Which Gun to Grab: 380? 9? 45?

[blasterp7]

12 gauge 870 with 00 buck ��

 

[keith44spl]

It's the whistle that's the question here.........

Beware of the ol hooty hoot signal.

I would have reached for a 45 too.


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[one eye joe]

Had an interesting experience last night kinda proving for me at least "bigger is better." Sort of. Maybe.

Was pushing a deadline to get my newspaper column done so I was at my desk writing around 2:30 am.

Heard a distinct, and loudish, four or five note whistle from outside my window, sorta like a bird but no bird I ever heard. My computer speakers were off, Alexa was off. Never before heard that sound from my phone.

Now maybe I've been watching too many old westerns, but I couldn't help but think it was a signal of some sort, maybe from someone(s) around the house? (But none of the motion detector lights were lit.) A bit of an adrenaline rush and it was time to pull out some self defense.

In my desk were three guns a Smith .380 EZ; Walther 9mm Q and an M&P 2.0 in .45.

I looked at the .380, thought no; considered the 9 and thought "not big enough bullets;" went to the .45, put the mag in, racked slide and sat with the lights out for half hour an hour. Nothing more. Still a mystery. And all that adrenalin gone to waste.

My point is how naturally I went for the biggest "stopper" bullet almost by reflex, but with a couple of nano-seconds of semi-logical thought. Sort of making me rethink my carry guns....as I rotate 380, 9, and 45 depending on what I'm wearing. (I've got a Smith 442 PC for pocket carry.)

I appreciate the added capacity of my 9s...but when I thought something might really be happening it was the .45 I felt safest with. Interesting.

Looks like the 45 Shield and S&W 4513TSW could see more holster time.

THE .45ACP GETS MY VOTE. I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH IT IN THE MILITARY, FROM 1968. I CARRIED A FULL SIZE COLT 1911, IN CIVILIAN LIFE FOR OVER 3 DECADES. IF A BAD GUY TAKES A HIT OR 2 OF EVEN 230 GR, GI FMJ BALL AMMO, THEIR ONLY THOUGHT IS, WHEN IS MEDICAL HELP GOING TO ARRIVE ? ? ?

IN CONTRAST, WHENEVER I READ OF A BAD GUY WHO SUSTAINED MANY GUNSHOT WOUNDS, ONLY TO ATTACK THE SHOOTER WITH A KNIFE, OR SOME OTHER WEAPON---THE VAST MAJORITY OF TIMES THEY WERE SHOT WITH A 9MM....

BEFORE ANYONE GOES OFF ON ME, I REALIZE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN ADVANCES MADE IN THE DESIGN AND VARIETY OF SD AMMO, IN 9MM. MANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HAVE SWITCHED FROM THE 9MM TO THE .40 S&W. WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THE REASON IS ? ? ? IT CERTAINLY ISN'T THE COST OF AMMO, SINCE 9MM IS THE CHEAPEST, AND MOST READILY AVAILABLE AMMO ON THE MARKET....

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CAPACITY ISSUE. I REALIZE THAT HI-CAP MAGAZINES ARE AVAILABLE FOR MOST BRANDS OF 9MM SEMI-AUTO PISTOLS. I CARRIED 3 CHIP McCORMIC, 10 ROUND "SHOOTING STAR" MAGAZINES. WITH A ROUND IN THE CHAMBER, AND A FULL MAG INSERTED, I HAD 11 IN THE GUN, WITH 2 FULL MAGS ON MY WEAK SIDE, I HAD 31 ROUNDS OF BLACK TALON JHP AVAILABLE. (I LEARNED IN VIETNAM, THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS HAVING TOO MUCH AMMO) IN ANY EVENT, IF THAT KIND OF FIREPOWER CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF A SITUATION, ITS TIME TO POP SOME SMOKE FOR A HELICOPTER EXTRACTION.....

THE .380 IS THE 9MM KURZ---THE RUNT OF THE FAMILY, AS TONY SOPRANO USED TO SAY, "***GEDDABOUTIT ! ! !"

