9mm for self defense

[Daniel]

Mine too! Maybe a 27. But at the LEO/ military price

i need to get with you about that.

[R1100R]

Sure, No problem but get with your wife first. It involves a Knoxville roadtrip.

[Daniel]

Im from knoxville, and need to go pick up my truck from my moms house anyway.

[JeffsSig]

You asked:

Just wanted to see what some people thought about a Glock 26 for self defense. This is my daily carry gun but im worried about its stopping power and Im considering upgrading to a .40 or .45. What Calibers do you carry?

I see nothing wrong at all with a 9mm. I carry anything from a .22 to a .45 according on where I am and what I am doing.

Are you asking about "stopping power" or Killing Power?

As long as it is reliable I have no worries to carry any gun.

[Guest clownsdd]

9mm, or 40 depending upon what I feel like.

[Chumney]

I missed the earlier discussion, but I perfer the .45 over the . 40, when loaded with approximately the same grain bulllet weight the .45 hasa shade higher velocity in most factory loads. The 9mm with 115 grain hollow points is faster still. My main weapon is a .45 my backup is a 9mm. If that is not enough I then revert to a .38 spl with hollow points. Use what you are comfortable wearing, practice, practice, parctice. Move, shoot, move and hit where you aim. Bigger is not always better, but I want something that intimidate with the big hole oput front.

S&w M&P 45

Kel-Tec P_11

Colt Diamondback

[molonlabetn]

9mm is a great round... with a good projectile it will penetrate to an effective depth, and carries enough energy to create quite a bit of damage. Sure, there are more powerful choices, but when it comes down to a choice of a bit more power vs. a bit more controllability and magazine capacity, it has more advantages than disadvantages.

My next carry gun (I currently carry a 9mm SubCompact XD) will most likely also be a 9mm... I'm eyeing something along the lines of a USP Compact 9mm.

[Guest JCE]

I just bought some Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P for my compact M&P

I believe it'll do the job if I do my part

[Guest bkelm18]

I carry the Gold Dot Short Barrel in mine.

[Smith]

I believe bigger is always better and so I carry a Deagle in .50! Anything else is for weenies. Besides it is the only one stop bullet!

Seriously I've read all the "facts" from everything ever posted and I carry a 9mm for various reasons. These days with the advancement in bullet designs, anything 9mm and above is virtually equal.

BTW - there is only 1 one stop shot. The base of the skull from the rear. everything else is bleed out.

[DaveTN]

BTW - there is only 1 one stop shot. The base of the skull from the rear. everything else is bleed out.

Really? That explains why the snipers always ask the bad guys to turn around right before they turn them off like a switch.

[gunsablazin]

I don't own a 9mm personally, but I would carry one without any concern. I don't own a .30-06 either, but I hear it is a fine big game cartridge. Many people worry about the wrong things, the nine is fine. I carry a .40 for more power in the same size package, but that does not make me right and you wrong. A wise gun sage I read about says "any gun will do if you will do", sounds about right to me.

[Smith]

Really? That explains why the snipers always ask the bad guys to turn around right before they turn them off like a switch.

I believe the context in which we were talking was self defense with handguns? If you want to talk rifles and snipers that's a whole nother ball game.

[Guest db99wj]

Oh and also remember, whats worth shooting is worth shooting twice,

Or as I have been taught, shoot until the threat is eliminated. It won't matter if it is a 25, .38, 9, 40, 45 with any of these if shot placement is there. Just my .02.

[molonlabetn]

I'm not sure if a bullet to the base of the skull from behind is exactly within the realm of self-defense either...

But it is certainly true that the only one-shot-stop is one which disables a critical portion of the central nervous system... anything else is due to the shock reaction of being shot, or a delayed collapse due to blood loss or loss of mobility from structural damage.

Either way, a 9mm is certainly sufficient to cause any of those types of wounds.

[Angus]

Shooting, for self defense, I have found to be similar to when my mom taught me how to drive. When backing up, she always said.."back up till you hear glass break, then go another 3 feet"....

I am not going to fire one round and ask BG if he has had enough, I am going to empty that damn thing because I am scared outta my witts...be it a 9mm, .38, .357, or a .45. Whatever it takes dude.

[Oh Shoot]

....I am not going to fire one round and ask BG if he has had enough, I am going to empty that damn thing ....

Here's hoping that if that day ever happens, you face a single assailant!

- OS

[kcevans]

Shoot what ever you are comfort with. I have carry both 9mm and 45 acp, either will perform with well placed shots.

[Guest aBRG2far]

Get the 27, a 9mm conversion barrel and a couple G26 mags. In the summer when clothing is light carry 9mm later when its coat season switch to .40 or use the 9mm for cheaper target practice.

[Guest justaman30]

I carry a 9mm S&W Sigma, loaded with cor-bon 115 grain JHP ammo.

[Guest price g]

Shouldn't someone be posting the obligatory link to the FBI's Ballastics Report?

Tungston has a good one somewhere

[Guest tbreed725]

theres no such thing as stopping power with a handgun, any handgun . carry what you can reliably shoot and hit well with .

[towerclimber37]

Here's hoping that if that day ever happens, you face a single assailant!

- OS

heheheheheh that's why you carry more than 1 magazine.

[Angus]

Here's hoping that if that day ever happens, you face a single assailant!

- OS

My point is, folks assume one shot and done. I do not, nor will I ever. 1 assailant or 7...they are getting multiple rounds apiece.

[Smith]

My point is, folks assume one shot and done. I do not, nor will I ever. 1 assailant or 7...they are getting multiple rounds apiece.

That is why I carry a 9 and often quote this in response.

chuckhawks.com

Because it is not as fat as the popular .40 and .45 caliber cartridges, a double stack pistol for 9x19 can hold between 50% and 100% more cartridges. The slight energy advantage held by the larger caliber per shot (345 ft. lbs. for the 124 grain 9mm slug compared to 370 ft. lbs. for the 230 grain .45 slug) does not come close to making up the difference. The shooter with a 15 shot 9x19 pistol in his hand controls 5175 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy, which he can deliver to any number of targets between 1 and 15. The shooter with a 7 shot .45 ACP pistol can deliver only 2590 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy to between 1 and 7 targets. This is one very good reason why the U.S. Army adopted the 9x19 and the Beretta M-9 pistol in 1985.