| User: Bob C |
| I prefer .45 acp or .44 magnum or special myself but, I own some 9 mm parabellum, 9 mm makarov pistols, .38/.357 revolvers and carry them occasionally with no doubt in my mind that I can totally incapasitate an assailant with either. |
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| User: specialforces_bassist |
| glock shoots fast, thats about it. 9mm doesn't have alot of stopping power compared to a 40 or 45 |
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| User: Doc Hudson |
| The 9 mmP and the .38 S&W SPL are pretty much equal in stopping power. Some 9mmP loads have more stopping power than the .38, and some .38 S&W SPL loads have more power than the 9 mmP.
You just have to decide if you prefer high capacity, or compact concealability to decide which you prefer. I'd rather have a .38 SPL or a .357 Magnum in a small frame concealment revolver than a 9 mmP.
The .40 S&W is supposed to have more stopping power than the 9 mmP, but I'd still prefer a .357 magnum revolver over the .38-40 ACP (aka .40 S&W).
Doc |
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| User: John Doe |
| A 9mm is the minimum you should use to drop someone. I like Glocks, but the 9mm just isn't powerful enough for me. Go .45's and up. If someone has a vest, the 9 probably won't go through it. |
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| User: Cubby |
| I prefer a .357!
The only good thing about a semi-auto is that you can throw a lot of bullets at someone to get the job done. 9 mm will stop someone if you hit them in the right spot or hit them enough times.
The adrelin in a crazed or hopped up person on dope is hard to stop. I've seem a person shot 6 times with a 9 mm still get to the shooter and do some harm.
If you want a semi-auto go with the .40.You will at least have a chance |
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| User: chilln |
| The glock-26 loaded with gold dot +p is the gun I have in place for my wife and daughter for defense. I don't like glocks, but I would trust my life to it. |
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| User: john r |
| Most people consider the .38 Special and 9mm at the lower end of serious defense cartridges. The 9mm is okay IF you use the best ammo. There are 9mm +P+ loads available now that develop 1400 fps with a 115 grain hollowpoint bullet. FMJ loads are not for defense, especially in 9mm. A .40 is better, and .45 is better still. |
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| User: b.jeanguy |
| Depends who or what you want to stop. A 38 is obsolete.. A9mm will kill a human beeing at 50 yards. Maybe buy a 357 magnum wich allows you to also shoot 38 cal. bullets. |
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| User: CIH(Ret) |
| I don't think the 9mm parabellum has sufficient stopping power to be a good personal protection handgun. The bullet is a high velocity bullet that has over penetration problems. The .40 is not a real man stopper either. Of the three calibers that you asked about, the .38 Special would be the best choice for a man stopper. If I wanted a .38 Special revolver, I would opt for a .357 mag. That way, you would be able to shoot either the .38 Special rounds in it or the .357 mag rounds. When carrying it for self protection, I recommend the Glazer ammo. It has excellent stopping power and will not be as inclined to ricochet when striking a hard surface. This is an important safety factor to keep in mind. |
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| User: redfish hunter |
| get a .40 SIG SAUER |
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| User: Zach |
| A 9mmP would do just fine. Police officers usually don't carry a weapon that is 9mmP or less, because its a rather small gun.
Unless you need to kill someone/thing in one shot, use the 9mmP.
Generally you don't want to kill your assailent, because the only legal way to inflict pain on someone is if they are inflicting pain on you, and even in that case, you need to inflict as LITTLE physical damage as possible.
But when it comes down to it, 9mmP will work fine to incompacitate an assailent, and if needed can kill with several shots. |
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| User: dca2003311@yahoo.com |
| NO the best choice for your purpose is a 357 Magnum.* It is a tried, true, tested and proven one (1)* shot no nonsense man stopper.* Use hollow points for self defense ammo.* |
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| User: pathfinder |
| My preference is the .40 S&W. It is a mite slower than the 9mm Luger, but it makes up for it n energy transferred to the target. My recommendation would be the full size Glock model 22. The compact model 23 isn't that much more concealable. |
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| User: redneck |
| the 9mm has good stopping power at close range but if u think that u will be shooting at a long rang get the 40m but i would get a 45m because it has stopping power at close and long range. |
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| User: H |
| With the proper defensive ammo, yes. The 9mm needs velocity to perform. The best defensive ammo for this round is the 115 to 127 grain jacketed hollow-point. Forget the ball ammo. Forget the subsonic rounds and forget the 147 grain hollow-point that some try to compare to the .45 acp (to 'prove' that the .45 is superior).
