it seems its pretty well known that a sig, or an hk, are gonna be very reliable, accurate guns. This is why I decided on them to begin with.

Problem now, is deciding which caliber to go with. I was pretty set on the .40... but as mentioned, its better to have something you can afford to practice with. 9mm seems to be as cheap as you'll find for modern loads.

As for carry, and therefore regarding effectiveness in stopping someone/something... I'm not sold on the 9mm yet. I keep hearing about it not doing enough damage, and after watching some old 'Rescue 911' and 'Cops' and seeing some dude whacked out on goofballs take a magazine to the stomach and chest and continue to thrash cops I don't know if the affordability is worth the supposed risk. This is, of course, an uneducated opinion, based around a situation that will probably never happen.

9mm or .40 S&W.... does it really matter?

 

.40 S&W is supposed to offer the best of both worlds between 9mm and .45 ACP. It offers the affordability and ease of carry of 9mm but in a more powerful cartridge that allows people with small and/or recoil sensitive hands to shoot. .40 S&W is particularly good for women or small men who want stopping power but don't want 2 lbs. strapped to their hip.

 

ok, pretty much what I figured.

Theres a guy on highroad selling a HK .40 compact right now with a bunch of extra goodies for $650ish. We'll see how that goes.. still waiting to see what I get for a bonus.

 

LOOK AT 357 SIG. its a 9mm round with a .40 casing powering it. very flat very fast bullet trajectory. great round, the .40 is essentially a 10mm round cut in half.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIG

 

ooohhh, I like that...

Will look into that more.

I may have F'd up my Christmas bonus plans though. Theres a lot of BS fees, assessments and whatnot connected to traffic fines in NY state. I got lost in it, and got pulled over AND ARRESTED last night coming back to VT from seeing my family in NY. Dad sure seemed happy to post the $500 bail to get me out at 11pm after 4hrs sitting in a cell...
Obviously Im not going to get into it online until its clear, but I will say, the punishment far exceeds the crime.

And NY wonders why people keep leaving...

 

Dude that sucks.

I used to be hung up on having maximum stopping power in my pistol cartridge, but as I age and mellow I realize that there are a few truisms to keep in mind.

"the best gun to have in a gunfight is...the one you have"
This means that carrying regularly will be the only way to have the gun available when you need it, a Colt 1911 .45 is nice but if it's at home on the dresser when some punk gets in your face it didn't do you any good. Buy a carry piece you will actually carry.

"you can't outdraw a gun in the face"
Trust me on this, you just can't and a wallet isn't worth a gunfight. There is a time to draw but make sure you have good reason cause mistakes at this level will cost you several years.

I carry a Kahr 9mm, it's pretty good and controllable even with hot rounds. I keep it loaded with +P hollowpoint ammo. If you can stand up to a double tap of that you are more than welcome to whatever I have. Just my opinion.

 

It's all in preference, you should actually shoot each of those calibers. The 9mm vs 45mm debate is about as trying as Windows VS OS X.

If you know how to shoot, and where to hit your target, a 9mm will stop a man dead just as easily as a 45mm.

That being said, I own both .9 and .45 guns. I have found .9mm's are typically easier to conceal, however I recently purchased a used Kimber Pro Carry II for conceal carry that is very comfortable in my hip holster.

 

^ Very true but you would be surprised to find out how many times LE got into a gunfight with a suspect at pointblank range and no one hit anything. An actual firefight is worlds different than going shooting at your local range. My father is a recently retired federal agent and he has told me this many times. Just because you're good at the range doesn't necessarily mean you're good on the street.