The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Whats your favorite caliber between...9mm...40..and 45 ??

1031 · July 16, 2001, 03:17 PM

Sometimes I fear for people that put so much faith in the .45.
What are they going to do when they face a determined attacker and put 5 rounds of .45 into him and he keeps coming? In their vision of the .45 they see the guy falling quickly to their mighty .45 and they will be very shocked when that does not happen. There are plenty of accounts of bad guys soaking up many rounds of .45 just like other calibers, and plenty stories of dogs and such that reacted no differently to being shot by a .45 than a 9mm or any other.
At least people that carry a 9mm realize that it is not the hammer of Thor and they may need many shots and good placement (and time for the BG to bleed) to win.
I wonder about .45 lovers though, who seem to be delusional enough about the .45 to think that because it knocks over a steel plate it is going to knock down a person.

Study up all you can about all the calibers and their history of effectiveness, and what makes them effective, and you soon find out that they all work about the same.

It is better to go into combat realizing that it may take several good shots, and time for bleeding out, for the BG to drop, than to go in overconfident with a .45 and think that you are going to hit the BG once with your mighty hammer of Thor and he is going to fall over.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and realize that a BG can just as easily soak up 7 rounds of .45 and keep coming as he can soak up 7 rounds of 9mm and keep coming.

I am realistic enough to know that no matter what caliber I carry, bad guys travel in packs, I am not a perfect shot, and sometimes they take several bullets each to drop. If nothing else, do the math and carry adequate ammo, whatever caliber you carry.

Sidenote: modern stats for average number of shots a person fires in a defensive shooting is between 9 and 13. The old saying that "the average number of shots fired is 2 or 3 so I have plenty of ammo in my gun" is wrong! That average is only that low if you consider suicides which are one shot per incident.

July 16, 2001, 03:17 PM	#17
1031 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2001 Location: SW USA Posts: 163	Sometimes I fear for people that put so much faith in the .45. What are they going to do when they face a determined attacker and put 5 rounds of .45 into him and he keeps coming? In their vision of the .45 they see the guy falling quickly to their mighty .45 and they will be very shocked when that does not happen. There are plenty of accounts of bad guys soaking up many rounds of .45 just like other calibers, and plenty stories of dogs and such that reacted no differently to being shot by a .45 than a 9mm or any other. At least people that carry a 9mm realize that it is not the hammer of Thor and they may need many shots and good placement (and time for the BG to bleed) to win. I wonder about .45 lovers though, who seem to be delusional enough about the .45 to think that because it knocks over a steel plate it is going to knock down a person. Study up all you can about all the calibers and their history of effectiveness, and what makes them effective, and you soon find out that they all work about the same. It is better to go into combat realizing that it may take several good shots, and time for bleeding out, for the BG to drop, than to go in overconfident with a .45 and think that you are going to hit the BG once with your mighty hammer of Thor and he is going to fall over. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and realize that a BG can just as easily soak up 7 rounds of .45 and keep coming as he can soak up 7 rounds of 9mm and keep coming. I am realistic enough to know that no matter what caliber I carry, bad guys travel in packs, I am not a perfect shot, and sometimes they take several bullets each to drop. If nothing else, do the math and carry adequate ammo, whatever caliber you carry. Sidenote: modern stats for average number of shots a person fires in a defensive shooting is between 9 and 13. The old saying that "the average number of shots fired is 2 or 3 so I have plenty of ammo in my gun" is wrong! That average is only that low if you consider suicides which are one shot per incident.