The only reason to get a .38 Special over a 9mm is if you just prefer the revolver. Or, you can do like I did. I got the .38 Super (a Colt Commander Lightweight 1911). With Cor Bon ammo it approaches .357 Mag. performance.
H
H |
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| User: FishSteelhead |
| Stoppin' power ay'. If it be for home protection I would suggest a .45 cal ACP ~ just my opinion ;)... < ' (( ( >< |
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| User: roger c |
| Go with the .40 , .357 , .45, or my personal favorite a 44 Mag.
I have a smith an wesson 22A target pistol that I can drop a person with one shot with only because it's so accurate , but for true self defense go with the ones listed above.
auto's: ruger, sig, glock, beretta
revolvers: smith, taurus, ruger
Good luck , most of all get something that fits you like a glove , don't get a 10lb 44 mag if you cant handle it because you will never be able to shoot it accurately enough to do nothing but scare someone, however a nice 22 lr that fits good and you can handle well will be a much better choice in that scenario, now im not saying go get a 22lr just get what works for you. |
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| User: edison_math |
| Stopping power isn't about power at all. It is about putting your bullet in the intended spot. The 9mm will work but it is not the best projectile out there for this purpose. The first choice for most is the 45 ACP. It has the most weight and the biggest frontal area. The 40 S&W has less weight and less frontal area, but it makes up for most of that with speed and less recoil. You need to shoot all 3 calibers and go with the biggest one that you feel comfortable with. Because it doesn't matter how big the bullet is if you can't hit what your aiming at. Good luck....... |
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| User: GGG |
| Get the 9MM...... Please pay no mind to all these armchair gun experts......... A 9MM is lethal..... You pop somebody with a 9mm and they are dead, dead, dead and thats it.... case closed.. Sure the .45 has a little more knock down power then the 9MM but guess what - he aint any deader!! Some say the .357 has more power --- guess again - the 9mm will make whomever your shooting at just as dead!!!...... Then again if you throw a carpenters hammer full force at someones head - um-huh, there dead too.. I dont know why the 9 gets such a bad rap.... well ok maybe it didnt go thru a home assailants belt buckle that good but a 2nd shot makes them dead....... AND GUESS what? After you buy a 9MM you will find the ammo is cheap cheap cheap in bulk lots!! Yup - dats right - you get lots of practice time in without emptying your wallet out...... I ALWAYS say to people - STOP getting so hung up on the weapon and practice a lot with what you have.... I'm more afraid of an expert marksman pointing a .22 at me than some gang banger with a .50 caliber Desert Eagle.... Buy a quality 9 and dont give it a thought!! |
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| User: sureshot649 |
| yes they are, provided you're using quality JHP. Either a 123gr +P or a 147gr round is recommended. DON'T listen to anyone who says to use the lighter grain 9mm(for self-defense). Sure they have more velocity, but they also get stopped easier in the body, and you wanna make sure the bullet reaches their vital organs. A heavy round retains it's velocity better.
Practice with light-grain rounds, defend yourself with heavy grain. Plus, 9mm is almost half as expensive as .40/.45, so you can get ALOT more practice in. Practice=life-insurance. While you're at it, get a .22lr conversion kit too so you can get a shit-ton of practice in...
The.38 has issues in anything but it's best loads.
The .40 is a solution looking for a problem, IMO.
The .45 is a better round than the 9mm, IF YOU DO YOUR PART. I prefer the 9mm for quicker follow up shots, BUT if you're confident you'll only need a few shots, and you KNOW you can deliver them accurately under stress, go for the .45; otherwise, 9mm.
Glock 19 ftw..
Oh, and dca: The .357 is a "one-shot-stopper" huh? What about the Florida State Trooper who shot a perp five times in the chest at close range with a .357 without killing him, but got killed when the perp shot him once with a .22lr pistol?? |
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