#15
Post
by lrsrngr » Thu Aug 14, 2014 6:39 pm
A big consideration I have when looking at the 9mm, .40 and .45 choice is magazine capacity and the reason to pick one over the other.
Most semis come with high capacity magazine capability in other states. However, for legal carry in CA you can only have a 10 rounder. So, if you can bump up in caliber power/size and carry the max at 10, I would highly consider the .40 and .45 as winning the magazine capacity selection. You will find fewer .45 pistols that carry the full 10 rounds and the classic and still viable workhorse, the 1911, is usually an 8 round max with flush magazine fit. Sure you can get bigger magazines but in a single stack mag they will protrude from the handle of the pistol and are not practical for most situations. Comfort, familiarity and propose is a big consideration when you finally come to the point of shelling out the cash.
Look at how much the rounds cost to shoot. Are you going to shoot a lot, so much so that a couple of boxes/month are going to be too expensive? The 9 is the least expensive in most cases and it goes up from their in pretty much the order of .40 then .45 being most expensive. If you are looking for a self-defense pistol in urban terrain, the semis seem to be the best choice. If you are looking for personnel defense in an outdoor setting I think the .357 and .44 are both very good choices in a revolver (for recoil purposes you can shoot the .38 and .44 specials if you don't need full power all the time). Both semis and revolvers can overlap a purpose driven purchase but there are good reasons to go with a semi over a revolver and vice versa. You have chosen wisely in your approach to this topic and I think there is a good amount of advice given on this topic. Good going and as said earlier, keep us informed of your progress.
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