Does your caliber choice change if you're carrying in an area where drugs are prevalent?

No, but the amount of extra mags I carry goes up... or I just avoid the area altogether. You don't lose a fight you don't enter.

There are no longer drug areas and no drug areas. I asked a friend about a neighborhood in his jurisdiction I was going to to buy a car. That's when he told me there used to be good neighborhoods but all neighborhoods have drug use. Meth, pain pills etc have merged them. Either the people living there are addicts or their families are living with them who are.

I live 200 mi south of Chicago. I found meth making equipment stashed on our Rural dirt road within a mile of my house.
Its everywhere I'm afraid.

No, that's true enough. My wife and I joke that we are the only people we know that don't still use some sort of drug(s.) That's tongue-in-cheek, of course... but not too far from the truth. I'm just very, very sad that my daughter is growing up in a world where drug use is accepted and almost encouraged, vs what I grew up in. Sorry, this is drifting off-topic.

For a while I was a fuel hauler in the Dallas area... at night. If I rolled into a station that looked like something was going down, I just rolled right back out. I do the same now...

No. And I don't use a more powerful rifle when I'm going into areas with more deer than where I normally hunt either. Always carry enough gun for whatever it is you may be shooting.

I don’t change to a bigger caliber,but I do ad another gun or 2.

I carry a Glock 20. If I need more than 15 rounds of 10mm, I need a rifle.

TomJ said:

My office is in the downtown area of the Chicago suburb I live in and lately we've seen an increase in drug activity, specifically some run ins with heroin users. When I was a LEO I had the experience of arresting drug users who were not co-operative, and depending on the drug they were using their strength and obliviousness to pain can be scary. I understand the pluses and minuses of the common handgun calibers, but was wondering if anyone uses a larger caliber when in an area where drugs are more prevalent or does the effectiveness of the calibers not change regardless of whether someone is on drugs or not.

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Caliber does not change [ still S&W .40 ] but there will be at the very least one BUG.

And then a good chance of a pocket carry that will be IN HAND while in public.[ concealed in pocket of course ]

Seriously? There are drug users every where. Have been for the last 50 to 60 years. Truth be told there is probably more drugs being used in the wealthiest homes than the poorest. Just different drugs. If the parents aren't zombied out on Xanax the kids are using something. Its like living out west and getting upset when learning there is a mountain lion around. If you are out west there is always at least one within a few miles. Of course the mountain lion is less likely to kill you.

Colorado Springs is going through a massive uptick in drug abuse and this really isn't something that has been a consideration.

The bottom line rule for me has always been if it's so bad that I'm considering upgrading my "load out" I don't go. My other rule is anything worth shooting is worth shooting multiple times.

I always carry a Glock 19. I always carry 124 GR. Speer Gold Dots and I always carry 2 reloads.

If anything, in an area such as you describe your level of self-awareness should increase five-fold. Without absolute paranoia setting in, take stock of the people, the place, the vibe. Humans have been walking the planet for thousands of years, your body is pretty good at sensing danger if it is attuned to it's surroundings and not focused on facebook. If it don't look right, it probably ain't right. Pass on that stop or the path you are on and move safely on to the next one.

Sadly, we have become a nation of "wired zombies." Just look around the next time you are anywhere; walking into Costco, at the gas station pumping gas, at your Doctor's office in the waiting room, etc... Everyone is intently staring into their telephones or gabbing away with a faraway look in their eyes; young and old, rich and poor, it doesn't matter. People who are distracted like this are completely oblivious to what and who is around them. It is this victim that people who intend to rob or rape look for, and it is this victim who can't even give a rudimentary description of the suspect(s) to the responding officers/deputies when they are jacked for their wallet, phone, car keys, jewelry or worse.

If you are aware, you are literally two steps ahead of the next guy. If you are armed, aware, and confident in your firearm and abilities should trouble seek you out; then you are ten steps ahead. It's dog-eat-dog thinking; but if the next guy chooses to make himself a pushover for a crook by focusing on something other than his surroundings, then so be it. A smart person knows how to handle such situations; a smarter person knows how to handle them, but knows even better how to spot and avoid them.

