Best Defensive Handgun Caliber
It is a reasonable concern. If someone is planning on arming themselves with a handgun for self defense, they will want to buy what will be the most effective. this is the most common question that is put to me.
The answer is: It depends.
I’m not trying to dodge the question, or weasel out of it in some way. It is just that everyone is different. Everyone has a different threshold for noise, recoil, and the weight of the gun itself. And, of course, the size of your hands will determine how large a gun you can comfortably use. Since the single most significant factor in ending a violent encounter is through correct bullet placement, it is vital that everyone understands their own limits and preferences, and chooses a gun around them.
For new shooters, those who have very limited knowledge of the technical side of this hobby of ours, I always suggest that they choose a handgun chambered for one of the cartridges on the list below. In the interests of standardization, all data is taken from the ballistic tables of Winchester Silvertips loaded to standard pressure.
.380 ACP (Auto) 189 Ft/lbs
.38 Special (Revolver) 218 Ft/lbs
9mm Parabellum (Auto) 383 Ft/lbs
.45 ACP (Auto) 411 Ft/lbs
.357 Magnum (Revolver) 535 Ft/lbs
There are a few things that should jump out at anyone with a working familiarity of firearms. The first is that the list is very short, with only 5 calibers included. This is because I want to limit myself to the most common cartridges that are still potent enough to be used for defense. Walk into any gun shop, general store, or hardware store with a gun counter in the United States, and you will almost certainly be able to find that they stock ammo from the list above.
The second aspect that attracts your attention might be that the list is split between autoloaders and revolvers. There should be something for everyone to choose from, no matter their preferences.
What is that, you say? There are three cartridges for autoloaders listed, while only two for revolvers made the cut? That is true, but I like to count the .357 Magnum twice since guns chambered for that particular caliber can also chamber and fire .38 Special cartridges. Buy a .357 and it is like you have two guns in one!
But, before the choice is made, the new shooter has to understand how shooting an attacker will end the fight. Bullets stop violent criminals from carrying out their vile errands in one of three ways. This is through crush damage, blood loss, and shock.
Crush damage is the part of the body that is directly in the path of the bullet, and it produces instant and dramatic results. If the femur in a criminal’s upper thigh is broken by a lucky shot, then he won’t be able to chase after his victims. The problem is that it is well nigh impossible to make such precise bullet placement in the terror and swirl of combat. Still, it is best to choose a handgun that is powerful enough to break bones if any should be struck. All of the choices above will do the job, although it is usually best to choose something with more power than with less.
So why don’t I just recommend that everyone use .357 Magnums, the most powerful cartridge listed? Because many people find the noise and recoil to be more than they are comfortable with. Since bullet placement is so important, it is best to choose the most powerful gun that can be handled effectively, not to simply go with something that has the biggest bang.
Blood loss is another factor that ends the fight, and it is the most common reason why a violent attacker will break off their attack. Larger calibers have the decided edge in this regard, because larger holes punched in the criminal will allow more blood to escape, and at a faster rate, than smaller holes. The .45 ACP cartridge has a well deserved reputation as an effective self defense tool because it fires a respectably large bullet.
So why don’t I just tell new students to buy .45’s and be done with it? For the same reason why I don’t insist that they use .357 Magnums. The .45 is a respectable and respected cartridge, it is true, but it also produces a fair amount of recoil as well. Many people find the muzzle flip that is produced by a .45 to be alarming, preventing them from making quick and precise follow up shots.
Besides, many handguns chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge are rather large and heavy. Such large guns might be too much for people with small hands, or who have a smaller stature.
Shock is the third way to ensure that a violent attack ends quickly. Shock is most commonly produced when the vital organs are disrupted, and are prevented from working. This means that one should choose a handgun that has enough penetration to reach the organs nestled inside of the upper torso, and all of the calibers in the list above will do the job.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the internal organs found in the upper chest area is where a great deal of the blood supply is pumped during a fight. Firing a bullet into these organs will not only bring about shock, but it will also result in the greatest amount of blood loss in the shortest amount of time. That is why I keep pointing out that well placed shots are the key to surviving a criminal attack. You want to aim for the bad guy’s upper chest area, and you want to accurately shoot that area as many times as possible in a short period of time. This is the best way to convince someone to stop trying to hurt you or your loved ones.
The best method to discover which gun is right for you is to take a gun safety class. Most instructors will have a small handgun collection that you can use during the live fire instruction, and it is a great way to get a grounding in basic safe gun handling techniques while still gaining valuable insight into your own preferences.
