I carry the .45 and 9 as a back up. To be honest, because that is what Indiana Jones did, dadgum it! (I keep a small .22 in my pocket because I think I’m the Mossad or something). Honestly, a handgun is your personal defense weapon. If you feel more confident with a certain gun/caliber, regardless of what statistics and “experts” say, that may just be the mental edge that saves your life in a critical incident. Another, thing I have done is go to the range. Fire some three shot stings with each. See which one is more accurate and faster. Does the grip feel good in your hand when you seat it? All these factors come into play mentally.

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I am seventy-four with arthritis and peripheral neuropathy. When I go to the handgun range, I shoot my .454 Casull and .44 magnums to loosen up before I practice with my .45 ACP and 10mm pistols.

I am 47 with a touch of carpal tunnel and you sir are a FAR better man than I.

Good for you, Lima Charlie! I introduced my 88 yo FIL to .45ACP a few years ago. He absolutely loves that round!

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Originally posted by cslinger:

That’s the “kind of thing” I am talking about. Not necessarily specific to .45 but like I said it’s not about what caliber do I go to war with or carry or is perfect for repelling boarders. It’s just those intangible reasons you just dig it. Also I totally agree with that P220 assessment.

.38/.357 is a close second for me because I just enjoy the mechanics of a revolver and the loading of it and the unloading of it. It’s not that I think .38 is the greatest caliber ever but it’s workable and I dig it and it’s platforms. It’s about the joy of shooting for me not about “shootin’ some fool.”

Based on that, for me it's not the caliber as long as it's SA revolver loading/unloading one at a time turning the cylinder for each shot. For me thats as good as it gets.

When I'm too old to rack a slide, I'll go with the 38 spc. and a revolver. It's a lovely cartridge and the most versatile of any centerfire handgun round that exists. Load a slow wadcutter for targets, a softpoint or high quality HP for SD and the trail, or a hard cast Buffalo Bore for Black Bear defense. The 38 spc. is the honey badger of handgun cartridges, it doesn't give a fudge and usually wins.

But if I could afford it I would standardize on 348 Winchester. It makes all handgun cartridges obsolete. Jeff Cooper said beware the man with one gun. It's true and I've seen it in action.

First I like .40 and .45 and those are the calibers that I re-load so that mitigates recoil. I have been cutting down to 9mm partially because I like the capacity and the ease of shooting.

I will always have a couple of .40's and .45's around. My P226 has over 25,000 flawless rounds through it and I just upgraded the sights and grip. Plus I have so many accessories for it it would be hard to sell.

I am not exactly what most would consider elderly, but in terms of physical ability I am ancient. I suffer from severe rheumatoid arthritis, which at times renders me incapable of even partially closing my hands. In those instances, even a .22lr is a non-starter for me. Fortunately, my condition is not usually acting up to quite that degree.

With that said, I am usually able to shoot although there is some pain associated with the activity. I can honestly say that 9mm doesn’t even appear on my radar of options for a primary carry cartridge. I simply don’t like the 9mm, and I never have. I still see it as a cartridge that is suitable only for use in a pocket pistol, or for general issue to agencies/entities that must cater to the lowest common denominator at the lowest possible cost.

Generally speaking, I prefer a .40 S&W as an overall well-rounded pistol cartridge. I don’t find the recoil of the cartridge to be objectionable. I do find its performance to be among the best when it comes to stopping bad people from doing bad things.