I beg a question of the assembled forumites in an effort to guide future purchases and examine my own approach.
Is it better to
Practice fire a large quantity of a caliber that's not as well suited to self defense
Or
Practice fire a lesser quantity of a caliber better suited to self defense
The reason I ask is that I believe shot placement trumps bore size, but even at that I wholeheartedly agree that a more powerful caliber will be a more effective tool than a less powerful caliber.
This is why I'm attracted to 9x19. You can do lots of practice with the actual cartridge/load you would be firing in a real altercation. .45 ACP is great and so is .40 S&W, but for the price of one box of .45 I can often get two boxes of 9mm.
Even if you can afford a better caliber you can always afford a larger quantity of a lesser caliber.
OTOH why should you limit yourself this way when you know there are better tools to be had for the same money? Is the inherent power of these catridges worth not getting as much practice time in? Many very knowledgeable people inform me that no handgun I own is truly adequate for self defense, and I can't really say they are wrong (or right either).
Am I right in thinking extra range time will develop better significantly better shot placement and better skills that will make up for the perceived lack of power, or is it better to have less trigger time but have a better tool?
Who's better armed? The shooter who carries 9x19 and has put 10,000 rounds down range out of that gun, or the shooter who carries .45 ACP and has put 5,000 rounds downrange out of that gun?
Or am I beating a dead horse yet again? I don't mean to debate the relative effectiveness of various calibers, I'm just curious what everyone thinks about practice time vs. a better tool.
Is it better to
Practice fire a large quantity of a caliber that's not as well suited to self defense
Or
Practice fire a lesser quantity of a caliber better suited to self defense
The reason I ask is that I believe shot placement trumps bore size, but even at that I wholeheartedly agree that a more powerful caliber will be a more effective tool than a less powerful caliber.
This is why I'm attracted to 9x19. You can do lots of practice with the actual cartridge/load you would be firing in a real altercation. .45 ACP is great and so is .40 S&W, but for the price of one box of .45 I can often get two boxes of 9mm.
Even if you can afford a better caliber you can always afford a larger quantity of a lesser caliber.
OTOH why should you limit yourself this way when you know there are better tools to be had for the same money? Is the inherent power of these catridges worth not getting as much practice time in? Many very knowledgeable people inform me that no handgun I own is truly adequate for self defense, and I can't really say they are wrong (or right either).
Am I right in thinking extra range time will develop better significantly better shot placement and better skills that will make up for the perceived lack of power, or is it better to have less trigger time but have a better tool?
Who's better armed? The shooter who carries 9x19 and has put 10,000 rounds down range out of that gun, or the shooter who carries .45 ACP and has put 5,000 rounds downrange out of that gun?
Or am I beating a dead horse yet again? I don't mean to debate the relative effectiveness of various calibers, I'm just curious what everyone thinks about practice time vs. a better tool.