 

[Hapworth]

And the drunk beauty queen, hurt by your cold response to her whistling compliment, wandered off to the next house...

(I'd've grabbed the gun that I shoot best and has all my trust...the rest is details.)

 

[Echo40]

Shoot anyone in a vital organ with any of those firearms and the attacker will be instantly stopped.

Shoot anyone with any of those firearms and miss a vital organ and they may continue attacking if they are so inclined.

At the end of the day, that is the one and only truth, the rest is merely conjecture. Shot placement is what ultimately ends violent confrontations with determined attackers. Not caliber, not cartridge, not rhetoric, shot placement.

If carrying a bigger gun with higher capacity, a more powerful cartridge, or a bigger bullet makes you feel more confident due to whatever marginal percentage it may offer in specific unfavorable scenarios in which anything less could potentially fail, or otherwise are capable of doing so without it being an issue, then by all means carry it.
As for me, I'll continue carrying a single-stack .380 ACP pistol since that's what I'm confident, comfortable, and familiar with. If I could carry a .45 on me just as easily, then I wouldn't hesitate to do so, but right now that isn't an option.

 

[gman51]

I have a 44 spl with two speed strips that sit right above my head on my desk. I go outside it goes in my holster. I keep a Kimber 1911 45 acp in my night stand with one extra magazine. The 44 spl also goes on top of my night stand when I go to bed for the night.

Ever since I read about a Houston man that had a safe full of guns but didn't carry one got robbed by a kick in by armed robbers I make it a point to have a gun on me or reachable all the time while at home.

 

[misswired]

That's why window screens aren't necessary.....open the window and let rip a few warning shots....close window go back to work.

Last winter the watchdog and I were awakened to knocking on the back door. He went off and I grabbed the nightstand pistol. Thinking it's frozen solid outside temperatures in the single digits, someone may need some help. After lighting the back porch I could see one of the handful of 12oz cokes left from target shooting all swelled up laying on it's side on the shooting table. I wondered if that coke could of fallen over making a knocking sound? Still on alert I climb back in bed when minutes later the knocking' happened again.....looked at the suspect cans, yep another one fell over. I think the cans went airborne when they burst causing them to bounce on the table.

Yeah, I did fire a few warning shots out the kitchen window at 2am.... forget the neighbors, full steam ahead!

ETA: it was a 45acp..... that level of bang' is a good persuader.

 

[Whitwabit]

If my feet are on the floor I would have had my carry on me !! Two nights ago about 1:30 heard a car door shut .. living in the country with neighbors several 100 yards away you don't here noises like that unless they are your vehicles .. Walked down the hall to where I could see out .. No lights on in the house except the light from my computer ..

Pole light showed under the Jeep and no feet .. walk back to the porch door and opened it .. hand on my Sig P229 in 40 still holstered .. could hear 2 people talking but couldn't understand what was said .. soon lights on 2 pickup's lite up the farm field 1/2 mile away .. the noise had traveled that far in the still night air .. Farmers were working late to get crops in before the rain we got later that morning ..

No need to be questioning which gun to use when you should have had your carry on your person ..

 

[WR Moore]

I echo the thought about you needing control of your outside lights. Don't depend upon motion sensors. They generally need a certain minimum trigger speed to activate. There's a threshold below which they probably won't activate. And probably areas of your yard where they don't pickup motion well.

Where you put the bullet is far more important than the diameter, weight, velocity or trendy design of the bullet. Grab the one you shoot the best. BUT, be honest. Most of us are better off with .38/9 mm.

 

[bigwheelzip]

In my desk were three guns ….. put the mag in, racked slide ……

Your final handgun choice is your preference, but this is the part I don't get. What do you have for home defense, a drawer with 3 unloaded semi-autos, and multiple mixed caliber mags to sort through and load, or multiple drawers to open? What benefit do you perceive from this arrangement?

Glad all turned out well in the end.

 

[Rastoff]

...open the window and let rip a few warning shots....close window go back to work.

Please tell me you're just joking about this.

 

[misswired]

It's not for the faint of heart ... you won't hear any boogers whistling in code around my house in the wee hours....if you don't hear anybody holler, go back to work.

