifle is an AR in 6.8. It fits about half-way between the NATO rounds in power and retains almost all of the mass advantages the 5.56 gun has. Oh and five more shots than an FAL!
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