9mm or 40SW

[vash]

a shotgun is the way to go. no doubt about it. point and shoot. no bullets going through walls, stuff like that. and pretty much anyone can shoot one. if all hell breaks loose in my neighborhood, i am loading the shotgun.

[alf]

Originally posted by nostatic
actually I'm on that forum, and ordered from James at Ordinance Outsellers. Lots of good info there.

wrt stopping power, etc, from what I read it depends on the load and design of the bullet. And where you put it. I don't plan on putting it anywhere but in a target though...but you never know.

What is your alias there? I poke my nose in there from time to time (Kenshi).

Like some had pointed out, when SHTF you want to have a shotgun or a black rifle. Handguns are generally for side arm or concealment.

[nostatic]

I agree that a shotgun is the preferable way to go, and I likely will get one. But any firearm I have will be locked away, with the ammo locked away separately. I don't really think that I'm living in fear. For me, part of this is getting over a fear of guns (lean into the sharp points), another part is the challenge of "getting it right" at the range, and the last, and probably smallest part, is the realization that I need to take responsibility for my own safety and the safety of my family (whoever that might be).

[speeder]

Shotguns are great for home defense, but pistols still have their place as a self-defense weapon + target shooting. Shotguns are a little bulky for taking camping, for instance.

I have a Glock 23, (.40 calliber), it is the second one I've owned and I never even seriously considered another gun. If you only own one piece, make it a .40 in a high quality gun.

The bottom line is that *god forbid* you ever need to shoot someone, any caliber within reason will do the job of stopping them. A .22 is better than a frying pan. A .40 that you can accurately fire 3 or 4 times in 1.5 seconds will drop any human vermin right quick.

And David, I agree w/ your post and respect your opinion in that if I had children my gun ownership would be re-evaluted. Hell, a Latin GF would probably make me lock it up.

[red-beard]

What is your plan for the Pistol? Concealed carry is almost impossible in CA. If you are planning target work, 9mm is much less expensive than 40S&W. Here in Tejas, I can get Winchester 9mm FMJ for $4.99 everyday, box of 50 rounds. 40S&W runs around $12.50 a box, about the same as 45ACP.

I have 2 pistols for self defense. A 13 oz 9mm and an 8 oz .380 auto. For target shooting, I have a Springfield Mil Spec 1911A1 (.45ACP) and a S&W .22 cal target pistol. And they have been joined today with a GAMO .177 CO2 pistol. I can fire the CO2 pistol at home!

The .45 and the .22 are a pleasure to shoot. The 9mm and the .380 are a handfull. But, being so light, you make a compromise for concealed carry.

If you do plan to use the pistol for some self defense, buy some decent personal defense rounds. DO NOT buy super duper killer rounds (fragmenting, shotgun rounds, P+, etc). If you every need to use the gun for self defense, and you are aquited in round 1 (Criminal Court), you will have a tough time in Civil court. Get some Federal Hydro Shocks, or Winchester Personal Defense Hollow points. Anything standard and over the counter.

The good thing about hollow points is that if you miss and hit sheet rock, they are likely to expand and not penetrate. The same is true of a human target. You want to avoid at all costs hitting a third party.

So again, what is your plan for the pistol?

[red-beard]

Originally posted by nostatic
But any firearm I have will be locked away, with the ammo locked away separately.

Rule #1 in a gunfight is have a gun

Rule #2 is a gun is useless without ammo

The personal defense guns are always loaded, including carrying one in the chamber. At first I didn't want to carry it loaded, and certainly not with a round in the chamber. The problem is, the time you take to chamber a round, may be too long to defend yourself. OTOH, I would _never_ take the 1911 around with a round in the chamber. Trigger is way too light.

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm not sure where in the world you could move to and be safe at all times, Dave. There are no safe places; that much is a simple fact. Bad things happen at random to good people in good neighborhoods.

