All Purpose Handgun Caliper

[Chard]

I wish I had the last seven minutes and twenty three seconds back of my life.

 

[uncle money bags]

What round/gun combo are you most effective employing? Any reliable platform shooting an effective cartridge will serve your needs but you need to find out which one you and yours can shoot/reload/clear malfunctions quick and well.

 

[criticalbass]

Understood, in the future I will not use marketing terms like "stopping power".. What I was trying to convey is there is a reason .22LR is not an acceptable CCW round. And since I'm trying to pick a single caliber to fill all handgun roles, lethality and efficiency matters..

Right now in my mind 9mm is winning because the round are slightly smaller and lighter, meaning I can carry more per magazine and save a few ounces while out hiking, and under normal circumstances they are cheaper..

However, every time I begin to lean towards a 9mm I get an image of a black bear or boar charging me on a hunting trip and thinking to myself.. "well damn, this little round isn't going to stop that thing!, why didn't a bring a sidearm with more stoppi....umm... Lethality!" :-)

Bullet selection is very important when dealing with animals which may dispute your place at the top of the foodchain. Heavy ball will stop big critters when hollowpoints will just really annoy them. That said, if you are going where hogs or bears are a real possibility, you need something designed to kill big critters. 9mm and .40 are designed to kill people. If I was going where the big bears are, a short shotgun loaded with 3 inch 12 ga Barnes slugs would be my choice. The Federal rep who was at H&H a few years ago told me their Barnes slug 3 inch 12 ga rounds would penetrae 48 inches of ballistic gel.

If I could have only one caliber, it would probably be the .40, and I'd just stay away from bears and hogs. When I go into hog country, I carry a Redhawk loaded with 300 grain jacketed solids.