Pistol you want

[Anonymous]

Reaqquiring of your target during rapid firing is a issue as well. Hard to do when your pistol bounces all over the place like some of the magnum rounds.

 

[dun]

There's a reason most police issue weapons are either 9mm or .40. Recoil vs stopping power is a huge consideration as is price of ammo and gvt contract prices on the weapon itself.

Lot of truth in that statement I would rather hit once with a 22 than miss with a 44 mag.
With today's ammo you can find a very effective self defense load in most calibers using Speer Gold Dot or Corbon.
Always prefered 44 special in a wheel gun usually carry a 1911 in 9mm,38 super, or 45 ACP for concealed carry.

In a smiauto I prefer the 40 S&W. In the Star Firestar it actually seems to get back on target faster then most 9s, especially compact 9s.
I remember when the FBI and S&W came out with the 40. The "in crowd" called it the 10 weak".
If I wanted to shoot a hot 10 I'ld just would have stayed with the Coonan 357 mag. The 357 Desert eagle was just too darn bulky. Not that the Coonan was a sveldt piece.

 

[haase]

Just ordered a Taurus 40 cal pistol for the same reason, recoil and like Dun said ,seems to get back on target faster.

 

[TexasBred]

Video of "Bullet Effects".


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=462_1306094689

 

[gimpyrancher]

There's a reason most police issue weapons are either 9mm or .40. Recoil vs stopping power is a huge consideration as is price of ammo and gvt contract prices on the weapon itself.

Hard argument on two fronts. Remember the coverage of the bank robbers in So Cal that were wearing body armor and it took a very long time to stop and a thousand or more rounds before it was over? Remember LEO ran down to a local gun shop and "borrowed" M-16 style weapons? Those rounds also bounced off the body armor. Hundreds of our best officers in harm's way. Many civilians also under fire. I would have gone into that gun shop and borrowed one 45/70 and two rounds. It would have been game over then and there. It would have picked them up and slammed them into the first solid object, even if you only winged 'em.

Secondly, what LEOs prefers, is perfect for the regular problem that they find. But why do most of us need 16 or 17 round clips? I personally like the idea of a smaller weapon that I can conceal easily. Even if it has only 6 or so bullets. The guns LEO carry are also much more comfortable when you also have a John Brown belt. Again, not what I would usually wear. :hide:

 

[Anonymous]

I agree, but a lot of the officers I know also have assault rifles in their trunks and shot guns in the cab. Different gun different use. 90% of the time a handgun will accomplish what they need to do and to that end shot acquisition after the first is a huge consideration.

 

[gimpyrancher]

Just remember, the pistols didn't help. Their shotguns didn't help. Even the assault rifles didn't help that day. Few but some brass had them in their cars. They borrowed more. Understanding a little more would have helped a bunch. Even a 30.06 would have been more effective that day. .300 Mag would have been another 2 shot stop that day. A heavy round sometimes is the only answer. What I'm saying is when they went to borrow weapons, they could have made a much better choice under the circumstances. It would have saved more life and limb. Now I think things are different. We have more SWAT members. They have some better and heavier guns. Today, things would end differently because we have more.

 

[Anonymous]

All LE agencies across the board learned something that day. To the best of my knowledge there hasn't been incident quite like that since. I agree there is nothing that can compare to downrange energy, but 99.99% of the time shot placement trumps all else

 

[gimpyrancher]

:tiphat: Thinking back to 1991, locally we had the The Good Guys Hostage debacle. A group of criminals took a bunch of shoppers hostage. Three Hostages were killed when LEO stormed the store. One of two shoppers with smaller guns that were easily concealable would have changed everything. As it was, they were tied up and put in front of the windows. When LEO raided the place, the bad guys ran down the line of hostages and shot them as he passed.

I want the cops to guns with a hundred rounds when I need their help. But if it's left to me, I gotta go with something small but deadly. I still love the idea of getting a Judge in 45/410. I want a chance to save myself, not the world. :banana:

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed. That's why I think the 40 has gained so much popularity. More stopping power and higher capacity. I was looking for a full size 45 or 40 when I ran across a private party 9 that was priced extremely good. Couldn't pass it up but would still like to have the 1911 45 and the kimber 40

 

[gimpyrancher]

I have an old S&W I think it's a model 59. Straight stacked clips. I think it holds 8-9 9s. A small frame is what I like to keep for traveling. Used to have a Ruger 92s. Just didn't need that much ammo. My favorite carry in my business life was my 22Mag 2 shot derringer. I didn't deal in any cash so it's all I needed.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Agreed. That's why I think the 40 has gained so much popularity. More stopping power and higher capacity. I was looking for a full size 45 or 40 when I ran across a private party 9 that was priced extremely good. Couldn't pass it up but would still like to have the 1911 45 and the kimber 40

Main reason I carry a 1911 is I can get it in different rounds and not have to change format. Secondly Dun and only a few others will remember when you could go to the Army Navy store and buy the mil surplus they were selling off. Be a wash tub full of them to pick through.
You can't wear the damn things out. But my generation grew up with the 1911 as our Dad's were returning from WWII.
Now I don't want a Kimber I want a sloppy Mil Spec drop it in the mud and it comes up running.

 

[Calman]

The 1911 mil spec is one of the most dependable weapon the military ever had.( my opinion) It has been tested through several war's and in all kinds of conditions.I myself have tested it in the harsh and wet jungles and can never remember a misfire.As CB said it has a loose sloppy action which would let it fire even full of dirt water or sand. If you picked it up and shook it and you heard it rattle like a part was loose inside you knew it was ready for action.And also the 45 cal round is going to do some damage to a person no mater where you hit them.
Now this is just my experience and thoughts.
The m1911 was introduced to the military in the year 1911 and is still in use by some of the Special Operations units,and still carried by some law officials.

Cal

 

[KenB]

There's a reason most police issue weapons are either 9mm or .40. Recoil vs stopping power is a huge consideration as is price of ammo and gvt contract prices on the weapon itself.

Hard argument on two fronts. Remember the coverage of the bank robbers in So Cal that were wearing body armor and it took a very long time to stop and a thousand or more rounds before it was over? Remember LEO ran down to a local gun shop and "borrowed" M-16 style weapons? Those rounds also bounced off the body armor. Hundreds of our best officers in harm's way. Many civilians also under fire. I would have gone into that gun shop and borrowed one 45/70 and two rounds. It would have been game over then and there. It would have picked them up and slammed them into the first solid object, even if you only winged 'em.

A well placed head shot would have done the job. Probably a .22 well aimed would have worked.

Secondly, what LEOs prefers, is perfect for the regular problem that they find. But why do most of us need 16 or 17 round clips? I personally like the idea of a smaller weapon that I can conceal easily. Even if it has only 6 or so bullets. The guns LEO carry are also much more comfortable when you also have a John Brown belt. Again, not what I would usually wear. :hide: