Home Defense Caliber Poll, 9mm, .45 or .357

Which Caliber For "Home Defense Handgun" 9mm, .45 or .357 mag.

  • 9 mm

    Votes: 53 20.7%

  • .45

    Votes: 166 64.8%

  • .357 Mag

    Votes: 37 14.5%
  • Total voters
    256
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^ What he said!

Controllability + capacity + penetration = 9mm

Imagine a G-17 with a +2 pearce = 19+1 rounds of +P+ as a home defense weapon. 20 hits with a .36 caliber projectile is NICE!

Edit 9/11: They are all good guns for SD, but nothing like a 12 gauge for HD
 
Last edited:
1. .45
2. 9mm

Not interested in a .357 for home defense, for the following reasons:

Excessive recoil
Excessive muzzle blast
Excessive muzzle flash
Excessive penetration
 
Seems pretty clear that few of the folks responding have ever shot a gun in their living room. So here are a couple of things to consider. A .357 will knock all the pictures, and crap off the wall when fired in a space about 16X16. It will loosen nails.

A 9mm will only knock loose things down, like if you have a picture in a frame hanging on by a thread.

A .45 will slam everything downrange from the muzzle and take it off the wall. It will tip over glasses on a table.

All three will leave you with no hearing.

You will be very confused after the first round and in all likely-hood wondering where the Nuke came from that knocked every knick knack you own from its perch.

The one that is best is the one you can hit center mass on your first shot, because after that things will get very hazy and happen very quickly.

Just the humble opinion of someone who has fired a few shots in the living room....
 
I have been present inside a rather small room when a 145-grain Winchester Silvertip was touched off in a 4" sixgun. Pictures remained on walls, and while my ears were not happy, I could still hear. I was not in fight-or-flight mode when that round went off, so that was not why my ears were not deafened. I was also present in a small room when a .45 ACP Silvertip was fired from an N-frame snubby. The experience was not as bad as the .357 discharge, and pictures remained on the walls. Knick-knacks were not present on shelves in either case; perhaps those would have indeed been knocked about.

hags linked to a Gunblast.com article by R.K. Cambell, which I have read before, and I agree. The .357 is an excellent defensive round, for sure, and I have used it with good effect, from my point of view. No, not the above-mentioned Silvertip in a small room, but a 125-grain Federal JHP in a parking lot. I don't need Marshall/Sanow to tell me the .357 is excellent, and I still use it regularly for HD, carry, and police back-up. If I had to stick with one cartridge for all reasons and seasons, it would be the .357 mag.

So, why did I go with .45 in the poll? Well, HD was the specified parameter. I love the .357 for the streets and for field use, but for home defense, if I can't have a long weapon in my hands, I want a large autopistol. My SIG .40 duty pistols are excellent, but .40 was not a choice. My .45 Les Baer TRS is excellent, too, and .45 was a choice.

To get really picky and long-winded, I will add that if I do have a long-barreled firearm in my hands, and am in HD mode, I consider spurless-hammer .357 sixguns to be excellent backups to the long weapon.
 
Rexter,

Long barreled weapon? How about a 4" GP100 or Model 28?

Heck, you could even go with a 2" barrel.


loop,

The one that is best is the one you can hit center mass on your first shot, because after that things will get very hazy and happen very quickly.
Click to expand...

that's when you fall back on your training!

havent' had anything fall off the walls when I've fired indoors, regardless of what I'm shooting.


Excessive recoil
Excessive muzzle blast
Excessive muzzle flash
Excessive penetration
Click to expand...

you forgot one, excessive stopping power.

The .45acp and the 9mm do not have the energy that the .357 Magnum does, period.
I don't even think that's a fair comparrison, the .357 Magnum pretty much stands alone when it comes to a defensive gun/cartridge combination, IMO.
 
ALL guns fired inside have a terribly loud report. None of them are fatal in their noise level.

