I might be asking for trouble asking this.
It would be a carry gun. I’ve read a ton about the two chamberings. Not sure I’d be reloading. I tend to favor a 1911 action over a striker design. Need to keep the barrel length 4” or less. But that’s beyond the cartridge selection.
Right now I’m carrying Springfield 3.8” XDM in .45 ACP. I asked the gun shop what the “M” stsnd for. They said “match”. Really? A 4” match barrel? Weird.
Just curious what the views here are, in 1,000 words or less!
Tom
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I'm my opinion 9mm by far. Cheaper to buy ammo, more powerful, heavier bullets, easy to find a high capacity (if that's your thing) .380 sized gun in 9mm.
My (every so often) carry gun is a Sig P365 with Federal 124 gr. HST ammo. It's a 10 shot striker fired pistol but small enough to hide and always goes bang, so far.
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9mm.
With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.
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I vote for the 9 unless you are going for a blow back pocket sized pistol .
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i use an old amt back up 6 shot 380. manual and grip safety. reliable and better than a sharp, pointed stick
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.380 is ok, IF it is full auto.
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Shoot a few subcompact nines before buying one. In a very light gun the recoil is sharp. So is a blowback .380 in any gun weighing less than a pound. If you are a Senior with arthritis in both hands you may have issues with racking the slide and tolerating the recoil of a light gun. I have mostly given up on 9mm in small guns. The Beretta 92FS and M1951 are fine. Ruger LCP in .380 is painful without Hogue grip sleeve. Usual carry is a Colt .38 snub with wadcutters.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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Ditto Ed's comments. Without gloves, in a Walther PPK/s the first shot is fun, by the last shot in the FIRST magazine, I tell my 76 year old finger to pull the trigger, but my brain is saying "You'll be sorry"!!! Light cast bullet practice loads are fun. Light weight 9's are just as bad with JHP loads. My old S&W 659 (all steel gun) is great to shoot, but loaded weighs as much as one of the cylinder heads on a mid sixties truck!
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I'm my opinion 9mm by far. Cheaper to buy ammo, more powerful, heavier bullets, easy to find a high capacity (if that's your thing) .380 sized gun in 9mm. My (every so often) carry gun is a Sig P365 with Federal 124 gr. HST ammo. It's a 10 shot striker fired pistol but small enough to hide and always goes bang, so far.
I agree and also carry a P365 w/12rd mag full of RMR 124gr HPs.
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I also (occasionally) carry a Sig 365 in 9mm. Comfortable and exceeds my accuracy ability. Hornady critical defense ammo. Some will point out potential legal issues if you shoot someone with a handload.
I can shoot 50 rounds in a session without significant discomfort.
I have also carried a Ruger LC9 DAO. Light, compact, reasonably accurate.
I strongly recommend that a carry gun have a mechanical safety (not that trigger blade stuff). Some recommend an empty chamber. Whatever fits your desired balance between responsiveness and safety.
John Carlson. CBA Director of Military Competition.
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I also carry a P365. After 5 years of daily pocket carry (in a kydex sheath holster) I have yet to find the 1911 style swipe down safety in the off position. I have gained enough confidence in the pistol to have a round in the chamber. It's funny that with all the reloading I do I have never reloaded 9mm.
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It's funny that with all the reloading I do I have never reloaded 9mm.
Me either and don't plan on starting. A carry gun has one purpose in my opinion and a range gun ain't it. If, heaven forbid, I ever have the gun with me and have to use it I'd have enough legal issues to deal with without adding handloaded ammunition to the list legal or not. Lawyers and prosecutors don't play fair and while I'm past the age of being a sprinter under certain circumstances I might be able to pull a pretty good pace out of my arse if warranted. I'm a firm believer that under certain conditions retreating while screaming like a girl is the better part of valor.
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I gotta think for carry, that .45 DSM is a great choice ... a buddy has one.
...and if the bulk for carry is the only problem. you might consider my 21st try after 20 reject holsters ... my rig is so comfortable that when my smarty-butt friends ask if i am "packin heat" today, i have to give it a second to analyze the current state ... my trick is to use a spandex belly band up around my chest and position the weapon under my armpit ... over a t shirt and under a sport shirt. works sitting, running, bending over, in a car or working on a machine. choice of 40 variations with pockets, straps, sizes etc. about $25 on ebay.
the drawback if it is a high noon quick draw shootout i am a gonner .. takes about 2 seconds to dig it out ... but the advantage is that otherwise i will have it and not home in a drawer because it was too unhandy that day to buckle it on. heavy duty velcro takes 5 seconds to snap it together.
