9mm,.40 cal,.45 cal ????

[the weasel]

Ok gun gurus, which of the above would be your choice for all around pistol? I'm an archery guy but would like to have something to pack with me (if needed), but also a home defense weapon that the wife and daughter (19 in college) wouldn't pee down their leg when shooting. I'm not loyal to any brand but don't want a P.O.S. either. yes I have guns and yes I shoot them from time to time.... just no pistol.... YET!

As for hunting.... just black bears and a cougar from time to time, and I think I want a leg holster so I could actually get to the weapon in a jam, (I know guys that have a pistol in their packs... seems useless to me!)

Thanks for your thoughts!

[WapitiTalk1]

Weasel, for what its worth, I own the following pistols (I'm like you, mostly an archery guy but do have one big game rifle and a few pistolas). I have a Taurus .444 Ultra Lite .44 MAG for those occasions that I hunt in big bear country (a .45 is fine for home protection but won't do much against a bear); a Springfield XD-9 for home protection; a Ruger LC-9 for personal carry/home protection; and wife has a little Charter Arms .38 revolver (yep, its pink) and she loves it. My wife isn't a wimp but does have trouble pulling back the slide on an auto pistol, thus the revolver for her. Recoil on the little Charter is pretty minimal for range practice. I think the key for many folks (my wife included) is to minimize the big bang by providing top quality ear protection. In non big bear country, I oftentimes carry my little LC-9 for the "bang" effect if needed (not so much for bears or kitty cats, but, for the crazy two legged critters we run into sometimes on the high hiking trails). Just some food for thought here if you are considering personal carry, and, are willing to perhaps get two new pistolas . Perhaps a nice little revolver for the wife/daughter to shoot and a multi-purpose pistol for you?

[Elkduds]

I've owned and reloaded for 44 mag in revolver and Contender, 41 mag, several 9s, several 357 wheelguns. Also had 22 mag and 22s. Now I carry a tiny 9, and keep a 7 shot 357 revolver for home defense and hunting carry. Wife can't work autos, as noted above. 9 w modern bullets and +P if necessary is sufficient for the uses you named. Or 357 w 38 spec for lower-recoil practice. take the ladies to a shooting range where they can handle and shoot several calibers, they'll have preferences. Shooting handguns is FUN.

Edit: I'm wrong. 9 and 357 mag are not legal cals for big game handgun hunting in CO, but sufficient for self defense against the lions (not tigers here) and bears, oh my.

[husky390]

My suggestion would be for a family fun day at a gun shop that has a gun range and pistols to rent. Start with what you think will work for everyone and then make sure everyone can operate it, then make sure everyone can shoot it. I'm a .45acp fan but find myself carrying a 9mm due to its smaller size for concealment.

For woods carry, I'd recommend a Glock G20 or G29 in a Hill People Gear Kit Bag.


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[Brendan]

You could get a Glock G21 (.45) and a 10mm Barrel/Slide/Mags for it (Which makes it the G20) - that way you've got the .45 at the range or the house, as well as the 10mm for the woods using the same frame... There are some pretty stout 10mm loads.

[longspeak74]

Personally, I prefer my 9mm over the others. I am not so worried about bears and cats as the upright walking creatures I may encounter. Plus it's easy for my lady to handle as well and fits better in the night stand than my 12 gauge!

[the weasel]

Thanks guys, will do more research in the next few days and see what I get... I guess it boils down to " If it fits... and makes the hits" then that's the direction I'm going.

[baddaddy]

Since it sounds like your family has minimal experience with a handgun, get a .357 revolver. Plenty for self defense and the outdoors. The revolver will be more reliable, ie doesn't jam if you weak wrist it like an auto can do in the heat of the moment when things have gone to crap.

[husky390]

Thanks guys, will do more research in the next few days and see what I get... I guess it boils down to " If it fits... and makes the hits" then that's the direction I'm going.

Just get everyone a handgun of their own.

baddaddy has some good points about semi auto's and going to a .357 mag. You'll just want to make sure everyone can pull the trigger in DA. I ran into an issue where my wife could not on a Smith M19 with magna grips but could with the coke bottle grips. She's not a big fan of shooting guns anyways but likes shooting it with .38's.

[VT Sasquatch]

I have a .45 and a 9mm but not a .40 caliber. I like my .45 (a Beretta) but it is bulky and heavy. Ever since I bought my 9mm, the .45 sits in the safe. My 9mm is a Ruger LC9. It is light, compact and inexpensive. The only drawback is that has a 7 round magazine (8 total). I am fine with the limited capacity as a tradeoff for size and weight. I carry it in a holster on my belt and forget it is there.

I can't give much input on your wife and daughter's ability to fire any of those calibers. It is all a matter of how confident they are with guns. My wife would be afraid of a .22 pistol.

