I NEED opinion about some guns calibers please help?

Question

I was just wondering what hangun caliber and brand would be best to buy for personal protection a 9mm,45,.40,.357,.357 magnum

i know the magnum is the most powerful and all and that the 45 hits really hard but i need a gun that has lots of power enuff to hit a man one time and make him fall, but i dont want to pay a full weeks work for the bullets though so i ask your opinion on which of these calibers will do as i wish i own a 357 sig and it is awesome i wish to get a gun for my dad too though so please post your opinion

Answer 1

Opinion?  Any of the caliber you've listed make adequate defensive choices.  Two of them are excellent choices:  The .357 Magnum and the .45 acp.

Pros:  .357 Magnum is the best manstopper yet with 125 grain semi jacketed hollow points from any of the major ammo makers.

Cons: .357 Magnum unless you buy the behemoth D/E you are stuck with a revolver (not necessarily a bad thing).

Pros:  .45 acp is the second best manstopper yet.

Cons:.45 acp is still a fat, slow-moving heavy round that performs poorly against barriers like sheet metal, doors & car glass.

Pros:  .357 Sig at least on paper comes close to duplicating the ballistics of the .357 Magnum; this cartridge is proprietary to semi-automatic pistols and available in hi cap such as the Glock Model 31.

Cons: .357 Sig is even louder than the .357 Magnum.

Pros:  .40 S&W's entire raison d'être was to duplicate the performance of the .45 acp in a smaller frame handgun.  At least on paper it is close.

Cons: .40 S&W is still NOT a 10mm!

Pros:  9mm is Universally available.  With the right loads it makes a good defensive choice (115 to 127 grain jacketed hollowpoints from any of the major ammo makers).  Inexpensive to shoot making for a lot of target practice.

Cons: 9mm has a poor reputation as a stopper because people load FMJ or subsonic ammo in it.  This is shooter error, not caliber short-coming.  

There you have it.

H

Answer 2

The one and only tried, true, tested, and proven to be the best no-nonsense man stopper the 357 Magnum.* Use 125 grain jacketed hollow points for self-defense ammo.* Forget about the rest you listed for one shot stopping power, nothing beats a 357 magnum.* Research it if your a non-believer.* A Smith & Wesson or Colt in a 4" or 6" barrel.*..

Answer 3

For just protection, there is nothing wrong with a 9mm its small quick gun with peanty ammo in the clip for misses lol.  

Answer 4

I've always liked the 9mm, but I was in the military for a few years and am just very used to shooting it. Try all of them and see what you are more comfortable with.  

Answer 5

.45 cheap but pack a punch when used correctly. if they are good enough for the cops they should do well for you.

Answer 6

well personally in my opinion the .45 is overdoing it yes,it may be powerful but it has loads of recoil also making it less accurate if you have trouble controlling recoil, the .40 caliber isn't as bad as far as recoil and is quite popular among police forces here in the u.s. also the ammo is sometimes expensive depending on the load however the 9mm has lower recoil than all of the calibers mentioned making it easier for accuracy and since it is smaller than the calibers given it will also have better capacity for more bullets,the .357 sig is like a .40 and a 9mm combined with the velocity of a .357 magnum im not sure how the recoil is on one but I'd say its more than the 9mm while most likely less than the .40 it is a fairly good choice,the .357 magnum is the most reliable because it is most common in revolvers however it has a good bit of recoil depending on barrel size a 6'' heavy barreled revolver loaded with .357 magnum's will have as much recoil as a 4'' .38 special revolver(not much), while a .357 magnum 2" or 3" revolver will have massive recoil closer to a .45's recoil because of the barrel size,since a 2" barrel will most likely make the gun less accurate due to barrel size the recoil will make this gun harder to control and hit your target with also i want to add that most revolver have no safety's , ,taking lots of practice,so out of all of these i would choose the .357 magnum or the 9mm, the 9mm is cheapest as far as ammo goes,and the .357 magnum is a revolver which will accept cheaper .38 special ammo you can use for practice or self defense ,or you can use .38's for practice and keep .357s for self defense,the 9mm is good because its cheaper on ammo and 9mm guns hold more due to the 9mms bullet size ,but don't listen to most of these gun enthusiasts online because they will tell you to get this big powerful gun ,the truth is that nothing is good enough for them they always want more,in reality if someone breaks into your house or mugs you the chances are if you point even a .25 pocket pistol at them they are gonna try to get outta there because no one wants to be shot,they probably aren't gonna run at you and even if they did it isn't about shooting as many bullets into them as possible its about how you place your shots if you hit them in the arm its not gonna kill em' you need to aim for the chest and head but manly the chest because of all your organs in there even if you don't hit the heart you may hit something just as important,also you asked for pistol brands for 9mm pistols- Walther p99,Sigp226/p229/p228/p220/p239/etc.,,be... 92/8000 cougar/px4 storm/,S&w automatics are all good(recommend these mosts for 9mm),many people like glocks but i wouldn't get one i would go with variety ,ruger p-series and sr9 many people give rugers a hard time but no one ever says why because there is no reason they are reliable and built like a tank,kahr arms 9mm's,kel-tec(not all that good but many people like them)-40S&W pistols-beretta 96/8000cougar,Walther p99,ruger p-series,S&W auto's,sig/glocks,Jericho/baby eagle,Springfield XD,even a S&W revolver is made in .40 called the model 610,-.45 acp pistols- XD's,S&W automatics,Jericho/baby eagle,1911's(Springfield,colt,kimber,par... ordnance,etc.)even several revolvers are made in .45 acp,-.357 sig pistols-  of course sig sauer models are made in this caliber,glock ,etc.(cant think of many right now),-.357 Magnum pistols-,ruger gp100(3" 6" 4" barrels)S&W snub nose j frames,some S&W k and early N frame models,colt python and other colts,Taurus revolvers(i never found Taurus to be very good quality ) and that about sums it up good luck looking for a personal defense firearm.

