Favorite pistol cartridge (308, Winchester, deer, loaded)

[kickinit]

I would choose 40 caliber. But I have to say shooting 44 magnum is the most fun! (Kind of scary too!)

[lifelongMOgal]

There is no magic caliber; shot placement is everything.

[Chemistry_Guy]

I like a lot of calibers for different purposes, but for fun I think my favorite is the 7.62x25 Tokarev. For carry I like .357 magnum or .38+P in a revolver with a heavy double action trigger. I like being able to tell, at a glance, if the weapon is loaded. If I was a police officer I would want the autoloader with the highest capactity possible.

[dragonsong]

I like the .40 cal mostly for the take down power it has, I use a 180 grain , but for every 11 rounds I place 1 Fang round , it travels at about 700 fps and explodes on impact.
I use these at work, then again if I need more than 1 or 2, maybe 3 rounds at the most, then I'm in a world of hurt.
Good luck to all of you out there that carry your hand guns for any reason, be safe.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by Tin Knocker

What kind of gun is it you are thinking of converting? I'd imagine you'll need different springs or maybe a heavier slide going from 9 to 357 Sig...

I have a Ruger Police Carbine in 9mm, the also came in .40. These were designed to use the Ruger pistol magazines. Renamed a few months later, then discontinued all together.
I figured I would use a .40 bolt for retraction. The rifle seems so weak in 9mm I figured it would get a boost out of .357 sig. At this point I think I will sell it rather than waste the time having it altered.

Originally Posted by Tin Knocker

Most pistol calibers seem weak compared to revolver cartridges. Theres a trade off..

That was why I asked about the .357. You mentioned favorite as .357 in a pistol. Did not know if that was a typo or you had a desert eagle in 357. Not getting picky, just hard to know on line. Darn internet getting in the ways of good gun chat

[chucksnee]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I have a Ruger Police Carbine in 9mm, the also came in .40. These were designed to use the Ruger pistol magazines. Renamed a few months later, then discontinued all together.

How about a 9mm....40...or a .45 in a nice little compact carbine...

Hi-Point Firearms: 9mm Carbines

No hate....

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by chucksnee

Since there was going to be a lot of controversy in my last thread about a pistol and caliber....

Lets have it here,.....tell me what and why you think you caliber is better....

I have pointed out one occasion that a 9mm has better ballistics all around than the .45.............

You can bring up you custom loads if you would like but please explain that first....

Lets keep it civil and no bashing because you don't like what someone else says....

I like the 9mm, nothing wrong with it...can be reloaded for better performance, not a lot of kick....

I would need a database to track all the different pistol and revolver calibers I shoot! What do you mean by "best"?

For a more or less full sized auto pistol, for self-defense against 2-legged varmints, I am really OK with the .45 ACP, in a 1911. This is because for me it's easy to hit with as well as striking a decisive blow.

But if you like a .40 in a Glock better, there is not likely to be much difference in effect.

If you prefer a revolver, a .357 or .44 Special would be very much in the same class as the .45ACP.

To me, the 9mm comes into it's own in the very small pocket pistols where your other choices are .380, .32, etc.

Of course I'm talking about defensive use above, for hunting since I have a "Dirty Harry" Model 29, why wouldn't I use that - maybe with a full load, maybe with a slightly reduced load, probably with a cast bullet.

For fun, I like to break out my American Eagle .30 Luger, my Officer's Model Heavy Barrel Match in .35 S&W, or my old Colt .32 Pocket Model - all 3 will shoot "minute of beer bottle" out to 40 yards anyway. The little Colt is quite challenging with it's tiny sights and rather heavy trigger, but if I do my part it does it's. Cast bullet handloads in all these. The Officer's Model is a real peach - big old adjustable sights, a single action trigger pull that would do credit to a varmint rifle, very little recoil, excellent intrinsic accuracy. The old .45 Colt in a SAA, or my 38-40 Bisley, are fun too. The .45 would be OK for combat use provided I can get'er done with 5 or 6 shots.

Mo Girl makes a good point about placement, and to the extent that a miss does not accomplish anything, you have to use something you can hit with. But, DVC, right - accuracy, power, and speed are all important, if you are badly lacking in any one - it's like a 3-legged stool - break any leg and it falls over just the same...

More important than choice of caliber of course is what Uncle Jeff called "combat mindset" - but I am starting to veer a bit off topic...

[chucksnee]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

I would need a database to track all the different pistol and revolver calibers I shoot! What do you mean by "best"?

For a more or less full sized auto pistol, for self-defense against 2-legged varmints, I am really OK with the .45 ACP, in a 1911. This is because for me it's easy to hit with as well as striking a decisive blow.

But if you like a .40 in a Glock better, there is not likely to be much difference in effect.

If you prefer a revolver, a .357 or .44 Special would be very much in the same class as the .45ACP.

To me, the 9mm comes into it's own in the very small pocket pistols where your other choices are .380, .32, etc.