[>>>---WW---->]

This is how a carry my Glock 27 when hunting. Mounts really nice on my Badlands Superday pack. Notice the retension strap that I had to sew on. Otherwise it fit right in the webbing with no problem On my pack frame I have a molle holster and molle webbing on the belt.

[VT Sasquatch]

That looks good. I may have to try something like that.

[>>>---WW---->]

Here's a closer look.

[pointysticks]

Ok gun gurus, which of the above would be your choice for all around pistol? I'm an archery guy but would like to have something to pack with me (if needed), but also a home defense weapon that the wife and daughter (19 in college) wouldn't pee down their leg when shooting. I'm not loyal to any brand but don't want a P.O.S. either. yes I have guns and yes I shoot them from time to time.... just no pistol.... YET!

As for hunting.... just black bears and a cougar from time to time, and I think I want a leg holster so I could actually get to the weapon in a jam, (I know guys that have a pistol in their packs... seems useless to me!)

Thanks for your thoughts!

i'm assuming this is for bowhunts? i have a .45 - Glock21SF, and a 9mm - Sig 226. i am way more accurate with the 9, but not bad with the 45. if i were to get a wilderness gun, i would get a 357 - 686P.

this past year, a cougar stalked my bowhunting friend. we are not allowed a handgun while hunting here (archery hunts), he ended up arrowing that cat at 12 yards..up till then i thought carrying a handgun while hunting was paranoid..now not so much.

i still dont tho..i hike too far and my hills are too steep.

[adamds22]

I just bought a Ruger American .45 for the same purpose. It's being sent from Buds Guns this week.

[wawhitey]

I think a good woods sidearm, and a pistol your wife and kids could use for home defense are 2 different guns. If youre set on a semi auto for the woods, id go 10mm. But a .357 revolver is hard to beat if grizz is not an issue. Get the wife a full size 9mm, or maybe a keltec pmr 30 for home. I know the pmr30 is just a .22wmr, but 30 rounds of spray and pray in a hallway from 20ft will turn any bad guy into 200lbs of strawberry jam. And theyre only about 400 bucks.

[saddlesore]

One important thing to consider is the comfort level of shooting the handgun.

There is a proliferation on today's market of subcompact handguns designed for concealed carry.People buy these and think they are great,until they take them to the range and run a few rounds thru them . Recoil is substantial and there is nothing that will turn a new shooter off quicker than that. They give up capability for comfort thinking these tiny handguns will be easily concealed with minimal clothing.

So what the marketeers have done is to flood the market with the.380's.Which in my opinion a sub standard round for self defense. I sure would not be be shot with one, but I won't trust my life to one.

A revolver will most likely fill the bill for a diminutive shooter that has trouble racking a semi's slide. Plus you don't have the cocking, magazine attachment and safety issues. The single most common accidental discharge in semis is people clearing the chamber and the dropping the magazine. That puts another round in the chamber before the magazine is removed.
The next problem is the DOA semis have a horribly and heavy long trigger pull which is harder to become a proficient shooter with. Most shooters do not want to carry a single action semi in the cocked and locked position and I have met many that don't ever want to carry around in the chamber.

My suggestion is to start with a good quality handgun like the Lady Smith S&W in 38 SP , that is rated for +p ,but let the shooter practice with target grade 148 gr wad cutters.Or a S&W model 60 ,2" barrel .357 mag. Again practice with 38 Sp target148 gr wad cutters.

For carry rounds,Speer makes the 135 Gr Gold Dot HP designed for use in short barrel revolvers. Either in+P, 38 SP or .357 mag. This cuts down on muzzle flash and flip.Mostly the flash though.

Have competent gunsmith do at trigger job to get the trigger pull down to less than 4 pounds in double action.The put a Crimson Trace Laser Grip on either one.

Then lastly, get a god quality holster or carry device.There are handbags for the ladies, and fanny packs for either if belt carry is not wanted.

All this will come to tidy sum,but you don't cut corners when you want to trust your life to it from two legged critters

[>>>---WW---->]

Of the three calibers listed, and considering you would like your wife and daughter to be able to shoot. I feel the 9MM would best suite your needs. None of them are bear guns.

Personally, I have a .40SW and also a .380. I find I usually pack the .380 the most for conceal carry. It is just lighter and more concealable. Not the most powerful thing in the world. But if you aren't going to pack a gun, why even have it? Besides, at close range it should do just fine. I'm going to double tap at a minimum. And if necessary , I'll keep pulling the trigger until it goes click if I have to. That is going to hurt like heck. I have a laser on it and that little red dot on your chest is intimidating to say the least.

[cohunter14]

Of the three calibers listed, and considering you would like your wife and daughter to be able to shoot. I feel the 9MM would best suite your needs. None of them are bear guns.