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but between 380 and the 9 .... thinking the 9 every time ... no reason otherwise ...
between the 45 and a 9 tho ... wonder if that nasty AG lawyer will ask why you carry such a big 45 gun unless you were looking for trouble ... maybe the 9 is what meek peaceable gents and genteel ladies ... and most cops ... would be carrying ...
just some thoughts ...
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Well, that didn’t take long and is quite convincing…9mm is the run away first choice!
I own only one 9mm….that I have never shot. A Walther P-38 that my father-in-law gave me. He brought it back from the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, from WWII. Interesting story behind his acquisition of the pistol.
A good friend has a Glock and a Sig of some kind, both 9mm, that he carries. The holster fits in his front pants pocket, can’t tell visually he’s carrying.
I’ve seen a 1911 Kimber that has a short (4”?) barrel. Did not explore it much though.
Tom
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The Glock 43 seems to be a nice little pistol. We sold a lot of them when I worked retail sales.
With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.
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A lot of gun ranges have 9's you can try out for the price of some ammo and rental fees. Great way to get a feel for what YOU like and feels best. Just picking them up and fondling one isn't really enough. There's a ton of good choices out there now so have some fun and happy hunting.
Scott Ingle
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I own a Kimber Pro Carry and a Browning HP. I haven't found a 9mm load as accurate as any .45 load yet. When I shot a cast hp bullet through jugs of wet newspaper, it expanded and pretty much penciled through with a golf ball size cavity. The .45 expanded and burst the plastic jug and threw wet paper around the indoor range and left a fist size cavity. If I were to carry a handgun expecting trouble, it would be the Kimber .45. My third auto is a 9mm Makarov. The round is like a .380. I never tested bullets through it but expect expansion like or just less than the 9mm Luger. It should be more accurate because the barrel is fixed. And, I would carry it because its so compact. Cheap too! At worse, I may not like the round but say to myself if used, "it's better than nothing".
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I own a Kimber Pro Carry and a Browning HP. I haven't found a 9mm load as accurate as any .45 load yet. When I shot a cast hp bullet through jugs of wet newspaper, it expanded and pretty much penciled through with a golf ball size cavity. The .45 expanded and burst the plastic jug and threw wet paper around the indoor range and left a fist size cavity. If I were to carry a handgun expecting trouble, it would be the Kimber .45. My third auto is a 9mm Makarov. The round is like a .380. I never tested bullets through it but expect expansion like or just less than the 9mm Luger. It should be more accurate because the barrel is fixed. And, I would carry it because its so compact. Cheap too! At worse, I may not like the round but say to myself if used, "it's better than nothing".
Try shooting one of the modern 9mm jacketed hollow points I believe you may be surprised.
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I carry a Ruger security 380 on my side. It is a 15+1 capacity. And a Ruger lcp in my pocket. The lcp is not fun to shoot, but it was not meant for a range gun. I call it the get off of me gun. The security is a nice gun. VERY easy to rack and shoot. BUT it destroys brass. It has a massive unsupported chamber. But I have about 12K pieces of brass I have collected over the years. So if they survive the first firing I use them. If the belly in the brass is too big they go into the scrap bucket.
But if you are getting recoil sensitive, This gun may be what you are looking for.
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Lee Factory Crimp Dies work wonders on bulged cases.
We've all shot a lot of guns in our lives. Of all the guns I've shot, the Glock 42 stands out as an outstanding design. Very functional to carry and loads of fun to shoot.
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A short side note about the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Years ago Ed Harris suggested the use of the die for anything semi/auto, rifle and pistol.
I have several dies. They get used on M-1 Garand, .38 Special (S&W #52) and .45 ACP. Also for .38, .45 Auto Rim and .41 Mag. revolvers.
The die helps affix the bullet and reliable feeding.
Forum note maybe not new to everyone. At least on my cell phone, you cannot start a reply, leave it briefly and come back to it….what you started will be gone. So now compose a reply in Word and cut and paste it into the forum when done.
Tom
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