Please Vote How small is too small? .380ACP .32ACP 25 ACP 22LR 22 Short

[Rastus]

I vacillate (sp?) about the 10MM and 5.7 x 28 for full size carry.  5.7 in the mall where background is a big worry as it "won't" do much on the other side of sheetrock....10MM on the road.  On a trip...5.56 M4 is always carried when heading back home between Baton Rouge and New Orleans....used to keep an SKS in the truck at all times in New Orleans and actually had to get it out along the interstate in the last century.....we both lived, he left and I stayed with my broken down truck! 

Another point...even crack heads wouldn't steal the SKS down in New Orleans....too visible I guess, wouldn't fit in those baggy pants...but leave a pistol or revolver in the car and it's gone within a few months.  Also...back in the 80's 1/2 the women I worked with carried guns in their purses.  It's worse there now.

[MikeBjerum]

I put my two cents in on a 9mm, however, ...

Marksmanship is what matters.  Which is better, a .22lr that you can put ten rounds in a six inch circle from twenty feet, or a 1911 in 45 acp that you couldn't hit with from ten feet?  We've practiced at our range with law enforcement that was using 40 s&w.  They were shooting at 12" steel.  They started at 50' and walked towards it firing all the time.  You would be amazed how many didn't hit until they were within 5 to 10 feet.  We finally stopped them, because they were using jacketed, and we were afraid they were going to get hit with splatter.

I carry a J frame in .38 +P, and a 1911 in .45 ACP.  I also have available a 9 mm (new) and a .40 s&w (that I used to carry).  However, the gun that is hidden in our bedroom is a .22 lr.  This is a gun that my wife feels very comfortable with, and I would rather have her use a handgun that makes noise than to be more afraid of it than the guy that just kicked in the front door.  If she is feeling Romboesque, there is a 12 ga Benelli M1 with 8+1 on the back of the headboard.

[Hazcat]

I put my two cents in on a 9mm, however, ...

Marksmanship is what matters.  Which is better, a .22lr that you can put ten rounds in a six inch circle from twenty feet, or a 1911 in 45 acp that you couldn't hit with from ten feet?  We've practiced at our range with law enforcement that was using 40 s&w.  They were shooting at 12" steel.  They started at 50' and walked towards it firing all the time.  You would be amazed how many didn't hit until they were within 5 to 10 feet.  We finally stopped them, because they were using jacketed, and we were afraid they were going to get hit with splatter.

I carry a J frame in .38 +P, and a 1911 in .45 ACP.  I also have available a 9 mm (new) and a .40 s&w (that I used to carry).  However, the gun that is hidden in our bedroom is a .22 lr.  This is a gun that my wife feels very comfortable with, and I would rather have her use a handgun that makes noise than to be more afraid of it than the guy that just kicked in the front door.  If she is feeling Romboesque, there is a 12 ga Benelli M1 with 8+1 on the back of the headboard.

+1

[makattack]

What do ya all think about the 7.62 x 25 round?

Seems good to me and is available as a C&R gun and ammo as cheap as .13 per round.

I personally like this round, I have a box of hollow points in 7.62x25 for my TT-33...
makes for a devastating last shot on wild hogs in texas!!
How about a SR9 chambered in 7.62x25?
I'll take one please!

[OneBulletDan]

A .500 S&W ain`t worth a hoot if`n it`s at home. I carry a P3AT most always. I worked with a guy that got shot in the stomach with a .22 short. He crapped in a bag for three years while they did several surgeries to reconstruct his intestines. He is now a vegetarian. With eight feet of bowels left, he can`t digest meat of any kind!

[Sponsor]

[TAB]

The only one I out of that group that I would NOT carry is the 25 acp.   I would be fine with any of the others.   