Answer 7

First off, let’s dispel the myths that the 9mm is not a good cartridge

The FBI performance requirements for an ideal cartridge must have bullet expansion of .50" (1/2 inch) or more, and at least 12 inches of penetration in bare and clothed ballistic gelatin. Bullet penetration should not exceed 18 inches depth. 12 to 15 inches is considered the ideal range. The 9mm Luger meets these requirements with quality ammunition just as good as the .40 S&W and 45 ACP. The FBI tests don’t lie!

Below is a link to some cartridges to choose from, it is a compiled list of the cartridges the FBI tested to see if they meet the criteria mentioned above. Personally, I have two favorite rounds; my reasoning behind choosing them is strictly based on the energy/stopping power they possess. The first is the “Corbon 100 grain Power ball . . . it has 372 ft lbs of energy at 50 yds. The second is the Black Hills 124 grain JHP+P . . . . . it has 356 ft lbs of energy/stopping power at 50 yds.

As for gun I would choose . . . . The only thing I require from a handgun is that it accept +P ammo. Essentially, the chamber has been made in a fashion that it accepts ammo that has been loaded for high pressure guns. I am partial to Ruger, they are built like tanks, I have never seen one jam, and they eat every kind of 9mm ammo you can put in them. They were designed for consideration as the Military’s side arm, Berretta won the contract, so they are built to MILSPEC specifications . . . all Ruger semi-autos are. The fact that they are American made is another consideration that I feel is important.  There are bunches of 9mm pistols to choose from, but Ruger gives you the most bang for your buck. I’ll admit, it’s not the prettiest piece, and it’s not a good choice for concealed carry, but it’s plenty accurate, and they can usually be had for about $300 used. A Hogue rubber molded single piece slip over grip, helps the aesthetics and feel a great deal.

http://frag.110mb.com/

http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/9mm/g...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_trajec...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/buickot...

http://www.shootingresources.com/index.p...

http://www.best9mm.com/videoclips/watert...

http://www.best9mm.com/videoclips/1honey...

http://www.firearmstactical.com/

http://www.shootingresources.com/index.p...

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ballistics...

Answer 8

Anything above .45 would have the stopping power you described, but you will have lower magazine capacity (in semi autos). 9 mm will have higher mag capacity, but it may take a couple shots to take someone down.  If you aim your shots good though, the mag capacity won't matter.  If you get a revolver, anything higher than .38 special will do fine.

Answer 9

The .45acp is a great stopper and right now Walmart has 100 round boxes of Winchester FMJ .45's which are great for target practice on sale for about $30 a box.

9mm bullets can be found even cheaper but the 9mm is not quite as good a stopper as the others you mentioned.

The .40 is basically right inbetween 9mm and .45; whereas the .357 Sig and .357 magnum are expensive speciality rounds.

Any of the above will suffice for self-defense purposes, especially if your fire 2 or 3 shots into the attacker instead of just one.  If you really want one-shot stopping power, get a .45 or one of the .357's loaded with semi-jacketed hollowpoints.