9mm or .45 ACP?

And this is my concealed carry when I carry a .45 - the Kimber Tactical Custom II with night sights. Mine has VZ Operator grips on it with low-profile bushings. Hasn't missed a beat yet.

I carry different things for different reasons. Although .45 is my traditional favorite, .380 and 9mm also fill a gap.

I carry my little Hellcat .380 most of the time. I can just grab it, throw it in my pocket holster and go. It is reliable and with Buffalo Bore +P, it's like having a 3/4 9mm, hehehe. In all seriousness, it's not as good as a 9mm, 40 or 45, but not as weak as people try to make it out to be.

If I am in shorts and a shirt I usually carry my standard Kel Tec PF 9mm. In this I use Hornady critical defence. My 9mm is light so these loads are snappy to say the least. No fun shooting this ammo at the range. I do however trust my life to these fine rounds.

I choose lower cost guns for everyday concealed carry for a reason. If the police take them, I am not out $500 or more. Of course each one has at least 1000 rounds through it reliably or I could not trust it.

Now if I can wear a windbreaker or other jacket I wear my XD 45 Tac 5" in a shoulder harness. It allows me to carry 17 rounds in the weapon and 13 more in each of the extra mags on the opposite shoulder. Standard Federal Hydroshocks are my round of choice. It's more cumbersome and a little heavy but nothing else is any better except maybe a .460 Rowland or .44 mag.

All the ammo I carry are factory hollow points as I don't reload. At the range it's all factory ball fmj ammunition.

I know I left out some details but they are not important. This is what I am comfortable with.

Have a good one.

Logicman said:

Another one of my concealed carry's is a Glock 19 9mm with the 'clipdraw'. With clipdraw you don't need a holster.

View attachment 67203338

Clipdraw can be found at clipdraw.com

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that gun is always ready to fire if its loaded. so does that warning require you carry the weapon with the chamber empty?

TurtleDude said:

that gun is always ready to fire if its loaded. so does that warning require you carry the weapon with the chamber empty?

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That's the only downside. But Clipdraw has two accessories to deal with that. One of them is an object placed behind the trigger that you can easily and quickly dislodge as you draw.

I carry it with no round in the chamber so I have to charge it. Not a bad idea anyway. They also make the 'Clipdraw' for other semis.

There should be a 3rd option - either one works just fine.

PoS said:

What's the best defensive round for pistols? Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the .45 ACP, sure, 9mm pistols generally hold more ammo, but unless youre fighting hordes of zombies/ bad guys then shot placement is preferable to number of rounds carried. The bigger the hole, the better the round. What say ye? :mrgreen:

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Thing is Most people will be able to shoot the 9mm better and shot placement beats all other factors. I love the .45 ACP, but only own one, the 9mm is also a good option, and the ammo is cheaper and can hold more rounds depending on the handgun, it is why I own three of them. People say the same about the .40 cal verses the 9mm, and the same hold true, and I have one of those also. Heck by your reasoning my .44 Mag is the perfect caliber, makes bigger holes than any of the others, thing is my Ruger Super Blackhawk is very hard to shoot for most people, it took me years to truly master it and I have been shooting for many many years. I would also add that the best weapon/caliber is the one you are most familiar and proficient with, meaning practice, practice, practice which means lots of ammo, which is not free, the larger the caliber the less likely one will shoot enough to master their firearm.

Unless an attacker is drug-crazed, it only takes one moderate-sized hole in their chest to discourage further aggression. I would rather have fifteen chances to punch that hole than six. If the attacker is drug-crazed, I would rather put a dozen good holes in them than three or four.

PoS said:

What's the best defensive round for pistols? Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the .45 ACP, sure, 9mm pistols generally hold more ammo, but unless youre fighting hordes of zombies/ bad guys then shot placement is preferable to number of rounds carried. The bigger the hole, the better the round. What say ye? :mrgreen:

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I'm a fan of power and the .45 beats 9mm. Although, total disclosure, I'm a rifle man. never cared much for handguns. But in all situations, it's SHOT PLACEMENT that matters most.