It's really a matter of personal preference, IMO. I own several .40's, one 9 mm (hasn't been shot in almost 20 years), an' wewontgothere .45's. If you make a SD gun purchase based on ammo price, IMO you're fooling yourself. This is something you ARE gonna have to bet your life on - so if you allow cost to factor in in any significant manner, you're simply saying you're safety isn't worth the cost. That is NOT meant as a "shot" at anyone, but as something to consider!!
The LE community went to 9mm's in a huge way years back - and learned the same lesson the US Military did back in the early 1900's with the .38 - it is NOT a manstopper, and someone with a bit of alcohol/drugs in their system can seemingly "ignore" the impact. Yeah - I know Europeans consider the 9mm an elephant gun, but IMO it's a good round, but not quite what is needed for the job. Beats a fist easily, but there are better choices.
The 9mm exodus from the LE community should (IMO) have been a warning sign to the many civilian owners that the round had been tried and found wanting. I've seen/read/talked with too many LEO's that have been involved with 9mm shootings to fully trust it.
Bear in mind that I carry a .380 as a backup - so I DO recognize that there's an arguement to be made for "better than nothing". If you say "Nothing else fits", I can understand - but I'll also (respectfully) say you may not have tried some of the alternatives available in the 40/45 genre. Like anything else, there's usually options to help fitment.
Take my wife - she has VERY small hands.....has shot 357/38's for years because that's what fit her hand. At the range last month or month before, I finally got her to try one of my .45's. She agreed that she liked it (and was dead-on with it), but it was obvious it was a tad large for her hands. Got a set of slim grips, put 'em on and she now loves to shoot the thing. She still prefers either her 38 or 380 to carry though - she's quite tiny (5', 105 lbs) and a 45 IS a lot for her to tote around. Nice thing is, she's finally comfortable with being able to pick up a .45 and let fly with it - so I feel a lot better if there's a SHTF situation.
Personally, I'm fine with whatever someone chooses to carry - it's their choice. I just hate the "cost" to become a factor, because you're betting your personal safety over a few cents. If it's THAT important, invest a few bucks and reload - THAT will pay big dividends in a VERY short time, and really let you explore what's out there! I stuffed about 1600 45's this weekend at a cost of about 10 cents/round (yeah - that's powder, primer, bullet AND case) - so THAT is where I prefer to save my costs!
BTW - [url]http://www.classifiercalc.com/misc_calcs/rc.php[/URL] is a neat site - plug in your component cost and it'll tell you your loaded round cost. Allows you to enter your costs as you buy it (per thousand, pound, grains per round, etc).
The LE community went to 9mm's in a huge way years back - and learned the same lesson the US Military did back in the early 1900's with the .38 - it is NOT a manstopper, and someone with a bit of alcohol/drugs in their system can seemingly "ignore" the impact. Yeah - I know Europeans consider the 9mm an elephant gun, but IMO it's a good round, but not quite what is needed for the job. Beats a fist easily, but there are better choices.
The 9mm exodus from the LE community should (IMO) have been a warning sign to the many civilian owners that the round had been tried and found wanting. I've seen/read/talked with too many LEO's that have been involved with 9mm shootings to fully trust it.
Bear in mind that I carry a .380 as a backup - so I DO recognize that there's an arguement to be made for "better than nothing". If you say "Nothing else fits", I can understand - but I'll also (respectfully) say you may not have tried some of the alternatives available in the 40/45 genre. Like anything else, there's usually options to help fitment.
Take my wife - she has VERY small hands.....has shot 357/38's for years because that's what fit her hand. At the range last month or month before, I finally got her to try one of my .45's. She agreed that she liked it (and was dead-on with it), but it was obvious it was a tad large for her hands. Got a set of slim grips, put 'em on and she now loves to shoot the thing. She still prefers either her 38 or 380 to carry though - she's quite tiny (5', 105 lbs) and a 45 IS a lot for her to tote around. Nice thing is, she's finally comfortable with being able to pick up a .45 and let fly with it - so I feel a lot better if there's a SHTF situation.
Personally, I'm fine with whatever someone chooses to carry - it's their choice. I just hate the "cost" to become a factor, because you're betting your personal safety over a few cents. If it's THAT important, invest a few bucks and reload - THAT will pay big dividends in a VERY short time, and really let you explore what's out there! I stuffed about 1600 45's this weekend at a cost of about 10 cents/round (yeah - that's powder, primer, bullet AND case) - so THAT is where I prefer to save my costs!
BTW - [url]http://www.classifiercalc.com/misc_calcs/rc.php[/URL] is a neat site - plug in your component cost and it'll tell you your loaded round cost. Allows you to enter your costs as you buy it (per thousand, pound, grains per round, etc).
.png)
