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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I guess I'm a bit of a wuss. When I'm not working or carrying large amounts of cash, my favorite is a beat up mid 70's walther PPK/s in .22. Had it or one like it now for over 10 years and it st fits my hand best and I can still shoot minute of squirrel out to about 20 yards if I set my mind to it
 
380’s for little girls. ;)

When I got my PF9 I figured if I could get a 9mm that was the size of a 380 why get the 380.

When I got my XDs45 I figured why not get a 45 that’s only a little larger than the 9mm PF9.

Now I’m thinking why not get a M&P 9 Compact as 15+1 with 17 round spares.

I guess the answer is what I like “best” depends on how we frame what best is.

IMHO 9mm wins on cost, size and bang for the buck. I’d argue the market agrees and that’s why it’s the worlds most popular caliber.

Personally, I love the 45 as it’s old, big and slow, but blows a nice big hole in things.

I don’t have a 40, but I see it growing in popularity for awhile with all of the police trade ins right now.

And 10mm seems to have had a rebirth.

I guess I like them all
 
.40 S&W is my fave. It does what I need to, do out of my G23. Due to clothing restrictions, ease of carry, etc., I usually wind up carrying my G43 in 9Mike.
 
I chose the 9mm solely on ammo cost.

My two favorite semi-autos are the Springfield XDs 45 in 4.0, and the Springfield XDs 9mm in 3.3.

The 45 gets carried more, and although both see their share of range time, the 9mm ammo is about half the cost of the 45. Simple math says the 9mm gets more rounds through it. I certainly don't feel outgunned with either.
 
I knew 9 mm would be the choice for most. Lots of reasons for that. I load a lot of 9 mm for practice and carry one from time to time. I avoided the 9 mm for a long time but finally broke down and bought one to see why it was so popular. It does a lot of things really well. It isn't my favorite tho. A 1911 45 acp is what I shoot for enjoyment. Probably always be my favorite.
 
As long as we're relating anecdotes, I remember reading in Shoot to Live how the Mauser broomstick in 7.63×25mm Mauser was highly feared in Shanghai. The authors were using it as an example of a cartridge that had no particular ballistic advantage and by all rights could be expected to perform comparatively poorly with the ball rounds available in the 20's and 30's, but which had collected sufficient anecdotal evidence to cause proportionally greater fear in people than 9x19mm, .32 ACP, .380, .38 Special and .45ACP which were also popular in that theater.

In the absence of great familiarity with a fairly broad set of data or experience, people tend to come to irrational conclusions and hold onto unsubstantiated convictions based on their incomplete understanding.
 
I enjoy shooting most anything I've ever shot in a semi-auto, but 10mm Auto rapidly became my favorite a few years ago. It's probably only my favorite because most of my handguns are chambered in 10, so therefore I have the greatest number of options when I want to shoot. The capacity it affords, the wide range of loads I find I can shoot accurately, and the handsome proportions of the cartridge all add to its appeal to me. I'll always find 45 Auto a fun cartridge and will probably always handload plenty of it, but the 10 represents, for me, the apex of auto pistol chamberings. Only a few short years ago I felt "if you need more than 7-8 rounds, you've got other problems..." and all like that. I no longer feel that way, and feel more comfy with far more ammo than that--10mm helps in this regard (over 45).

I load 40SW, and used to load a LOT of it, so there was some happiness in having the ability to share bullets, etc. 40 is real nice because brass is plentiful and cheap, and with cast bullets shooting 40 is far cheaper for me than anything else I care to shoot. I've always found it a real challenge to get well-behaving accurate loads with it though, so I don't do much with it anymore. I might place it as my 3rd favorite though, mostly because it's so darn cheap to shoot.
 
>>> In the absence of great familiarity with a fairly broad set of data or experience, people tend to come to irrational conclusions and hold onto unsubstantiated convictions based on their incomplete understanding.

This is quite a profound understatement--and I think nowhere is it more fitting than in those arenas where most of us neither have nor are likely to ever get any experience at all. But, even as a kid, being around, handling and shooting firearms on a very regular (weekly) basis, it was often a great source of amusement and some frustration the degree to which folks were poorly-informed and held on to things they'd heard, no matter how ridiculous they sounded, specifically with regard to guns. Usually it was how this gun would knock you over with recoil (the 30-06) or could break a wrist (the 44 Mag) or knock a man to the ground even if hit the arm (the 45). Mostly kids' stories embellished by kids, but it seems a lot of legend and lore lives on.
 
Tough one to answer. I like them all, frankly. My P210a is great and I have a VQ Scorpion 22...etc. But my favorite is the Coonan just for the bang and flash. Maybe not the most logical reason, but what's logic got to do with it?
 
I prefer the 9 mm cartridge and have adapted all my tactics for it. It works well for what I need it to do. It's easy to buy in thousand lot boxes for training and cheaper than most other calibers/millimeters. The recoil is not excessive and lets you stay or get back on target with a minimum of effort/delay. You can also buy quantities of it pre-stored in spam cans for really long term storage needs. Once you've gotten used to shooting the 9 mm cartridge you become fast, accurate and deadly which is what you may need to survive some hostile situations.
 
45 acp because the round has inertia, lots of inertia. that said, I shoot 22lr the most and carry 380 acp the most.

murf
 
I voted 45acp just because it's also one of my favorite revolver cartridges.

I also selected 9mm. Much like the 38spl, there's nothing WRONG with it and it's great for high volume practice. Just some cartridges are more powerful and there's a place for that, but the difference isn't great enough to sacrifice the 9mm's strengths (more capacity, more economical, less recoil) until you step up to 10mm or 41mag in my opinion.
 
I CC most every caliber (.357 and below) based on how I'm dressed. But, I asked myself, if I KNEW I was going to walk out my front door into a gunfight, which of my firearms (I'm not counting shotguns) would I put in my palm...
Without hesitation, my CZ-52 or my Zastava M57A in 7.62x25. I know all the arguments about over penetration...that was not the original question.
My favorite caliber is the Tok 7.62x25 because (I read somewhere) that the Russians argued "bleeding from two holes is better than one". The Tok rounds shoot flat at longer range, feed ultra-reliably in my two handguns and will penetrate kevlar helmets, cat. 3 body armor...and great big ferrel hogs.
I do shoulder-holster my Zastava regularly (like last Sunday to church...I wore a coat) and keep my CZ-52 in my truck.
 
I voted "other" because I have a fascination with 7.62 Tok. 7.62x25 has a lot of potential. I really wish more practical guns were chambered in it, and I wish more defensive bullets were offered. It could be to 9mm what 357sig is to 40sw.

Practically speaking, I shoot mainly 9mm cuz it's cheap, and carry 380 most often cuz tiny pocket pistols are convenient.
Bingo! Same here
 
My favorite caliber isn't even listed. 45 LC. Lots of loads out there, from mild to wild, and loaded with Buffalo Bore, it's serious bear medicine. I have a Blackhawk that's pretty much a Bisley with the Hogue grips, fun to shoot the Buffalo Bores out of. My 4" 45 Redhawk, not so much.
 
I really like the efficiency if the 9mm Parabellum. It has excellent availability, excellent weapon selection and capacity, and adequate stopping power. That said, I still own handguns in 45ACP, 10mm, 40 S&W, 357 Magnum, 22LR. I still want a 44 Magnum, and a 38 Super Comp.
 
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