If the training class didn’t allow you to explore all the options, or if you just like to discover things on your own, then I suggest you find a shooting range in your area that has a selection of handguns for rent. You can spend an afternoon or two trying out the various guns to narrow down your choice. Autoloader or revolver, large gun or small, Magnum or standard loads. See what you like best and act accordingly.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Interesting that the 9mm delivers almost as much energy as the .45 ACP. Maybe I ought to take the Kimber off the nightstand and replace it with the XDm. 20 rounds of 9mm is a lot of total energy.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
“Interesting that the 9mm delivers almost as much energy as the .45 ACP.”
I have noticed that it is common for fans of the .45 ACP to lump the .380 ACP, the .38 Special, and the 9mm Parabellum pretty much in the same category, so it is easy for people to get into the habit of doing the same.
Of course, any and all are effective for self defense.
August 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Biggest factor with .380, 9mm and .38, from what I’ve read, is the bullet; any of those with ball have lousy records as fight-stoppers, any of them with a premium hollowpoint… well, now, that’s a whole different critter.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:50 am
If I could toss in my two cents. The most often overlooked caliber for self defense that has very good ballistics is the .38 Super. Widely popular in Brazil and Central America this cartridge was the .357 before there was such a thing. The guns are not thought of frequent but they are around. Offering more foot lbs than standard .45 acp and faster velocities than the 9mm. Below are standard loads.
90 gr (5.8 g) JHP 1,557 ft/s (475 m/s) 485 ft·lbs
100 gr (6.5 g) FMJ 1,450 ft/s (440 m/s) 467 ft·lbs
115 gr (7.5 g) FMJ 1,395 ft/s (425 m/s) 497 ft·lbs
130 gr (8.4 g) FMJ 1,305 ft/s (398 m/s) 492 ft·lbs
150 gr (9.7 g) FMJ 1,148 ft/s (350 m/s) 439 ft·lbs
August 5th, 2009 at 1:13 am
“The most often overlooked caliber for self defense that has very good ballistics is the .38 Super.”
But it fails the test of being widely available here in the US. You aren’t going to find much .38 Super ammo at WalMart, for example.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
aaah duly noted.
Ironically the Wal-Mart near my house (in a large metropolitan area) actually did have .38 Super +P ammo this past spring when the ammo shortage hit its peak. .38 Super and .25 acp were the only thing on the shelf. Who would have figured that.
But I concur with you that its not going to be found in 90% of the box stores.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] I’m a big fan of the .22 LR cartridge, but only for training or hunting small game. So far as self defense is concerned, I’m afraid that it doesn’t even make the list. [...]
January 18th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
[...] that they zip right on through something as small as a human without doing enough damage. This post discusses 5 extremely common and popular calibers that will do the job. For someone starting out, choosing one of the loads on the list is probably your best bet until [...]
January 19th, 2010 at 1:07 am
*ahem!* No .40S&W??
January 19th, 2010 at 1:22 am
“*ahem!* No .40S&W??”
No, ‘fraid not. No 9×18mm Makarov, either.
A good case can be made for those two cartridges to be on the list, as well as a few others. They seem to fit the criteria, after all. You can find them in just about every gun store, there is a variety of different loads and bullet designs available for them, there are a variety of different handgun designs from different manufacturers available, etc. (Although the claim of a wide variety of different designs is sort of thin when it comes to the Makarov.)
But they aren’t! On the list! How can this be?
Note how the handling characteristics of each cartridge listed are different from the others. One of the things I was trying to do was present clear choices to the uninitiated. Each option is easy to distinguish from the others.
What is a .40 S&W? Well, it is sort of like a .45 ACP in performance and recoil, but it is fired from a gun that is sort of like a 9mm in size and feel. The Makrov is sort of like a 9mm in performance, while being launched from something that is sort of like a .380 in size and feel.
See what I mean?
February 13th, 2010 at 5:33 am
[...] before you .45 ACP fans start to send Emails, I am aware of the advantages of using a larger caliber. But this is where my comfort level lies, and it is what I’m going to go [...]
February 18th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
[...] I’ve been thinking a lot about what type of gun I’ll be using for self defense, and what caliber of ammunition I want that gun chambered in. I’m getting down to choice time — my CCW permit should be coming through in the next couple of weeks — and I want to make sure I’m concentrating most of my practice on the gun I’m going to be carrying. I’ll be writing up a post on the subject sometime in the next day or two, but in the meantime, here’s one from James Rummel. [...]
March 6th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
[...] year, I wrote a quick essay that discussed some readily available calibers that can be used for defense. It is a good starting point for new shooters, as any gun chambered for any one of those calibers [...]