One the staple questions of gun magazine readers and Internet gun
enthusiasts is, "What's the best caliber for self-defense?" I found
myself recently in a district attorney's office, chatting with the DA
and two of his investigators. The coats were off, and I noticed we were
each wearing different caliber pistols.
District Attorney Matt Bingham
was wearing Springfield Armory's neat little EMP, in a Fobus paddle
holster he could easily slip off his belt and lock in his desk. EMP
stands for Enhanced Micro Pistol, a scientifically size-reduced 1911
from the fertile mind of Springfield's chief gun designer, Dave
Williams. It's a sweet-shooting little thing, holds 10 rounds of 9mm
Parabellum, and conceals remarkably well. That last element is important
to someone like Matt, who has to keep his weapon discreetly concealed
under a business suit. While most prosecutors around the country are
authorized to carry guns, this fact is not widely known and armed
prosecutors sometimes "frighten the horses."
A gun-wise guy who has studied many shootings coming across his
desk, Bingham appreciates a large-caliber handgun, but is also
convinced a 9mm pistol with the right ammunition can be perfectly
adequate for defensive needs. After all, 35,000 or so NYPD officers
carry 9mm autos, and complaints are rarely heard about the caliber there
since the department switched to 124-grain Speer Gold Dot P
Hollowpoints.
The 9mm is, however, generally recognized as being very "ammo
specific" in terms of "stopping power." Some 9mm rounds clearly work
better than others. One tailors the tool to one's needs. Aware his
heavily populated office or a courthouse hallway could be in the
background if he ever needed the pistol for real, Bingham chose to load
his 9mm with RBCD ammunition. A 60-grain frangible bullet, designed by
the late, famed modern gunfighter Jim Cirillo, the 9mm RBCD round is
loaded to just over 2,000 feet per second velocity, delivering dynamic
tissue damage with reduced penetration and ricochet risk.
The .45 Ain't No dive
Like all the investigators in Bingham's office, Todd Thoene was a
street cop before. In both environments he learned to appreciate the
accuracy and reliability of SIG-Sauer pistols, and the
confidence-building power of the .45 ACP round. Accordingly, the pistol
riding daily in his thumb-break hip holster is a Sig P220.
His .45 ACP carry load of choice is the 185-grain Winchester
Silvertip. A mature design, the Silvertip has always worked well in this
caliber. I know of an East Coast medical examiner who pulled 30 or so
.45 Silvertips out of human bodies and claimed never to have found one
that failed to expand. This load has a bit less penetration than a
typical 230-grain JHP and much less than a ball round--a comforting
thing in those crowded courtroom and courthouse hall environs.
J.R. Kesinger, street-wise lawman, began his career when
detectives carried snubnose revolvers instead of service-size sixguns.
Then and now, he reasoned, a suit wouldn't put him in any less danger
than a uniform once the shooting started, and as a plainclothesman he
prefers to carry a full-size service pistol. His choice is a Glock 22C,
caliber .40 S&W, worn in a concealable SERPA holster from Blackhawk
to combine quick draw with snatch-resistant security.
A .40 Can Be Sporty
Remembering when brother officers argued over which was better, a 16-shot 9mm or an 8-shot .45, J.R.
figures a 16-shot .40 gives him the best of both worlds. An integral
compensator (the "C" in "22C") reduces muzzle jump, and a LaserMax sight
under the barrel gives him one more edge in the unpredictable
circumstances gunfights always bring. His carry gun's magazines
interchange with those of the standard model Glock 22 bolstered on his
tactical vest next to his department-issue Bushmaster AR- 15.
J.R. is partial to Speer Gold Dot ammo. A 180-grain bonded Gold
Dot HP in .40 travels at about 985 fps, comparable to the 1,000 fps
Winchester claims for its 185-grain Silvertip .45. With a 165-grain
bullet, .40 Gold Dot hits 1,140 fps, only about 50 ft-lbs of energy
short of the standard 158-grain .357 Magnum revolver load at 1,240 fps.
Either .40 Gold Dot load does well in the FBI gelatin testing protocols.
.357x11
My own carry gun was a baby Glock chambered for the .357 SIG
round and tuned by David Maglio. These petite pistols disappear under
tailored suits. The little Glock 33 holds nine cartridges in the
standard maximum concealment magazine, a 10th in the firing chamber, and
an 11th if you want to add a magazine extension. The most proven load
in the caliber is a 125-grain JHP at 1,350 fps. It has proven to be a
devastating "manstopper" over almost a decade and a half. Mine was
loaded with Remington Bonded Golden Saber in this weight, which has
proven especially accurate in my Glocks in this caliber. This Remington
load averages 1,331 fps out of my stubby G33, and 1,433 fps from the
full-size Glock 31. By comparison, 125-grain Gold Dot .357 Magnum
recently averaged 1,376 fps from a 3" barrel concealed-carry size
S&W Model 66 revolver at my range.
I've known lawmen who carried the 10mm, a defense round with
great potential, too. I know folks who are comfortable with a .380,
though it's a bit light for my taste. And we haven't even touched on the
various revolver calibers. While we'd probably all agree a .25 ACP is
too feeble for the task, and a .50 Desert Eagle passes the point of
diminishing returns in terms of size, weight, and recoil. I guess the
lesson is different people with different needs will find different
answers to the question: "What's the best pistol caliber for
self-defense?" The best answer to the question is probably, "The caliber
best fitting your needs, in a reliable gun you shoot well and are
likely to always have available when you need it ."
DAVID MAGLIO
TACTICAL ACTION GLOCKS
P.O. BOX 80017, SAUKVILLE, WI 53080
(414) 659-5811
WWW.TACTICALACTIONGLOCKS.COM
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