● How to choose a personal defense gun

You think you are ready to buy your first personal defense handgun but you're not really sure which one to choose.  

The first question to consider is, What is the intended purpose of the new gun?

1. Personal defense while you are in your home
2. Personal defense when you are away from your home

When choosing a handgun for home defense most experts will advise you to select the largest caliber which you can reasonably handle.  Guns which fire larger more powerful cartridges tend to be larger and heavier.  The most common cartridges for personal defense are:

1. Small size:  .380 or .38
2. Medium size:   9mm and .40S&W
3. Large size:  .45 ACP and 10mm

The generally accepted idea is that smaller cartridges are those which have smaller bullets and less gun powder in the case and therefor have less recoil are easier to control than the larger and more powerful cartridges.

While in your home the larger gun will offer you better stopping power against an armed and dangerous home invader.  The larger size and weight of the gun will also help reduce the felt recoil.  Portability is not a factor if the gun is to stay at home.

When selecting a gun to carry with you, portability is a factor.  You should use a different set of criteria to make your choice.  A "carry gun" needs to be of a size and weight which you can comfortably bring with you when you leave your home.  Again, larger and heavier guns such as those chambered for .45 ACP will offer very good stopping power against an armed attacker, but, the trade-off for that stopping power is the added size and weight of the gun.

Openly Carrying a handgun in your car is legal in most states.

What is stopping power?  Most experts will tell you "stopping power" is quite simply the ability of a given cartridge to stop an attacker.  There are some generally accepted ideas which define the type of wounds which will stop an attacker.  Generally speaking, larger and more powerful cartridges create larger wounds and more physical trauma than smaller cartridges.  The size of the bullet is one factor, but so is the speed and energy which carry the bullet into the attacker.

For example; a .45 ACP bullet is nearly 1/2 an inch and diameter and the bullet weighs 230 gr. When fired it leaves the muzzle at a speed of 900 feet per second.  For comparison, a 10mm cartridge has bullet with a diameter of .4 of an inch and it weighs 200 gr (slightly smaller and lighter than the .45 bullet)  However, the 10mm bullet leaves the muzzle at a speed of 1300 feet per second.   This means the 10mm bullet is smaller and lighter but it carries more destructive energy into the target and is therefor more lethal than the .45 ACP.  With that added power there is a trade-off in that the 10mm will also cause a more powerful recoil.  With training most people with average body weight and arm strength can control the recoil of the .45 ACP but during the 1990's the FBI did a study and determined the smaller FBI agents had difficulties controlling the 10mm recoil.

Which gun for you?

For concealed carry purposes the gun should be easily carried based on your body size and weight.  A 300 lb person can comfortably conceal a larger handgun while a 95 lb person will have to consider a smaller gun.

For open carry methods the gun size is not as significant of a factor because you are not trying to conceal the gun. The gun may ride in a hip holster.

In this article I have briefly explained some of the primary factors to consider when shopping for a personal defense gun.   Regardless of what people such as salesmen will tell you, there is not any one perfect gun.  There are many trade-offs to consider.   Make a smart and educated choice when you buy your personal defense handgun.

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