Stay safe!

No. I tend to stay with the .45 acp, .45 colt or .44 S&W spl. I like large caliber, heavy, relatively slow moving projectiles. Experience, my own, has proven they work.

There are not areas / places / times when I want to bet my life on "less" of a caliber.
If I had to defend my life against lethal attack I would always want to have something with ASAP incapacitation potential in my hands.
I assume a potential attacker to be either drugged, psychotic, sociopathic, (maybe a combo) to be engaging in attacking others, wherever.

Drugs are everywhere. I just carry what I carry.

As mentioned, drugs are everywhere. A few months ago, an "ice" drug dealer was arrested just 2 miles from here with over 15 pounds of the stuff. And I live in a very rural area off a dirt road with woods on all sides.

Caliber choice has a minimal advantage. My training has changed. I practice more head shots.

I don't know much about drug use or it's affect on physiology. I think, however, that my carry choices will more likely be changed by some of the mass shootings that have happened recently , where shots at greater distances may be required. My compact 9mm's that I can shoot more accurately will probably replace my snubbie .38's or LCP Ruger. I will keep the Ruger as a backup since it's so small and unobtrusive, though.

Beyond that, I don't know that tailoring a carry choice to a specific category of bad guy is possible - or even desired, since bad guys don't call you up beforehand and give you a profile of themselves. I guess if roving gangs were a problem, then capacity should become a bigger consideration, but that isn't a function of druggie vs. non-druggie.

My first choice is to work harder not to go into areas where drugs are prevalent.

But if it is unavoidable, I don't think I'd switch calibers. My advice for students is to pick one pistol and caliber and train, train, train to become very, very good with it. Switching calibers is likely to set one back a few months and a few thousand rounds in training, so unless one has time to make up the difference, I'd stand pat.

My experience is that most armed citizens can gain more ground with more and better training with a well-chosen pistol and caliber than they can switching calibers. Get to be "head shot" proficient and caliber matters much less.

460Shooter said:

Drugs are everywhere. I just carry what I carry.

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Yup,that's me...

Carry as big as you can. Carry as often as you can. A .22 in the pocket is better than a .44 left at home.

Sadly, yes, junkies are everywhere. But there is still a place for situational awareness. Most drug users are semi-functional members of society and won't attack for no reason in broad daylight or alone.

They are like wild dogs- most dangerous in their territory, while hungry, in packs.

Jim NE said:

I don't know much about drug use or it's affect on physiology.

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Depending on the drug, sensitivity to pain becomes almost non existent. On a sober mind, pain and likewise fear of more pain can cause someone to give up rather quickly. If those signals are blocked by a chemical substance, inflicting pain becomes less useful. A few nights ago there was an incident where I work wear a suspect on drugs was Tased 4 times with 3 officers trying to subdue him. Only after they were able to get handcuffs and leg shackles on him, anchored to a bench did he give up trying to fight back.

Armored farmer said:

Its everywhere I'm afraid.

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Yep, drugs and the places they are manufactured are everywhere.

A few years ago a rent house across the street from my house had a bust go down due to it being a marijuana grow house. I got to witness the "raid" from my front window with my daughter at my side.

Then this morning while walking my wife's dog, some visiting gang banger gets out of his car (shirt unbuttoned all the way down to show off his abs and full tats) is cussin' up his mobile phone for several minutes with clear comments of "I don't care if he's got a badge".

I really hope he was just in the neighborhood for Thanksgiving and doesn't live here as it did make me wish I had my .45 in my shoulder holster instead of my .380 in my pocket. (While I'm at it, a rifle in my trunk, too. )

TomJ said:

My office is in the downtown area of the Chicago suburb I live in and lately we've seen an increase in drug activity, specifically some run ins with heroin users.

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Run in with heroin users? At least around here, those using heroin cause problems with property crime trying to feed their habit, but they have been largely benign in the violence department. Meth, cocaine, and PCP users tend to be violent, but the pot heads, oxy users, and heroin addicts are hardly threatening.

I figure that drug abusers are everywhere, so it doesn't change my carry habits.