SpudFiles

I think you should go with the .357 S&W, a good friend of mine owns a .357mag revolver and i must say they are excelent 'work horse pisols' they are very fun to shoot and they are powerfull enough for self defense.

Pete Zaria wrote:

schismatized wrote:why are my posts being deleted out of here?

Sorry, I deleted two or three posts (not just yours) that were off-topic. A few sarcastic comments and jokes about grenades... I don't mean to be a forum nazi and normally I wouldn't, but this is my thread about my gun, and I wanted to keep it clean. Nothing personal.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

I just dont like being censored. it was a harmless joke is all. dont shoot me.

Calibre is important, the bigger hole you can make, the better, but don't underestimate the importance of depth of penetration - have a read through this:

Kinetic energy does not wound. Temporary cavity does not wound. The much discussed "shock" of bullet impact is a fable and "knock down" power is a myth. The critical element is penetration. The bullet must pass through the large, blood bearing organs and be of sufficient diameter to promote rapid bleeding. Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, "too little penetration will get you killed." 42,43 Given desirable and reliable penetration, the only way to increase bullet effectiveness is to increase the severity of the wound by increasing the size of hole made by the bullet. Any bullet which will not penetrate through vital organs from less than optimal angles is not acceptable. Of those that will penetrate, the edge is always with the bigger bullet.44

my $ .002 worth of unorganized ,rambling thoughts
I don't see 1 gun being able to do all well. target ,plinking urban carry,backwoods carry,hunting,shooting sports

a 45 always makes at least a 45 (454) hole irregardless of weather the h.p. cavity gets plugged and fails to open

although I'm not recoil sensitive the fun factor of a light gun and brisk loads would wear thin pretty fast for me ,your milage may vary

some , not all ,light guns "shoot loose "

you could practice and plink with the same power loads in the 45 as you carry

the .45 could get you into a couple of new competition events , more practice

when I'm off the beaten path I go with either a 357 or 454 , first 2 shots snake shot.

when 2 legged snakes are my worry I carry a 45 acp 24/7 pro in a fanny pack

@cdheller,

I don't expect this gun to be used for hunting or target shooting beyond more than 50 yards tops; this gun will be used for plinking, light target shooting (and maybe the revolver competition at the local hogan's alley setup...), and carry/defense. No hunting or serious target shooting.

You definitely have a point about .45 making a 0.45" hole, however, as jackssmirkingrevenge pointed out, penetration depth and permanant cavity are more important factors than straight-out wound size. .357 Magnum travels around 50% faster than .45 ACP, and is a smaller caliber, which translates to better penetration - with semi-jacketed hollowpoints (JHP's) the expansion is excellent, also. If we're comparing .357 to .45 ACP (not .454 Casul, though), then .357 is definately the better self defense caliber. However, revolvers rarely hold more than 8 rounds max, which can tilt the advantage in .45's favor depending on the situations.

To each his own on ammo choice and lineup. I have an 18" barreled mossberg 500 with pistol grips kept near my bed - first two shells are birdshot, the rest are .00 buck. I agree with your tactics there, but I'm not a big fan of snakeshot in pistols; if I want a spread I'll grab my shotgun. I've also heard repeated snakeshot use will fudge up your rifling.

I'm starting to lean more towards the revolver, because a good revolver will last a lifetime. I can't say I believe that to be true about a polymer-framed pistol, although I'm sure if you took excellent care of it, it could too.

I need to find a range where I can rent both guns in question and put a few boxes through each before making a decision on which to buy. If I get the revolver, I'll have the cylinder fluted to accept full moon clips instead of speedloaders, so I could carry moon clips of .357. That'd be sweet. Either weapon I get, I'll be adding a laser....

Thanks for your input.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.