Caliber debate is finally over...

[Squeeze]

I've been on this theory for a while. About 5 years ago I streamlined my handguns to 9mm and all my rifles to 5.56mm (special credit to forum member TW4 for convincing me this was the way to go).

So, seeing this survey turn out the way it did was no real surprise to me. I'm sure a ton of the old dogs in here will need their heart meds while reading this.


.45 vs 9mm
Larry Vickers: The debate is over - 9mm won

Recently Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat fame sent around a survey to many notable people in the firearms industry - many M4C members will recognize instantly several on the survey such as myself, Hackathorn and Rob Leatham. The question was simple; if you had to choose one pistol caliber for self defense and range use what would it be. The results spoke volumes-9mm Para won in a landslide. Almost unanimously.



Survey Says

Assuming you had to buy your own pistol and ammunition (type of your choice) for combined self-defense and self-defense range training use, which caliber would you choose, 9x19mm Parabellum, .357 Sig, .38 super, .40 S&W, 10mm or .45 ACP ?
I surveyed the following and their answer:

BJ Norris 9mm
Bill Rogers 9mm
Bill Wilson 9mm
David Bahde 9mm
Ernest Langdon 9mm
Frank Proctor 9mm
Ken Hackathorn 9mm
Larry Vickers 9mm
Mike Seeklander 9mm
Paul Markel 9mm
Paul Howe 9mm
Paul Buffoni 9mm
Rob Haught .45
Rob Leatham .40
Super Dave Harrington 9mm




Benefits of 9mm

It was no surprise to me; I've been preaching the benefits of 9mm for quite awhile now and I'm not alone. 9mm pistols hold a lot of bullets and are easy to shoot. There are many good models to choose from. Practice Ammo is easy to get and fairly cheap. And most importantly some of the self defense loads on the market are very effective. I can't say I was surprised by this development at all.



Experience

In fact, I saw it coming years ago. One thing I had been doing for years is asking LE officers who carry 9mm what specific load they use and what performance has it provided on the job. Without exception anytime officers were carrying the Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+ or the Speer Gold Dot they had nothing but good things to say. In fact one officer told me they had yet to have a bad guy survive who they had shot with the Ranger 127 gr +P+. To me when the FBI announced a switch back to 9mm that simply confirmed what I already knew. We live in a 9mm world and that's not changing anytime soon.



The Way I See It

An exception to that in my opinion would be if you are stuck for whatever reason to carrying ball Ammo only. At that point all the calibers are just gonna poke a hole in the bad guy and a bigger hole is better than a smaller one so .45 ACP rules. That leaves .40 S&W out in the cold in my opinion and that trend is seen everywhere now as the .40 has quickly become the black sheep of the whole Ammo debate. The guns are harder to shoot, hold less bullets and are no more effective on the street than 9mm. In fact some have proven to be problematic for many years (Glock 22) when there 9mm counterparts are gold standards for dependability and reliability (Glock 17).

So that's the way I see it; 9mm is in, .40 is out, and .45 if needed. Be safe, keep shooting, LAV out.

Larry Vickers
Master Sergeant ( Retired )
US Army SOF Combat Veteran
http://vickerstactical.com
http://m.youtube.com/user/VickersTacticalInc

http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=...1&e=ac79a07645

[Great-Kazoo]

One who practices with a 22
Is superior to one that doesn't with a 45.


It's not the tool, as much as the person wielding it.

[Gman]

It's a good thing I don't have to choose just one. I have options, especially in .45 ACP.

...and it's never "over".

[Squeeze]

One who practices with a 22
Is superior to one that doesn't with a 45.


It's not the tool, as much as the person wielding it.

Well...we can't all be Jerry Miculek.

[Irving]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Great-Kazoo]

Well...we can't all be Jerry Miculek.

[Squeeze]

I wasn't gonna go there...but you had to make me do it.

[ben4372]

I love 9mm, probably the caliber I've shot the most. But it's not my favorite. That said, I've never understood people that standardize to just a couple calibers. In the military or a business standardized is great. I like a bunch of choices. I'd bet most of the folks on this forum have 5 plus calibers just in their pistols. Every time a new caliber comes out I get excited. Then I figure out it usually was solving a problem that didn't exist. Buy what makes you want to shoot.

[thvigil11]

Well, you know if you hit someone center mass with a 9, they'll just keep coming. Hit them in the hand with a 45 and it'll take their whole arms off.

[Great-Kazoo]

I wasn't gonna go there...but you had to make me do it.

I did, I did