[Allan]

How many times have we heard of well trained police doing the "spray and pray routine" ? In a situation, keeping your "self dicipline" in check, is far harder than one can imagine.I was trained in the Marine Corps and fought in Viet Nam, and although I had exelent training, I can't guarintee if I were on the street, in a shoot out, I could react like I would like to. I think the best was to remedy that is training and constant practice. With self dicipline the caliber won't make too much difference.We are talking about the real world, and if you run up against one of those individuals who murder people for entertainment, they will have the upper hand right off the bat....after all, we are the ones with the morals, right? I just pray to God if I'm in that situation, I still have the self dicipline I once had. So botton line...I agree with most, carry what you feel comfortable with, and maybe seek additional training.Training is like insurance...if you have it, you won't need it, but if you don't.....right!

[DavidC77]

I look at it this way, it comes down to what you can shoot and to what you can carry.

Myself I have owned two J-Frames but because of my bear paws I just can not shoot them well enough to count on them if I needed to. Yes I can shoot them but not the same every time. It also comes down to what will you carry, if you have a heavy gun and you leave it home because its hot out (or something like that) it does you no good there.

I have also come down to carrying an OWB holster as all the IWB holsters I have tryed just do not wear on me with out wearing me out due to my body style (yes love handles).

As pointed out in other answers it comes down to what you can shoot and carry well.

Well that's my 2 1/2 cents worth of thoughts on this.

[tombogan03884]

I will begin this by first saying that I am not a 380 ACP hater.  I have owned all three of Colt’s (government model, Mustang, Pony) 380’s in addition to several Walther’s and a few other ones that don't even need mentioning here.  However, what is brought me to bring this question to the board is all the renewed interest in the 380 caliber as a carry gun.  First Ruger, then Karr and I even hear rumblings of Glock are now on the 380 bandwagon (I've actually shot both of the Glock’s in 380 and liked them).
 My good friend, Mas Ayoob said to me when I showed him my Colt 380.  “That's cute, and it's better than a sharp stick” followed by” friends don't let friends carry mouse guns” this hurt my feelings.  So I said, what is it you have against 380?  He explained to me that the 380 was a killer, but not a stopper at least not consistently.  He said there are many incidences were people shot with 380s will continue to fight and harm you and then bleed out and die 15 to 20 minutes after being shot.  His philosophy is that you shoot to stop the threat not kill.  After I had this discussion with Mas I ask a friend of mine who was a paramedic on an ambulance in a high crime city, his experiences with the 380 were similar about the effectiveness of 380.
I have since adjusted my carry gun to be a Karr PM9 in a pocket holster.  This gives me seven rounds of 9mm +P I supplement that with a Karr P45 carried on the belt or a wilderness packer.
I am very pragmatic and would obviously say that the gun in your pocket beats the gun in the car the gun in the car beats the gun at home and the gun at home beats the gun in the gun safe.  So the argument is a 380 or no gun.  I guess now I side with 380.
 
Now, I know that there's going to be the crowd that says either it's all about ammunition.  Or it's all about shot placement.  I can tell you that I have watched a large animal dropped to the ground with one shot from a Sea Camp 32 firing Silver tips.  This was quite impressive, but I wonder how many people have the ability to consistently have the right shot placement in a stress fire environment?  I am a confessed shooting school junkie and I shoot most of the handgun disciplines weekly (ICORE, IDPA IPSC, ECT) and I can tell you that the vast majority of shooters don't practice enough to produce cold on demand hits in the vital areas.

So, with all this said, I asked the question, what is the minimum caliber for self defense.  And what does that criteria add up to in quantifiable data.  I mean do we have a minimum energy coefficient.  Or perhaps a sustainable wound cavity in ballistic gelatin or is it penetration in gelatin.

If it doesn't start with 4 it isn't a "real " gun, it's just a toy.

[Lucas]

I have to say that if I hit you in the right spot with a rock,  you will go down!!!

If you are going to spend alot of money on it I would have to say go big.  9mm or .40,  however I would go to war with my 10/22 if it was between that and a .45 High Point!!!