Hey guys, I am looking at getting a new handgun. I am torn between a 9mm and a 45. I already have a 357 that i can use for hunting if necessary. I am looking for a gun for personal protection at home and when traveling. Any advice or reviews that you fellas have would be great appreciated. Thanks.
Looking at purchasing a hand gun, need some feed back.
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H&K USP .45. there is nothing like it for putting a man down. if you like a smaller framed gun, get the USP compact. either one will set you back about 800 bucks, but it is money well spent.
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i like the glocks. i have a 23, which is a mid-frame .40 S&W. shooting a glock is unlike most other handguns in shooting. it takes a bit to get used to them. if you're dead-set on either 9mm or .45 i would go with the .45. i have seen/heard too many accounts that the 9mm round is insufficient when it comes to stopping power. i have a colt 1911 series government model in .45acp. it is a pure tack driver but not really compact enough for concealment. i have a h&k 9mm that is a pure tack driver also. it shoots as smooth as any gun on the market but you may not want to pay $1500 for a 9mm. one of my favorites in a my .357mag ultralight S&W hammerless revolver. you can put that thing in a sock and have plenty of power for self-defense. you said you had the .357 covered though. anyway...for pure reliability, power, compact frame, etc. you can't beat the glock. they also have a .45, i believe it is the 30 & 36 models. you at least have to check them out before buying any other...
hth!
hth!
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Glock all the way. For home protection and carry, I'd look at one of the "baby" Glocks. Either the 26 (9mm) or 27 (.40 caliber). Either one WILL put a man down. Buy some hollow points in either one and call it good. I wouldn't worry that a 9mm won't do the job. If it didn't, the Largest PD in the country, LAPD, or the U.S. military wouldn't issue them. SEALS use the HK .45 because in a hostage sitiuation the 9mm has a tendancy for pass through's and hit bystanders. (Info. provided by a 17 year SEAL vet. instructor now serving in Iraq). Whatever you choose, go with one of the big 5. Glock, HK, SIG, Beretta or SW. When the Missouri State HP was choosing a new weapon they invited those big 5 to show their stuff. The Glock rep. went last. He took a LOADED Glock 22 and threw it up in the air. It crashed to the deck. He picked it up and fired a tight group with it. He turned around and asked "anybody else want to do that with their gun?" The Missouri State HP carries Glock.
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Personal protection ain't target practice... I'd go with the .45. Load that puppy up with some Golden Sabres, Black Talons or the biggest grain JHP I could find. :thumbsup:
My home defense handgun is a Colt Andaconda .44 mag loaded with 310 gr. JHP... it don't jam & I don't need many rounds & if I empty it I can finish the job with the pistol itself.
It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. :yes:
My home defense handgun is a Colt Andaconda .44 mag loaded with 310 gr. JHP... it don't jam & I don't need many rounds & if I empty it I can finish the job with the pistol itself.
It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. :yes:
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my brother-in-law had one of those with a scope mounted on it. man that thing was a canon! i dropped a doe with it at 70yds like it was nothing. i like it... :mrgreen:Quackcephus said:Personal protection ain't target practice... I'd go with the .45. Load that puppy up with some Golden Sabres, Black Talons or the biggest grain JHP I could find. :thumbsup:
My home defense handgun is a Colt Andaconda .44 mag loaded with 310 gr. JHP... it don't jam & I don't need many rounds & if I empty it I can finish the job with the pistol itself.
It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. :yes:
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Ive got a Beretta Elite II 96. Its a 40. IMO it is the best all around round to shoot. Stopping power plus practical and not to spendy for ammo. I would not trade my pistol for anything in the world. Cost me a small fortune but well worth it. (Thats where that graduation money all went.... hehehe only if my relatives knew lol :laughing: ) Berettas are used by the military for their durability and dependability in the most extreme conditions. Many of the european armies also use them. They are great guns and very simple to clean and take care of. Why buy a glock when you can have a Beretta?! (Ok now let me have it you glock fans hahaha) :umm:
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i don't even need to say that beretta isn't near the same class as glock when it comes to reliability. it's not even close to the same game...the only reason beretta still has the military is because of a contract (i believe) and politics.Robberwood said:
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I could go on for pages about this, you'll always have different fans of different platforms out there and each have thier pro/cons. I am a 1911 guy, but I own everything and anything in between as far as platforms'syles are concerned. This is a huge debate among allot of folks. But it all depends on what YOU are comfortable shooting and which pistol YOU can handle and shoot best, period. As for the caliber...well, 45 punches a nice hole, but would you rather have 7rds of .45 in a single stack or 15rds in a 9mm like a G17? 9mm might expand but a .45 will never shrink some say, but theres plenty of great performing ammo out there today that would suite a defense weapon just fine in 9mm. Plus, if you want to be good with this pistol PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!! And 9mm is a ton cheaper to shoot than .45, so, you'll get more range time. Range time=better performance. I'd rather shoot great with a 9mm that I practiced with allot than so-so with a .45 I didn't shoot to much. Or, if cost isn't an option, get a good ole slab-side 1911 and shoot the bee-jeezus out of it!!! Plus 1911's can't be beat for customizing, the options are endless.
