Your Favorite Semi-Auto Pistol Caliber and Why

What is your favorite semi-auto pistol caliber?

  • .50 ae

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • .44 mag (semi-auto)

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • .450 corbon (or similar)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • .45 acp

    Votes: 115 35.4%
  • 10 mm

    Votes: 27 8.3%
  • .357 mag (semi-auto)

    Votes: 3 0.9%
  • .357 sig

    Votes: 10 3.1%
  • .40 s&w

    Votes: 32 9.8%
  • .38 super (or similar)

    Votes: 7 2.2%
  • 9mm

    Votes: 135 41.5%
  • 9mm makarov

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • .380 acp

    Votes: 14 4.3%
  • .32 acp

    Votes: 7 2.2%
  • .25 acp

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • .22 rimfire (any)

    Votes: 47 14.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 11 3.4%

  • Total voters
    325
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SharpDog

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I'm just having the 9mm blues slowly changing out all of my semi-auto pistol calibers to 9mm. It first started as a cost thing and now has accelerated with all of the new goodies (e.g. Rx optics, Sig phosphate coatings on their service pistols, etc) coming in 9mm only.

My favorite revolver caliber is .44 mag with a .357 mag coming in 2nd (both in 5" bbls) and in a semi-auto pistol, it's 10 mm with the original .357 Sig. (not the commonly downloaded variety) coming in 2nd (also in a full-size service pistol).

The reason for my choices is that IMHO these rounds have great stopping power as a general purpose round for both game and self-defense. Now yes I have many guns (or did until that tragic boating accident) and so can dedicate guns to particular purposes but I'm talking LIKE here not necessarily rational economy of thought :)
 
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When carrying a semi-auto handgun, I usually carry a 3 1/2" M1911 in .45acp. I ONLY carry 200gr. JHPs, either Speer Gold Dots or Hornady XTP. It's accurate and very controllable.

My alternate semi-auto is either a Glock 19 or a Browning Hi Power in 9x19mm. I ONLY carry 147gr. JHPs, usually Winchester White Box. It's ridiculously accurate and tests very well for both penetration and expansion.
 
I've never thought of any caliber as "favorite" each is what it is. I gotta have a .22 for varmint control and as my carry experience progresses I find myself with lighter and smaller guns but for some reason I refuse to go lower than 9mm. I've worked my way down from .45 ACP through .40 and heavier 9s down to Ruger LCP 9. My status as a novice tells me thats as low as I can go. As for revolvers my single action has to be .45 LC.
So you see I'm left with the conclusion bigger is better but not all of the time.
 
The reason for my choices is that IMHO these rounds have great stopping power as a general purpose round for both game and self-defense.

Stopping power is a myth.

There is no statistical evidence that any one of the three main service calibers outperforms the other two, if there was every police department in the world would be carrying it.

My wife can't shoot anything bigger than a 9mm so that's what we carry.
 
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I like shooting the 45 acp, the recoil in a 1911 is very manageable and I shoot the 1911 better than any other semi auto I own. I carried one in the army for a number of years and it was the first big bore pistol I shot. I do like shooting my 44 mag but the recoil with hot loads tends to wear on my hand after about 50 rounds.
 
The 45ACP and 9X19mm. The 9x19mm is more cost effective to shoot as opposed to the 45ACP. I have semiautomatic pistols in both previously mentioned calibers but more 9x19mm pistols than pistols in 45ACP. The first center fire pistol I fired was the M1911-A1 at Parris Island.
 
9mm.

Why?

It was a Browning Hi-Power, loaded with 9mm SuperVel, that was in my hand the one and only time that I have ever had to draw in defense of my life. I didn't need to pull the trigger, but I had full confidence that it would do the job that day. That was more than 40 years ago, but the 9mm, and the Hi-Power, still have a special place in my heart.
 
I have a soft spot for 9mm Browning Hi-powers too.
it was the first semi-auto I'd ever fired, and I've never not loved it.

I saw my dad draw it in defense once when I was a kid, and it sure cooled down the belligerent drunk in a hurry!

it's my choice for carry today as well.
 
I generally don’t enjoy shooting semiauto centerfire pistols. It’s a means to an end for me, so I find myself burdened to do it very often, but I rarely find much enjoyment from it.

That said, I rarely find myself able to shoot a 22LR semiauto pistol without a inadvertently growing a smile on my face.
 
45s in a full size pistol like a 1911 or Baby Eagle are fun. Enough recoil to let you know they went off, but they're not bad at all.

And maybe it's just me, but I feel like a 40 kicks more than a 45 does. Has more of a snap to it.

9mms are fine, and I shoot them a bunch because the ammo's so stupid cheap. But if you offer me a choice between shooting a full size 9mm like say a Beretta 92 or Glock 17 or a full size 45, I'm taking the 45 every time.
 
10mm, what a service caliber should be.
Shoots flat, loaded mild to wild and has the diameter to be effective against human sized meat wads.
I think 10mm does everything kind of well.

Edit: forgot to mention, you guys see how tacticool the 10mm is right now? All the cool guys have one!
 
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Similar to the BFR thread I built my ideal Desert Eagle in ,50 AE with all the trimmings: $4500+ in 3 caliber conversions (.50 AE, .44 MAG and ,357 MAG): ... $4500 + .... erm .... nah, looks good tho :)

Capture.PNG
 
I opted for the .45 ACP. Why? Because I have two .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawks with auxiliary cylinders for .45 ACP. Brass is usually plentiful, free for the asking, and provide economical shooting with almost complete lack of recoil. And, in a pinch, the old ACP makes a pretty good 50 ~ 75 yard varmint load.

100_6013_zpscesaabzx.jpg

Bob Wright
 
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....There is no statistical evidence that any one of the three main service calibers outperforms the other two, if there was every police department in the world would be carrying it....

Really? So considerations like size, cost, ability of officers to shoot it effectively, national military choice and local experience would all be forgotten if there was a magic cartridge? Right........



.
 
All my handguns are Gen 4 Glock 23's. I don't understand why the .40 catches so much heat, but it has plenty of power and doesn't need +p to do it. Larger diameter bullet is better than a smaller one and the size of the gun can remain normal for a hi-cap compared to a hi-cap .45acp.
 
well you said semi auto round. The .45 automatic colt pistol is a semi auto round. However, I tend to carry it in a wheel gun:p I like the thump of it. If you want to get down to brasstax as to what i shoot out of a semiautomatic, 9mm is king for me. Price, performance, availability. When I go full size, SHTF the 9mm shines.

Day to day, I'm fine with 5 .45acp beans.
 
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