Personally, I have a .40SW and also a .380. I find I usually pack the .380 the most for conceal carry. It is just lighter and more concealable. Not the most powerful thing in the world. But if you aren't going to pack a gun, why even have it? Besides, at close range it should do just fine. I'm going to double tap at a minimum. And if necessary , I'll keep pulling the trigger until it goes click if I have to. That is going to hurt like heck. I have a laser on it and that little red dot on your chest is intimidating to say the least.

Well said Bill. I echo all of that. .380's might not be the most potent round, but I'd rather carry a small .380 than have a big .40 cal that sits at home 90% of the time because it's too big to conceal.

[lamrith]

Being a borderline gun-nut I have multiple long and short guns. day to day SD and "woods" sidearm can be a bit incompatible depending on where you are hunting. What will stop or deter a human can merely aggrivate larger animals like Grizz. Just something to keep in mind.

For younger or smaller shooters it is hard to beat our a full sized 9mm pistol. (22lr even better but I will stick to calibers you asked) They are just more enjoyable to shoot than the larger calibers, and a full size gun will have weight to also offset recoil. I loved my M&P9mm full size and actually carried it concealed for a solid year. Big and bulky so I eventually moved to the S&W Shield 9mm which I carry to this day. 9mm is just fine if you are more worried about defense against two legged woods crawlers or day to day sd. I carried my shield bow hunting deer in Eastern WA as I had about zero concern for wildlife larger than a coyote.

.40 I have never been a fan of, tried a few different guns. it is a snappy round and I just never cared for the recoil.

.45 This is one of my favorite calibers. You would think it would be worse recoil than the .40 but I have found it to be a smoother more of a push recoil versus the snap of the .40. This is the caliber I use for my primary home defense gun and my woods gun. .45 can be heavy to carry around, yo are usually looking at 7+ rounds each normally 230grn bullet plus case powder etc. It just adds up. I carry a big and heavy model pistol (SAR K2-45) ontop of that which has a large capacity (14+1). I will tell you right now, I felt the weight or it after a few days of RJ dragging me thru the hills. A big frame steep gun with 15rnds of 45 adds up. That said I shoot this pistol extremely well, its large size fits my hand well, being heavy it is very managable recoil even firing with one hand. That to me is important as if I need a pistol it will be in a pnic situation and I want muscle memory to handle pistol usage while I try to grab RJ and throw him between me and the threat…

Carrying. That is the tough one in a hunting situation. 1st years I carried on hip, thankfully I was deer hunting and had a light day back with no need for pack belt which would have gone right over the gun. I have seen some guys mount a holster on their pack belt. Always an option since I am finding out my crew hunts with packs on 100% of time. One thing to consider is if you will keep pack on full time, if not, how is the muzzle protected if you drop bag on the ground? My holster would have muzzle jammed down in to the dirt. Last year I used a dropleg rig. It worked. Light hunting belt I had though it would pull down on, plus the retention strap around thigh.. Not super comfortable and I noticed when crouching/kneeling the gun was in the dirt again. Some guys use a chest holster. That to me is the best solution, but not posible with all guns off the shelf and may require being customer made in some regard. I hope to find a way to do this myself soon.

[Beendare]

You can't have too many guns bro.

I would recommend a 9 mm for home defense and something more potent for a woods weapon. A case can be made for 10 mm, 45 caliber, and of course the magnum calibers a 357 and 44 mag. Any pistol can be made into a more effective stopper by using the hard cast ammo, which is key in my opinion.

So in choosing your weapon make sure you consider the ammo. So if you're getting a 45 make sure it will handle the 45 super rounds otherwise you're gonna have a worthless weapon that malfunctions constantly. I can tell you the G 21 and the H K USP's are pretty good in that respect with the H K having the edge.

One thing is for sure whatever you choose: it does no good if you arent fast and accurate with it- so practice a lot.

[wawhitey]

Lamrith, you talked about your muzzle getting filled with dirt. Easy solution, hip holsters use closed botton, chest rigs use open or closed, whichever you want.

Which part of eastern wa were you bowhunting that you had no concerns about anything bigger than a yote? I know everybody says black bears are timid, but ive had close encounters now with 4 that werent. 2 were bluffers, making a buncha mean noise, one was not making any growls or teeth popping but was just following me silently and keeping out of sidearm range. That one was creepy. Another snuck up on me when i was sleeping and i blasted him with my .44 from 8ft. Now ill be the first to admit that 99.9% of them act like wusses, but there is always that one with a bad additude. You just never know. I wouldnt carry a 9mm in the woods here, not when bears are awake anyway.

I also almost got stomped by a momma moose once, but that was my own stupid fault.