Back in the day, when I was .......younger, among other things I did was fire some guns in my friend's basement 'range' he had set up. This was back when we all believed that hearing protection was for sissies, and if our grandfathers had done it for years, it must not be too terrible. We fired all of the above, except the ones that hadn't been invented yet. It was loud. It sucked. Our ears rang for a few days. It did NOT incapacitate us. It did NOT in any way deter us from doing it repeatedly. Do I prefer it? No. Would I hesitate to do it if I had to? Not for a millisecond.

(My hearing is fine, I near max the army physical hearing tests, after that, many years of guitars and rock concerts, and other stuff.)

No handgun has ENOUGH force to do the job reliably.
 
I prefer a .38 Special, but of the 3 you listed I'd go with the .45 (especially if you mean .45 Colt, but also the .45 ACP) cuz it makes bigger holes.
 
I own handguns in all three calibers. And I enjoy shooting all of them. But my home defense gun both here and at my cabin in the woods is a S&W .357 revolver. The inherent simplicity and reliability of the wheelgun combined with the powerful 357 mag cartridge makes it an easy call for me.
 
.45acp all the way.

Big heavy bullet, easy follow-up, short range - what's not to like? :)

Add to this the fact that it won't go quite so far after passing through the BG and the walls compared to other rounds. Not saying it won't, just does it less.
 
45, because I don't have "bigger"

Well, if it's for home defense, that means I don't have to carry the thing all day.
First choice is 12 gauge with #4 Buck, but if you want the handgun answer, .45 ACP. I teethed in the 1970s on a GI M1911A1, carried one in the Army, and have always been comfortable the the handling, reliability, and power.

No, don't get started with me on power of hot .357 versus hot .45 :fire: I love the .357 but for home defense, I'd prefer the heavier, fast expanding 45 ammo.
 
Those are three of the best calibers in the world. I say choose the one that you shoot the best.

I would not want the .357 because I don't want to limit myself to a revolver if I can use a full sized gun. I prefer the 9mm for its ease of use, economics and the fact that I don't feel the .45 offers much more in stopping power. The .357 however is in a whole different league called "magnum!" With around 600 fpe it can be used for hunting medium game.
 
Caliber don't matter, shot placement does... just ask the family of Robert F Kennedy.
With that said, I prefer the 357 Sig.
 
All Are Good

I use the 9m.m. most of the time with +P ammo. It is the most controlable and has the largest magazine capacity.

Any of the them will do with a decent hollow point. I would also add the .40S&W as well.

Jim
 
a sig 226 in .40 is what i prefer and keep for HD, but given the options listed. i pick the 357. why? because i don't have a 45 or 9mm, but i do have a gp 100 in .357.
 
voted 45 because its my preferred gun for SD and I am good with it.

That being said my night stand gun is a 357 loaded with 38 spcl, (no +P, if I want that much bang I would have stayed with a 357 load). Reason for the night stand choice is if I am woken up by an intruder I have a gun that is simple to operate and won't night blind me with its muzzle flash if I have to shoot in a darkened room. If I'm up and awake the 45 is my choice for the reasons of bigger is better and I don't feel like penetrating a couple of walls and upsetting whoever is on the other side of them.
 
I favor the 9mm. It's a caliber I am very comfortable with. Shot placement is what it's all about. That works for me. The bigger is better theory does apply to the .45. One hit in the right place with one of those honkers and it's a one way ticket to an eternal sleep for the intruder! Same can be of a 9mm if it's in the right place. If you can handle a .45, I say go for that. See if you can try all three. Whichever you can do best with, that should be your choice.
 
I usually snuggle with a 12 gauge, but now the new XD .45 has joined the ranks of my bedside table
 
I voted for .45 because I've got a Glock 21 with a light by my bed, a Glock 36 on my hip, and my wife has a Glock 30 in her purse. I'd be a hypocrite if I picked a different caliber.
 
If I had to choose from your list I would pick the .45ACP.

But I prefer the .40S&W over all three.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack this thread but.

Let me play devil's advocate for a minute.........

What the hell does the .40S&W offer that the other three don't?

I, like many others don't see a need for the .40S&W when you have the 9mm or the .45ACP.
 
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