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Minimum Carry Caliber vs Primary Carry Caliber

4K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  gunthorp 
#1 ·
I was looking at the polls on the "minimum carry caliber" and "your primary carry caliber" and was wondering how many people are carrying at or below the perceived minimum caliber.

Now this isn't scientific in any way. The two polls talk about caliber - bullet diameter but they list cartridges. One poll had a mixture of cartridges and calibers. I consolidated the data into calibers and looked at the results.

Almost 82% said the .355-.358 (.38/9mm) caliber was the minimum caliber they would carry. Looking at the primary carry numbers I found 60% are carrying at or below the perceived minimum caliber - .355-358. This also means 40% are carrying above the minimum. Kind of surprising and reassuring.



Better data can be had with better polling but this shows a sizable number of people are carrying above what the majority thinks is the minimum diameter bullet.

Remember, you can make numbers say anything you want. :image035:
 
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#2 ·
Don't think it's a surprise.

Don't think there is a conflict.

My EDC is a .45.

My BUG is a .40

On rare occasion I drop down, for deeper concealment, with both the primary and/or BUG.
 
#3 ·
I agree... No surprise or conflict...
I always carry either 9mm or .45... my wife .38+P all the time.
 
#4 ·
+1 to that. No surprises in this data. people carry and prefer different things depending on different situations.
 
#5 ·
Using bullet diameter is not a good way to try and judge either. Remember the .355-.358 includes .380 ACP, .38 cal, .357 as well as the 9mm calibers. While a .380 may be someones minimum carry caliber, a 9mm could very easily be their EDC.
 
#6 ·
I don't know if it was you Archer that mentioned on the other thread about "its not the size but the whole cartridge". But if it was I agree with that.

I sometimes carry my 5.7x28mm pistol. Its outside diameter is equal to a .22...BUT...it travels at about 2100 fps. There are youtube video's of tests done through wet phone books that show the HP SS192 round expanding to almost .60 cal.

There is a whole lot to say about kinetic energy and yes...you need to look at the whole cartridge. You can pick up a rock and have it be 2.00 cal but if you can only throw it 30 fps...its really not effective.
 
#7 ·
Well, my minimum was the 9mm. I carry above the minimum now with the 40S&W G23. I seldom carry a BUG until climate allows for extra cover. Then I like to carry the same caliber in both primary and BUG such as the G23/G27.
I also think the poll would be easier to decipher if the calibers were listed versus the bullet/bore diameters.
 
#8 ·
Uhm yes, the whole cartridge matters. There is a major difference between .380ACP and 9x19. Of course type matters as well.

Some effectiveness statistics based only on one-shot stops (yes this is a limited and not a full view of ballistic effectiveness) from this website:

Selection of best ammunition for a defensive handgun


A .380 ball ammo:
Federal FMJ, 95 grains, has a 51% one shot stopping success.
A .380 +P JHP:
Cor-Bon +P JHP 90 grains 70%
A 9x19 +P JHP:

Cor-Bon +P JHP 115 grains 91%
 
#10 ·
I carry .45ACP for primary and +P .38 in my BUG... both very adequate if I do my job! :image035:
 
#14 ·
Primary EDC is always a .45, the secondary carry (rarely used) would be a .380...:yup:
 
#17 ·
IMO, Velocity in the smaller calibers is highly under rated. A .22 traveling at around 1200 fps is a good example. IMO, it's better than the larger .25 acp because it's traveling much faster than the slower, .25 acp. The .380 is for all intended purposes a 9mm. If a manufacturer can get this round up around 1000 fps using a JHP 90-100 gr bullet for expansion, you got a pretty good defense round in my book. That's why I consider the .38 and the .380 pretty much equal in there defense status. I would even say again, I prefer the .380 over the .38 due only to round count and reloads. I read somewhere that, it's the 1000 fps variable that makes or breaks the degree of expansion for most of the smaller caliber's. It makes sense to me, therefor I follow that mindset. For what's worth.:blink:
 
#18 ·
That poll is much too general to be of much use. Besides, I don't decide what to carry from poll results. As for "minimum carry caliber", what "expert" decided this? No handgun caliber is a reliable stopper. Your carry gun/caliber will be a compromise of round count, fit/shootability,
reliability, accuracy, concealability, and cost.
 
#19 ·
I don't know what use the two polls have either besides giving a general idea of the respondents selections compared to others.

As for what "expert" decided minimum carry caliber each "expert" responding to that poll decided - and there were several hundred.

Your carry gun/caliber will be a compromise of round count, fit/shootability, reliability, accuracy, concealability, and cost.
Now that would make an interesting poll. to see how people ranked these factors when choosing their EDC.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arisin Wind View Post
My surprise came that so many people are carrying above what they consider the minimum.

I don't get it

No surprize here...
My own thought was that more people would be carrying the 38/9mm class of weapons. I was wrong in my assumption. More people than I originally thought are carrying larger calibers than what they consider the minimum.
 
#23 ·
.38 standard-pressure and +P may indeed be the same caliber as .357 mag, but they are worlds apart from the amount of damage the magnum can do to a person. Most handgun cartridges make pinpoint entry wounds, that weep just a bit of blood, and the exit wounds, contrary to Hollywood assertions, are often not much bigger. Yes, I have seen such wounds, in person. I have shot a hole through a living human with a full-pressure .357 125-grain Federal Classic, and the entrance would was bigger than most exit wounds I have seen, and was hosing the area with blood, and the blood plume on the pavement behind the bad guy was a sight to see. The main part of the bullet exited his armpit and entered his arm, where it stayed. (As he was a scrawny guy, I consider this to be the ideal amount of penetration, if translated to a bigger opponent.)

The weapon was a 4" Ruger GP100, not a long-tom hunting sixgun or a carbine, but this was damage like I had only previously seen inflicted on a human body by something like a .30-30 rifle. It is not just about the caliber. For that matter, there are 9.something-caliber rifle cartridges that will shoot right through an elephant.

My wife, who is a forensic investigator for one of the medical examiner of one of the largest counties in the USA, can relate the amazing amount of damage inflicted by a 357 SIG bullet at close range. (IIRC, 357 SIG bullets are actually .355 caliber.) She worked a case in which a detective shot a child molester at near-contact distance in the jaw, and the bullet tore a wide path of destruction well down into the chest cavity. A .380, also .355 caliber, would not have performed like that.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that we all need to carry 357, SIG or Magnum, to adequately poke sufficient holes into miscreants. But the more powerful rounds may well chop more voluminous wound channels, per shot, and that is a margin of comfort for me, as long as my increasingly feeble hands are able to handle the more powerful weapons.

"Stopping power" is a big white Crown Vic, with a big black push bumper, at 30+ MPH. Second choice is a 12 gauge shotgun, about .69 to .72 caliber. :wink:
 
#24 ·
Stopping power is my wife saying "Go ahead, do whatever you want!"

Wow, here we go, velocity vs weight. Put me in the momentum column.

I think we pretty much agree that a 380 or 38 can work, and that the gauge is better, most of the more experienced among us will have a 45, 40, 357 on board at all possible times. My pocket mousegun is a 40. Those who feel satisfied with anything less might reconsider, hopefully before they run into a determined, drug crazed, prison buked up, compassionless pack of wolves.
 
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