Your Favorite Semi-Auto Pistol Caliber and Why

9mm Parabellum.....because it is the cheapest centerfire to shoot, is available in many platforms and can do most handgun chores reasonably well. 22 because it is cheap, fun and usefull. Had the poll permitted 3 choices number 3 would have been 10mm.......because it ranges up into accepted handgun hunting/predator defense territory and is just FUN.

A favorite? Nope, like them all.
Ok, I may go to .45acp as a reflex, bbut that has not stopped me from enjoying 9x17, 9x19, .32acp, or any number of other chamberings.

Now, I find little use for .45gap, or any of the Action Express calibers, but, that's probably more due ammo availability at reasonable expense. I rather enjoy .375sig, but I fear it's going the way of .30luger, a good cartridge but locked into niche markets.

My most favorite CARTRIDGE is anyone that can be chambered in a M1911. I'm currently have eight different ones (45 ACP, 40 S&W, 357 Sig, 38 Super, 38/45 Clerke, 9x19, 38 Special, 22LR) with more to go.

I do not have a favorite CALIBER.

When you reload, cartridge cost is irrelevant.

cfullgraf said:

When you reload, cartridge cost is irrelevant.

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Perhaps that seems true for you.....but not for everyone. Even though I reload and have for 35 years and even though almost every 9mm cartridge I fire is a reloaded one, cost is still relevant even if not pivotal. I also cast bullets. Primer cost doesn't vary by cartridge/chambering but the quantities of powder and lead do. I understand the folk who choose a 9mm and say it is cheap enough that they just shoot factory......but it also happens to be one of the most economical rounds to load. Brass is ubitiquous. So are bullets. Powder charges are small. Certainly I am blessed to be able to load and shoot many different cartridges at minimal cost but some are still cheaper and easier than others.

9x19 cheap to buy means cheap to shot which in turn means more practicing.

I shoot more 22lr than any other caliber, so that's what I chose in the poll. It's a fun, easy caliber. I always warm up with 50-100 rounds of 22 before I shoot anything more serious.

25 is amusing, especially in my old Mauser. I like to shoot 32acp out of my Hungarian PP clone. 380 is nice for CC. 9mm is ubiquitous and cheap. 40 S&W is a little more spicy and interesting.

Other than 22lr, I probably like 45acp the best, though. I don't shoot it in tiny pistols, so the recoil is slow and easy. I have some very nice semiautomatic pistols in 45acp, and a couple of nice revolvers as well. It makes nice big holes in things and goes "Boom!"

I like all of mine. 380, 9mm, 40, 45 and 22lr. I shoot a bunch of 22s, followed by 9, 45, 40 and 380 in that order.

Stumper said:

Perhaps that seems true for you.....but not for everyone. Even though I reload and have for 35 years and even though almost every 9mm cartridge I fire is a reloaded one, cost is still relevant even if not pivotal. I also cast bullets. Primer cost doesn't vary by cartridge/chambering but the quantities of powder and lead do. I understand the folk who choose a 9mm and say it is cheap enough that they just shoot factory......but it also happens to be one of the most economical rounds to load. Brass is ubitiquous. So are bullets. Powder charges are small. Certainly I am blessed to be able to load and shoot many different cartridges at minimal cost but some are still cheaper and easier than others.

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Apologizes, I should have been clearer.

Of the semi-auto cartridges that I shoot, the difference in cost of my reloaded ammunition for the different cartridges is small. I consider difference in my reloaded ammunition cost for my various semi-auto cartridges to be negligible and therefore irrelevant in the grand scheme of things like choosing a favorite cartridge.

That is not to say some cartridges are not expen$ive. Loading for full powder 460 S&W Magnum will take your breath away. But, on the other hand, a reloaded cartridge is still inexpensive when compared to factory ammunition.

The ammunition that I load is better than comparable factory ammunition and less expensive. Yes, there is cheap ammunition out there, cheaper than I reload, but I do not buy any of it any more. There is always some reason that the bargain basement stuff interrupts my shooting or reloading pleasure that it is not worth the trouble for me.

I do understand that some folks have priorities tugging on their recreational activities.

P5 Guy said:

9x19 cheap to buy means cheap to shot which in turn means more practicing.

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Yeah, I was ordering some stuff from Midway and saw they had Magtech 9mm and .38 on sale. $9.28 for 50 rds of 115 grain 9mm, $15.21 for .38 Special 158 gr LRN; 9mm was almost half the price.

