For home defense I look at ammo choice differently than if I’m going places in my truck. For the house I want slowest loads I can purchase for home defense . Reason being that if I have to shoot an intruder ‘ heaven forbid that my bullet pass through him and the sheet rock injuring one of my loved ones! For on the go I prefer 40 cal , 357sig,9mm +P+ rounds in case I absolutely have to shoot through window, car door , or the windshield! Just something else to consider?

That makes no sense to me in any way. I don't want to start an ammo war which is a never ending he said/she said. But extensive testing has shown that handgun rounds have to have a certain amount of penetration to be effective. So if your ammo isn't at least that good when you hit the target its not effective. And I have never seen any test that suggests ammo that is sufficiently effective is less or more likely to penetrate sheet rock. It's not. And a round that has penetrated a target is probably pretty spent, its your misses that are the likely culprits. If sheetrock penetration is an issue you need to use a rifle.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hrcjon,

Of the options, I voted Beretta 92. Reliable 20 and 30rd mags available (a loaded 30rd mag makes a reasonable cudgel to carry with you while clearing your house...) I've not yet grown accustomed to striker fired pistols (read, refused to learn), so the VP9 and Glock are out of the running without a chance).
My bedside gun of choice is a 1996 date code P226, with 21rds of 124gr +P Speer Gold Dot fuck you on tap, and another 20rd mag of the same (b/c the gun and mag fits in the quick access safe). It has Crimson trace grips and freshened night sights as of 2 years ago, when it went to CCR for refinishing.
My first experience shooting pistols as an adult was with the 92FS, a range rental gun that was quite abused. I shot it well, but moved to classic SIGs as my preferred handgun. I would not hesitate to put one up for HD duty, however.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
That makes no sense to me in any way. I don't want to start an ammo war which is a never ending he said/she said. But extensive testing has shown that handgun rounds have to have a certain amount of penetration to be effective. So if your ammo isn't at least that good when you hit the target its not effective. And I have never seen any test that suggests ammo that is sufficiently effective is less or more likely to penetrate sheet rock. It's not. And a round that has penetrated a target is probably pretty spent, its your misses that are the likely culprits. If sheetrock penetration is an issue you need to use a rifle.

I agree with this with one exception - handgun rounds that have hit the target and EXPANDED are likely very spent if they do exit the target. If a handgun round does not expand and penetrates as if FMJ then it would not likely have lost near the same energy as one that had expanded. For that reason, when I look at ammo tests and ballistic gel test (such as seen on LuckyGunner and the like), I place a great deal more emphasis on the likelyhood of a round expanding when hitting the target than penetration. In my opinion (having witnessed several non-fatal and a few fatal GSWs in my life), rounds that do not expand often exit the target with minimal effect (beyond blubbering). Those that expand dump their energy into the target and cause much more damage.

It is all calculus or risk/benefit analysis. You want to put as much kinetic energy into the target as possible, without putting any energy anywhere else. So, you must HIT your target and nothing else (missing your target is worse than hitting it with less than perfect damage effects). Your projectile must penetrate enough to hit vital structures, but not pass through and hurt that which is behind your target. And you must be able to put multiple shots on target in rapid succession in a physiologically stressful situation.

These are the requirements for perfect self defense. I do not believe that the perfect self defense weapon exists. I can't carry a 105mm howitzer, and it would be very likely for it to injure/kill others I do not intend to be targeted. OC spray may not stop a threat. Everything in between is some level of compromise, and each of us must balance the numerous factors (weapon, caliber, projectile, capacity, manual of arms, etc) to find the right tool for our personal situation.

The problem is us mere mortals miss a lot.......at the range. I can’t imagine what my shooting would be like on a two way range....with me screaming like a little girl and all.

Glock first. Beretta a close second.
Their track records and parts availability beat all others listed.

None of those would be my choice. In my bed side table is an HK45 with a light. We have had this discussion many times and it's settled, put a light on whatever you got beside the bed and, go shoot it at least once a month. Make sure you know how to use the light.

Glock 17