Of course I'm talking about defensive use above, for hunting since I have a "Dirty Harry" Model 29, why wouldn't I use that - maybe with a full load, maybe with a slightly reduced load, probably with a cast bullet.

For fun, I like to break out my American Eagle .30 Luger, my Officer's Model Heavy Barrel Match in .35 S&W, or my old Colt .32 Pocket Model - all 3 will shoot "minute of beer bottle" out to 40 yards anyway. The little Colt is quite challenging with it's tiny sights and rather heavy trigger, but if I do my part it does it's. Cast bullet handloads in all these. The Officer's Model is a real peach - big old adjustable sights, a single action trigger pull that would do credit to a varmint rifle, very little recoil, excellent intrinsic accuracy. The old .45 Colt in a SAA, or my 38-40 Bisley, are fun too. The .45 would be OK for combat use provided I can get'er done with 5 or 6 shots.

Mo Girl makes a good point about placement, and to the extent that a miss does not accomplish anything, you have to use something you can hit with. But, DVC, right - accuracy, power, and speed are all important, if you are badly lacking in any one - it's like a 3-legged stool - break any leg and it falls over just the same...

More important than choice of caliber of course is what Uncle Jeff called "combat mindset" - but I am starting to veer a bit off topic...

Mitch, In never said "best"...you did...unless you did not quote me exactly...better is not the same as"best."

You have a lot of experience in hand guns....that is obvious to me...you are quoting cartridges I have not heard of....but verified...

[M3 Mitch]

Well just start handloading, Chuck, and join the "gun of the month" club like I did when I lived near Denver....you'll soon be as bad as I am...!

Crap, typo - it's .32 S&W, not .35 S&W!

Like I am always sayin' in reference to shooting - it's not the arrow, it's the Indian - a shooter with a good 9mm using good ammo, or a good handload, with a premium bullet, with a good blend of speed and accuracy in technique, and most importantly sure of their ground, with a proper combat mindset, is better off than a less skilled operator with a technially better weapon.

If you are not up to casting your own bullets and all that for minimum-cost plinking with centerfires, a good .22 rimfire or two is always a good choice for plinking. Plinking a lot is a good low-stress, fun way to get better at shooting, not just handguns but shotguns and rifles as well.

[Tin Knocker]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I have a Ruger Police Carbine in 9mm, the also came in .40. These were designed to use the Ruger pistol magazines. Renamed a few months later, then discontinued all together.
I figured I would use a .40 bolt for retraction. The rifle seems so weak in 9mm I figured it would get a boost out of .357 sig. At this point I think I will sell it rather than waste the time having it altered.


That was why I asked about the .357. You mentioned favorite as .357 in a pistol. Did not know if that was a typo or you had a desert eagle in 357. Not getting picky, just hard to know on line. Darn internet getting in the ways of good gun chat

Ok, for some reason I was thinking you were talking about a handgun. The cartridges designed for auto pistols gain little from a longer barrel because they were designed around a short barrel pistol & functionability in those pistols. For the most part they use up most of their energy before the bullet exits a pistol barrel and theyre not big enough to use more of a slower powder and be handloaded to take advantage of a carbine barrel.
About the only real benefit will be acuracy with maybe a hundred or 2 FPS more at most, probably less. I supose its a good thing they cant be loaded up much for a carbine anyway because then thay load wouldn't perform well & might even be unsafe in a pistol, and sooner or later they will end up in one.

Kel Teck makes an interesting carbine, Marlin used to have a Camp 9 & Camp 45 but like Ruger they stopped.

You might be interested in a Ruger deerfield carbine I think they called them. They are discontinued I believe but were a semi auto 44 mag carbine. Early ones were tube fed & later they had a 4 round rotary mag similar to a 10/22. Very nice compact & powerful package.

The revolver cartridges dont suffer the same limitations as the auto pistol calibers and definately benefit from a longer barrel. Plus if you reload you can get even more out of them useing slower powders that can boost velocity without increasing pressure because a longer barrel keeps the pressure behind the bullet longer. I forget if you reload. Even factory ammo in this case shows alot of increase over a revolver. I was getting over 1700fps from my Marlin 357 carbine with Federal 158 grain SP ammo. Never chronied it from a revolver but it was probably 1100fps or 1200 fps. Handloading I can get a 158 moving around 2000fps & thats aproaching 30/30 power. Since revolvers dony use the burning gasses & pressure for anything except pushing a bullet they have much greater functional extremes than semi autos do. Also since they are stronger than most semi autos & dont use the pressure to function its no big deal if you load one you made for a carbine into a revolver. I try to keep the same loads for both revolver & carbine in most cases but useing cast bullets I cant due to bore variations between my Marlin rifles & Ruger revolvers, but the worst that can happen is a leaded barrel & crappy group. I do have pretty hot loads meant for the rifles only but they are fine in the revolvers too, they just lose alot of velocity because the barrels arent long enough for all the powder to burn before the bullet is gone, but pressure wise theyre as safe as anything else.