I have a .45 (Sig) and a 9mm. I was watching something about the SEALs on Discovery. He made a comment about 9mm. He said something to the extent that people might fun of the size of the caliber but, he said "When I put two in your chest and one in your head that might change your mind". It was something like that. Now I can't disagree with that. On the other hand one "hydro Shok" 9mm in the heart...your done.
One .45 "Hydro Shok" in the "central body mass"...you are toast also.
I can't comment on the .40 cuz I know nothing about them. I just thought about something, Do they still make those 10mm pieces of crap?
One .45 "Hydro Shok" in the "central body mass"...you are toast also.
I can't comment on the .40 cuz I know nothing about them. I just thought about something, Do they still make those 10mm pieces of crap?
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HuntMQ1... 1 center mass & it's a done deal. The hand-cannon only comes out after the 12ga. pump is on empty. :thumbsup:
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shock, i love the 1911 i have to. there are few guns out there that are as accurate. pure tack drivers, and that is before you start the mentioned customizations. the only problem is the size of a 1911, it can be concealed, just not very easily. as far as the 9mm goes, i am going only on what i have seen. 3 seperate times i have seen footage/pictures where people have been shot (1 through the heart at point blank range, autopsy showed) and haven't gone down for several minutes. to get technical about it, a .22 can be lethal, everyone knows that. where i am referring to the 9mm round lacking is the "knock-down" power or kinetic energy that you get from the round. a .40 or .45 delivers a lot more punch. sure you can kill someone with a 9mm but not all of us are navy seals and can shoot that accurately under pressure. just trying shooting IDPA. you'd be surprised how much that gets you adrenaline going.
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ShrpShtr, The 1911 is very easy to conceal with it's slim profile, much thinner than many models of pistols, if it's too long, look into a commander length model. Thats just me though. In regards to "knockdown power" Everyone will react different to being shot, some hyped up maniac might make it a few steps before he stops, regardless of what he gets hit with. I'm not advocating ant particular combo here, but if the guy likes and shoots well with a particular pistol, saying it wouldn't be adequate because it's a 9mm is foolish.
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foolish? i don't see how giving my opinion about something is foolish. is it foolish just because you don't agree with it? if that is the case, it doesn't make it foolish, it just means we disagree. now, IMO, foolish would be if he didn't consider the inadequacies of the 9mm round now that i have presented a legitimate concern about it. they have been well documented and a quick google search will reveal more information that just about anyone would want to read on the topic.shocktroop said:
i am not big on the commander length. there isn't a significant enough difference between that and the full size to make it easier to conceal in my opinion. again, in a concealed carry situation, i choose the glock. i have shot many different 1911's and at 1 time or another there have been FTF's for various different reasons, EVEN on the LES BAER models. however, i have shot @ least 30,000 rounds through my glock 23 .40s&w and yet to have had a reliability problem. just my experience with each of the models.
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Well, we definately disagree to some extent. Me personally, I'd trust my life with quality 9mm ammo. I'm a 1911 guy through and through, but don't believe it's the cure-all or miracle round as there are many other answers out there, BUT.....in this case, it doesn't matter what you or I prefer, it's the gentleman who started this thread, who will be making those choices for his own use. The topic of .45 vs 9mm is an age old debate, older than you and I put together, if nothing has been proven or settled or scenario-hacked with "what if's" for ever, I doubt we'd figure out anything new right now. I say the best answer to this is "To each his own"
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