I reload .38, so it's nbd for me, but if you gave me the option of reloading .38 or something that saves me more money reloading, like .327 or .45 Colt, I'd rather be using my time reloading those than .38. So, after looking at the price difference of 9mm and .38, I've concluded I'm never buying a .38 Special revolver again. I can see the reasons why people were so into the 9mm LCR when it came out and I can see why Charter Arms is now offering a 6 inch 9mm Pitbull revolver. If you like revolvers and want to shoot something with a better trigger than rimfire revolver and shoot it cheap, 9mm is the way to go and that cheap 9mm ammo is more powerful compared to cheap .38 ammo too.

As a LEO in a rural setting I carried a 41 Magnum. On the ranch I carried a 6" 357 Magnum Hand rifle or a 10 mm. Now I live in town and don't need all that horsepower and muzzle blast.
9 MM might be described as 45ACP set on stun, so for CCW, I'll stick with the good ol 45.

That being said, my wife carries a 9mm all the time and I do from time to time depending on the circumstances.

Picked 9mm, big shocker.

Cheap, easy to find, and soft shooting.

Depending on the gun of course.

That being said, I only own one semi in each of six calibers with one sort-of exception.

Revolvers and one rifle are multiples of three calibers, with two overlapping the semis.

Please forgive the overshare.

357 sig.

Because .22 bores me to tears, and 9mm is not far behind.

I carry the 9mm the most due to size. In hunting areas and riding horses in backwoods I opt for the 10 mm in a holster unconcealed. I prefer the 10 over the 9 but size of the gun is a little harder to hide especially in the summer months.

I'm thinking about writing a song, probably a country song, about my experience reading this thread.

OK I vote for 9mm because mainly I shoot a lot of it. And it generally hits the target in the approx. location that I'm aiming at when the hammer drops. What more can you ask of a cartridge?

I chose 9mm purely because it is cheap to shoot s bunch of 9mm comparatively.

Favorite? That'd have to be 45acp. But I've carried 9mm more often. I have confidence that either caliber would serve well if needed.

.380 ACP because it's enough in my context (tropics, not a lot of clothing to mess with JHP penetration,
and folks are smaller/leaner than elsewhere) as an SD round, and my wife can shoot it well.

.45 ACP because fun (for me: my wife hates it).

I had to cast my vote for the .22LR and .45 ACP as favorites.

.22LR - I don't think this needs any explanation. Mild, inexpensive, accurate. If you can't smile while working an array of steel with a .22 pistol, you're doing it wrong.

.45 ACP - Because 'Murica! But seriously, in handgun calibers I like big bullets at moderate velocities. And I really like shooting my 1911s. Bonus points for the .45 ACP brass being big enough to generally find most of it when shooting in the woods.

Honorable mention: 9mm Parabellum. I've easily fired more 9mm than possibly any 2 other centerfire handgun rounds combined. It isn't a favorite per se, but I know it's capable and there is a staggering variety of pistols chambered for it. When I throw a holster on my belt lately, it's usually holding a 9mm Walther PPQ.

I fell in love with the 10mm when I shot my first one in 1998. Still going strong. It's just a very versatile round. Recoil is negligible in a full size steel frame 1911.

10mm. It is to autoloaders as .357 is to revolvers - it can be whatever you want it to be within a HUGE window.

If we were living in an era where most "gun people" didn't have a metric ton of guns, this would have been more recognized and capitalized on by the market. But the ready availability of cheap polymer pistols that are perfectly functional just lead many to say they'll buy a whole new gun/caliber for any given purpose. So the 10mm's versatility goes wholly unnoticed.

9mm is the crossover SUV of the gun world. It fills a lot of roles for a lot of people.

But I'd rather not drive the flagship vehicle of soccer moms and retired people.

.40 S&W and 10mm for me... And a lifted GMC Yukon.

Because I PC my G42 & M&P 380's,all summer long.

45 in all my semi's except one and that's a 10mm.

I picked 10mm & 357sig.

I am a huge 10mm fan. It can be loaded to a wide array of power levels. I use this as a woods gun and I carry it CCW sometimes.
My regular CCW is a 357sig. It's accurate and fun to shoot.

There are several other calibers on the list I really like too (357 mag, 38 super would be #'s 3 & 4).