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My opinions - based on having own and fired these:
38 special and +p - ok for close work on light targets with light weight bullets. Minimum power that I would suggest.
9mm - slightly less power than the 38+p and the only "advantage" is larger magazine capacity. It tends to make people worse shots because they have more rounds to shoot.
357 mag - ok for shooting to 50 - 60 yards on targets to 300 pounds. Shoots 38 ammo so you have more versatility. Recoil can be hard for small people or those sensitive to recoil or muzzle blast. Tends to "over-penetrate" with heavy bullets - better with 140 grain hollow points.
40 caliber - ballistically identical to 45 ACP. Good stopping power - good to 30 yards against 250 pound targets. Like all autos lacks versatility but has more rounds. (advantge if you learn to shoot like you only have two bullets)
10mm - ballistically similar to 357 mag. not for recoil sensitive folks and the guns are a bit larger than small people can handle easily.
41 mag - not very popular - ammo is not plentiful. This is a hunting cartridge that needs at least a 6 inch barrel but good to 60+ yards on targets to 300 pounds. On the down side , there is no 41 special ammo to shoot but you can load down if you reload your own.
44 special - power level is between the 40 caliber and 45 ACP. The guns are heavy and large but handle easily and recoil is manageable even for small folks. Ammo is hard to find and expensive in most areas.
44 Mag - this gun has lost some of its appeal although it is a great gun for all-round use. More powerful than the smaller magnums and can fire the 44 Special loads for practice. The guns are big and the recoil is the primary reason for its loss in popularity. Even though it is capable of killing anything on the North American continent it tends to "over-penetrate" on lighter targets.
45 ACP and 45 Colt (sometimes called long Colt) - these guns fire a 230 -250 grain bullet at 800 - 900 fps and are the best man stoppers that were ever built. They are not meant to hunt with but can put down dear sized game if you can place the bullet correctly out to about 30 yards. In spite of the worn guns that gave it a reputation for not being accurate these 45s can group very well with a well tuned weapon. These are the ideal for personal defense. The auto has a big advantage over the revolver because the revolver is a big gun that is difficult to master. The auto also carries 8 or more rounds in the full-size models.
I prefer revolvers for several reasons:
1. with only 6 rounds you tend to practice and shoot smaller groups.
2. I reload - I HATE chasing brass. Using a brass catcher is like wearing a diaper - it is distracting and you don't want anyone to see you with it.
3. Autos tend to have "fail to feed", "fail to fire" and "fail to return to battery" problems more than revolvers. The Colt 45 that I owned was a mess out ofthe box. It would not return to battery with factory hard ball ammo. I had to hone the burrs off every part of the action, lap the slide, and cut the ejector to get it to function 99% of the time. It never got completely reliable. Remember that you cannot afford a failure to fire on a protection gun.
There are many who never have any problems with autos and there are a lot of LEOs who carry them daily. If you ever have a jam or a failto fire with your auto don't carry it for defense. The one time you need it most, may be the next time if fails you.
Ok, the fore-going is my opinion - lets hear yours.
38 special and +p - ok for close work on light targets with light weight bullets. Minimum power that I would suggest.
9mm - slightly less power than the 38+p and the only "advantage" is larger magazine capacity. It tends to make people worse shots because they have more rounds to shoot.
357 mag - ok for shooting to 50 - 60 yards on targets to 300 pounds. Shoots 38 ammo so you have more versatility. Recoil can be hard for small people or those sensitive to recoil or muzzle blast. Tends to "over-penetrate" with heavy bullets - better with 140 grain hollow points.
40 caliber - ballistically identical to 45 ACP. Good stopping power - good to 30 yards against 250 pound targets. Like all autos lacks versatility but has more rounds. (advantge if you learn to shoot like you only have two bullets)
10mm - ballistically similar to 357 mag. not for recoil sensitive folks and the guns are a bit larger than small people can handle easily.
41 mag - not very popular - ammo is not plentiful. This is a hunting cartridge that needs at least a 6 inch barrel but good to 60+ yards on targets to 300 pounds. On the down side , there is no 41 special ammo to shoot but you can load down if you reload your own.
44 special - power level is between the 40 caliber and 45 ACP. The guns are heavy and large but handle easily and recoil is manageable even for small folks. Ammo is hard to find and expensive in most areas.
44 Mag - this gun has lost some of its appeal although it is a great gun for all-round use. More powerful than the smaller magnums and can fire the 44 Special loads for practice. The guns are big and the recoil is the primary reason for its loss in popularity. Even though it is capable of killing anything on the North American continent it tends to "over-penetrate" on lighter targets.
45 ACP and 45 Colt (sometimes called long Colt) - these guns fire a 230 -250 grain bullet at 800 - 900 fps and are the best man stoppers that were ever built. They are not meant to hunt with but can put down dear sized game if you can place the bullet correctly out to about 30 yards. In spite of the worn guns that gave it a reputation for not being accurate these 45s can group very well with a well tuned weapon. These are the ideal for personal defense. The auto has a big advantage over the revolver because the revolver is a big gun that is difficult to master. The auto also carries 8 or more rounds in the full-size models.
I prefer revolvers for several reasons:
1. with only 6 rounds you tend to practice and shoot smaller groups.
2. I reload - I HATE chasing brass. Using a brass catcher is like wearing a diaper - it is distracting and you don't want anyone to see you with it.
3. Autos tend to have "fail to feed", "fail to fire" and "fail to return to battery" problems more than revolvers. The Colt 45 that I owned was a mess out ofthe box. It would not return to battery with factory hard ball ammo. I had to hone the burrs off every part of the action, lap the slide, and cut the ejector to get it to function 99% of the time. It never got completely reliable. Remember that you cannot afford a failure to fire on a protection gun.
There are many who never have any problems with autos and there are a lot of LEOs who carry them daily. If you ever have a jam or a failto fire with your auto don't carry it for defense. The one time you need it most, may be the next time if fails you.
Ok, the fore-going is my opinion - lets hear yours.