I am wanting handgun

[Valhallaz]

Frankly, IMO, if there is a "one size fits all" caliber out there, it would be 10mm. You can get little mousy watered down rounds that plink like a 9, monster ass doubletaps that hit with near 800 lbs, or anything in between. Pity more gun manufacturers don't support it. If you can find a 10 that suits your needs, I highly recommend it.

[Valhallaz]

Funny... I kinda thought Col. Coopers story made my point...

[CoopKill]

Every course I have taken, including having 3 police officers in my family, has taught center mass only. A good point to those that are a great shot, being a great shot at paper, and being a great shot during an emergency, shooting at a human are FAR different situations. The adrenalin pumping through you veins evens the score.

[Nightwolf]

10mm begat the .40 which begat the 357Sig. 357 Sig is my choice, but it is hard to find ammo and kinda pricey to shoot. 10mm is a little difficult to find in a compact package. .40 is a decent round available in several compact choices. It is also the round you (Beepbeep) are already shooting which means you won't have to buy different ammo for you current and your future CCW gun. A good hollowpoint will stop about as well as a similar .45ACP round. Now when you start talking about shorter than 3" barrel lengths you will want a lighter bullet. For example, a 4''+ barrel .357mag will do well with almost any grain round, but to get good expantion out of a short barrel pistol (<3") you want a lighter round (less than 120 grain is usually great in a 2" 357mag).

[Valhallaz]

Just as a point of interest, the .40 and the 10mm use the same bullet. Only the shell casing is different. The same dies are used in reloading.

Some will tell you you can fire .40 cartridge from a 10mm pistol. If it were life or death, you could, but I wouldn't make a habit of it. The pistol will have a tendency to explode, when you leave enough bullet material from improper head spacing.

I consider .40 perfectly acceptable for a defensive round. Nice balance between power and ease in handling.

[onebadmollafolla]

Just as a point of interest, the .40 and the 10mm use the same bullet. Only the shell casing is different. The same dies are used in reloading.

Some will tell you you can fire .40 cartridge from a 10mm pistol. If it were life or death, you could, but I wouldn't make a habit of it. The pistol will have a tendency to explode, when you leave enough bullet material from improper head spacing.

I consider .40 perfectly acceptable for a defensive round. Nice balance between power and ease in handling.

I love .40. Prefer it over .45. Assuming you have a decent round (I prefer 9mm or above) and are a relatively proficient shooter, I'll take capacity over size any day. 9mm for carry since it's all I have on my person, .40 S&W or 5.56 NATO for home defense. Still want a .45 though.

[IPD]

capacity is the key reason i prefer the beretta m9 over the hk p7. I wouldn't mind a sig 226 though.