 

[Imissedagain]

First I put on my BPV then with your choices ..... the 45 in one hand and 9mm as well.
Vest was a gift from my son and a buddy who lost my three kayak life vests as teenagers and when his buddy became a Cop they made things right.
Had my boat been confiscated when those same kids, another voyage, were caught with two undersized lobsters I might have been gifted a hi-tech night vision system aboard an armed drone.

Thinking of getting a Winchester 24 and rechamber for 3"/3.5", if possible, as the 870 is in the Rockies.
357 Snub with two shotshells followed by four solids is preferred by the Lady of the Manor.

Feed the hounds or pay the alarm company???

 

[wingriderz]

Glad all is well I too would have pawed the 45 only differance. My are all and always hot one in pipe

 

[Old cop]

As a retired cop that ran out of ammo in the middle of a gun fight in 1974 I offer two suggestions: (1) ALWAYS have enough ammo for the fight that's coming; and (2) Call 911 right after grabbing your gun. That said I'm glad nothing happened and you did not need your gun or the police.

 

[crazyphil]

Elmer Keith would be proud of you. He said to use the biggest damn
gun you can handle.

 

[jwk]

My question would be which handgun points best for you? Under bad lighting conditions which handgun can you hit the best with when you can't get a perfect sight picture and need to get a round off quickly with?

Next issue for me is capacity? If you get into a fight under bad lighting conditions between bad lighting and the stress of a fight your shooting is not going to be as accurate as it will be on a target range.

Finally I see the 9mm and the 45ACP as being close in effectiveness. Not equal but close assuming high quality JHP rounds. I'd pass on the 380 because we're looking at a house gun situation not deep concealed carry.

My answer is a full sized Sig 250. 9mm high capacity, night sights w a frame mounted light. Has a DA only trigger w 2nd strike capacity if I get a click rather than a bang and have my other hand busy. Trigger isn't as nice as a 1911 or a good revolver but feels kinda like the DA pull on a S&W revolver.Note I said kinda like not just like. This model also fits my hand well. Your hand isn't my hand and for you what fits me doesn't count.

As for tactics turning your lights out inside is good when you think the threat is outside. If I've got a bad guy outside I don't want to be lit up inside in case it is someone intent on doing harm. I want him lit up and me in the dark. I also want him to know that I know he is there. My preference is for him to go away as fast as he can run not get in a gunfight.

 

[Smoke]

Shoot anyone in a vital organ with any of those firearms and the attacker will be instantly stopped.

Cite please?

 

[Ranger514]

I think you've been watching too many Halloween movies. Everybody knows you need an axe, preferably of splitting maul caliber, to deal with ghouls and zombies.

 

[Echo40]

Cite please?

You honestly need proof that any of those bullets will stop an attacker if it hits them in a vital organ which would normally result in a fatal injury?

*sighs*

Nope, sorry... Not playing that game. If you want to believe that getting shot in a vital organ with a .380 ACP will somehow be less effective than it would be with any other cartridge, then you can go right on ahead.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to prove to you that getting shot in the brainstem, spine, heart, lungs, or any number of the major arteries tends to incapacitate/kill. Skeptics like you tend to continue arguing far past the point of reason, and it always results in pointless arguments in which the goal lines are repeatedly placed further and further down the field. I'd prove that getting shot in the brainstem with .380 ACP is fatal only to be met with responses asking me to prove that it will ALWAYS result in immediate incapacitation regardless of the circumstances or how absurd they may be, only for you to point out one specific extraordinary case in which somebody wasn't immediately incapacitated but remained upright for a whole 2.5 seconds which he could have totally used to lunge/stab or pull a trigger, ergo that means I'm wrong. Nevermind that such cases exist among all handgun cartridges, in the world of poorly-constructed internet arguments, you don't have to backup your end of the argument, merely show one-sided evidence to the contrary of their statements.

How about this? For once, YOU can prove ME wrong by citing your claims to the contrary. It should be easy to cherry pick a few articles in which the .380 failed to incapacitate someone anyway. Go for it.