I would be willing to bet that everything you own is insured in some way. Why not your life and the lives of your loved ones? I don't mean the kind of life insurance that pays when you die, but rather the kind that may keep you and/or your loved ones from dying.

Don't believe the anti-gun rhetoric about kids and loaded guns in the same house. Myself, and most of my childhood friends grew up in homes with loaded guns. My two sons have grown up in a home with loaded guns. The ones meant to protect the occupants of said home are never unloaded, never locked up. Everyone is also expected to know how to use them, sort of like a fire extinguisher hanging in the kitchen and garage. There is no "forbidden fruit" fascination with them; they can be taken out and examined at any time. They are like any other tool in the house. There are certainly equally deadly (if missused) items scattered throughout every home in America that we all deal with and take for granted every day. There has simply been far too much emotion, panic, and missinformation brandied about concerning guns by folks who are unfamiliar with and affraid of them. Don't let these folks sway you into making uninformed, unreasonable decisions about something as important as your family's safety.

[nostatic]

I have no interest in CCW. As I said, I'm not living in fear, and have no desire to walk the streets with it or carry it in my vehicle or on my person. The only reason I could see using the gun for self-defense is in the event of a disaster and subsequent breakdown in the social order. In that case, I'll have plenty of time to unlock everything and be "prepared."

I've thought seriously about the kid issue. Hence the reason for having the gun lock, and then having the whole thing in a safe, ammo kept separately. The only time it comes out is to go to the range or cleaning. And those are times when my son is *not* at my place (I'm split custody at this point). As for when to introduce him to a gun...that is a discussion that will have to take place with the ex...

Bottom line is that it is cool to work through my fears, and at the same time, blow the snot out of stuff at the range. Good way to get out my aggressions...

[red-beard]

Yeah! I blew through about 300 rounds today! Lottsa .22, 50 of .380, 100+ 9mm and about 100 .45 ACP.

Note to self, I need to get one of those "Milk Cartons" of .22

[emcon5]

The main advantage of the 9 over the .40 is magazine capacity, and as you live in California, that is a non issue. Ten round magsazines are still the law here, and you can't legally own anything larger unless you owned it when the law was passed.

The guns are essentially the same size, if you are limited to 10 rounds, would you rather have 10 small bullets, or 10 slightly larger bullets?

Tom
(who chooses 8 even larger ones)

[tabs]

One is not enough nor are 12, 25, 50, 100, 200 or 400.....this addicition is worse than Crack....only thing is at the end of the day....you have an investment....

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've been kicking around the gun debate for a while now myself, ever since my wife said she'd feel safer with a gun in the house (her dad is an avid hunter). The best solution I have found to having a good self defense weapon (loaded/ at hand) is a gun lockbox. But not just any lockbox, because the keyed ones require keeping a key nearby. The last time I looked through a Cabela's catalog, they have gun lockboxes with fingerprint recgnition technology! Sure, it's $300 or so, but I don't like the idea of leaving a loaded gun around the house with my son. I still remember one of my friends when I was a kid showing us his dad's .357, then running one of the neighbors out of the house screaming at gunpoint. It wasn't loaded, but still, it was an afterschool special waiting to happen. If I do get one, I plan to teach my son how to shoot it when he gets bigger, take away some of the novelty factor.

[VINMAN]

Definately the .40 over the 9mm. I have an H&K USP .40 and a Sig P226 the HK's the winner hands down. The 40 is better round for defense. more stopping power. For my home defense weapon of choice, I have my Remington 870 12ga pump with a 18" slug barrel.

[Shuie]

What Tom said.

FWIW, you can put a separate 9mm barrel and magazine into the .40 framed guns and still shoot the cheap stuff at the range if you want to, but you cannot put the .40 barrel in the 9mm version. Barsto makes the barrel, and while I would not bother doing it, its nice to know that you can. .40/.357 Sig is an easy factory barrel swap, no mag swap necessary.