Question about Muzzel Vol. and Bullet Speed

Question
I have my ccw and I am looking at allot of different ammo to carry. I carry both a 380, 9mm and 45. Not all at once of course. What is the most important thing to consider, Muzzle Vol., Bullet Speed, Penetration, Expanded Diameter, Bullet weight. I know depending on the environment and target and accuracy these will vary. Basically I need to know the important factors to consider when purchasing ammo for ccw. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Todd

Answer
Hi Todd.

There are many books, articles, and videos on this subject. There are literally dozens of factors to consider and every person has their own opinions. Plus each scenario is unique so what works for me on the weekend might not work for me during the week, and my preferences might never work for you at all. So rather than giving you any specific advice or recommendations for your personal scenarios I can only give you some general things to consider:

1 - Size & Weight of the gun. This is important because if the gun is too big or too heavy then you probably won't be able to carry or conceal it and thus it won't do you any good when you leave it at home. If the gun is too small then you may not be able to draw or shoot it well, especially if you have large hands. You need to pick a gun that you can regularly carry with you everywhere that you go, and for most people this means selecting two or more guns for different circumstances such as winter vs. summer. Personally I prefer a medium frame 9mm or a compact ultralight .357 Magnum revolver for most of my needs.

2 - Accuracy. Your gun needs to fit your hand well enough and you need to have enough training and practice that you can consistently fire your gun accurately at the distances which might be involved in a defensive shooting. If the grips are too small or too big, or if the recoil is too strong then you may not be very accurate with the gun and thus it would be a bad choice. Also factor in the availability and cost of the ammunition since these could limit how much practice you can get. Personally I prefer 9mm or .357 Magnum for the same reasons but I have a lot of training and experience with shooting these specific cartridges so I can be pretty accurate with them.

3 - Stopping Power. While many people assume this is the first or most important factor to consider, it is actually the last thing to think about. It won't matter if you own a .500 S&W Magnum handgun, currently the most powerful handgun in the world, if you leave it at home or if you can't shoot it accurately enough to hit the target. So pick your defensive guns based primarily on the first 2 factors and then carry the most powerful cartridge in that gun that you can still shoot accurately and obtain enough ammo to practice with frequently. Once again I like 9mm and .357 Magnum for most of my needs because there are dozens of cartridge choices in each caliber ranging from inexpensive target ammo up to full power defensive or even hunting loads.

So a few of my current favorites include a Sig Sauer P-229 in 9mm for when I can conceal something that big, typically in the fall or winter or whenever I can wear a covering garment or carry a pack. For the spring and summer I typically use a Taurus 617 Titanium revolver in .357 Magnum because it is much smaller and lighter so easier to conceal yet it still has plenty of power. This will often ride in a belt holster, fanny pack, or camera bag. When the weather is really hot and I have minimal clothing with no packs or bags to use for concealment then I will often take a Keltec P-32 in .32 Auto in a pants or shorts pocket, waistband, ankle holster, etc. This is a smaller round with a lot less power and the gun is quite tiny but I can still draw and shoot it accurately and the ammo is readily available to me.

If you have already limited your choices to .380, 9mm, and .45 ACP then I recommend that you put each of your guns through the above tests to see what works best for you. If they all work equally well and you still need help picking the specific cartridges which are best for your shooting scenarios then I recommend the following:

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Stoppers-Handgun-Stopping-Results/dp/0873648722/

http://www.projectile.com/cart.cgi

The video "Deadly Weapons" found on that second page is absolutely awesome - best DVD I have seen in a long time. Lots of factual ammo and very good demos of live ammunition on real targets.

Hope this helps.

Bob