The Incredible Shrinking Self-Defense Caliber

February 12, 2014 | Category: Dropped Shot | By: Michael Bane

Two interesting pieces from good friends of mine on the Internet this week. The first is from Kevin Creighton at Misfires & Light Strikes blog:

Am I the only one to notice a shift in the online gun world ever since the Glock 42 come out? It used to be ” 9mm is barely able to stop a rabid hamster, you need a pistol caliber that starts with a ’4′ to be safe.” Now that Glock has a mini .380 out, I’m seeing a lot more chatter about how with the right bullets (I’m a fan of Hornady XTP’s, myself), .380 ACP is a viable self-defense round.

Amazing how common sense changes once changes become more common…

The second comes from good friend Dave Spaulding on DRTV:

One of the “trends” crossing the internet is the “re-emergence” of the 9mm in law enforcement circles and any number of ex-spurts are adding their opinion to the fray. Much of this discussion is led by the FBI returning to the 9mm because they struggle with getting recruit agents through the firearms portion of the basic academy. Many laugh at this assertion as it was the FBI in the late 80’s and early 90’s that spearheaded the creation of the .40 via their “10mm lite” cartridge after the “failure” of the 9mm Silvertip in the famed Miami Shootout of 1986. Much was learned from this event and we are still learning, in this case it is that the .40 S&W cartridge can be tough to shoot due to the added slide velocity of the cartridge and the effects this has on the shooter via felt recoil. In the end, if you can’t hit your opponent quickly and repeatedly with a given handgun cartridge all of the on target power is for nothing.

In short, 9mm is emerging as the top defensive round. Dave and I have talked about this a lot over the years. I was trying to remember when I went from the .45 to the 9mm as my EDC cartridge…I think it was around 2005. I know in 2008 I got the Para Carry 9 LDA, which remains one of my all-tie favorite carry guns (note to self…ALWAYS buy lots and lots of magazines for obscure guns!). Before that I’d carried the STI LS9 a lot.

I went to the 9mm because my own thinking had shifted from the “one perfect shot” to “how many times can I hit the bad guy who wants to do me harm?” The more you move toward the “how many times…” the more 9mm makes sense.

I started thinking I was headed in the right direction when a good friend of mine, who was both a top gunsmith and one of those international high-risk executive protection specialists, mentioned to me that he had started carrying one of the little Kel-Tec 9mms. He paused after he told me, waiting for my derision. I told him I’d started carrying the LS9. “Really? Cool!” he said. “If you think about it, it makes more sense than a .45.”

As bullet technology has narrowed the gap between .45, .40 and 9mm, to me it makes so much more sense to be able to deliver the second, third or even fourth shot if necessary, and very quickly.

ADDENDUM from BreachBangClear: