Anyone dropped down in caliber?

Mnay folks that enter the world of CC and log onto internet forums fall into the belief that you aren't protected if your carry round doesn't start with a Four. Or if it isn't a 45acp it isn't a gun. Many end up carrying a gun that is simply to large for their physical ability to control. It doesn't take long before you realize to one gun and holster combination is ideal for every occassion, so we end up trying different guns, holsters and of course ammo. After doing this for a number of years most of us end up with a "winter" combo, a "Summer " combo, and one for deep concealment. The combination will change for everyone, what is right for me is totaly wrong for the next guy. I myself carry a G23 ( 40 cal), but also use a 9mm Sig P228, in the summer and as a back up I usually have my 380 NAA Guardian, but also have a nice P232SL that is sweeeeeet to carry and of course my S&W 649 (.357) gets a lot of carry time in my right front pocket. So you see I am all over the place when it comes to rounds used? But then you have those die hards that refuse to carry anything but a 45acp. In the end you need to do your own homework and find what works for you, and you alone. Forget what everyone else is carrying, because they probably won't be there when the you know what hits the spinning blade. This process can takes months or even years, but enjoy the trip, there is a lot to be learned along the way. Oh and don't believe everything you read on a forum, but I will say this is the best one I have found.

NCH

Like some others, I started carrying with a full-frame 1911 in .45 auto. For a while, the guns got smaller (but still 1911 as the standard) while the caliber remained. After years of carrying, I've recently stepped down to .40 and find accuracy during training drills has improved. My primary carry is now the XD-M in .40 and I have great confidence in the gun and the round.

On the other hand, I have used .380 and .25 auto for a BUG. And while I have many friends that ONLY carry in 9mm, I found myself wishing for something more substantial. Perhaps that is a 'mind over matter' situation, but I just didn't feel as confident with those smaller tools. Whatever you carry, most instructors insist that cooler heads prevail, and calm confidence promotes a chilly noggin.

Finally, the aces I've had the pleasure of training with can usually plunk rounds into the cranial-ocular cavity with 9mm at will...so size really doesn't matter. Right?

Interesting discussion: I started out with .380, moved to 9mm, tried .40 but found it too snappy for me and eventually settled on the .45; but recently I had decided to drop back to the 9mm for a number of reasons:

-Consolidation of the number of calibers I'm stocking
-I have more guns in 9mm
-I do shoot it better

but at the last minute I've decided to hang onto my .45. It's caught up in a mfg's recall so I have time to think it out.

I think my evolution has been to consolidate around more similar manual of arms. I'm moving more towards all simple DAO type weapons without any manual contrals.

I like having smaller, thinner, simpler guns because of my size and lower risk lifestyle/location.

So DAO Kahr's in 9mm and DAO j frames.

As for .380 the more I read and actually shoot them the more I feel a bit concerned about their real effectiveness. Because of the types of guns that are available it's not too difficult to have a 9mm or .38 with me instead so I carry them less and less and really only find a niche for them in a true pocket carry scenario in very lightweight dress pants.

I expect that at the end of the day I'll probably end up with 4 dedicated CCW guns:

a Kahr MK9, a S&W 640-1, an S&W 642, and eventually a Kahr K9