Personal Defense: The Cool 9mm or an Archaic .45?

To begin with, I'm not trying to portray one type superior to another; I'm just trying to list the pros and cons of each type. However, since personal defense, contrary to what many of us think goes beyond the caliber; therefore, it's good to know that reliability comes first. Hence, as a rule of thumb, you must find out how reliable a firearm is before you lock and execute your decision. And reliability is often directly proportional to the manufacturer.

Now, there are two conditions that you must fulfill before we proceed any further. Firstly, it is the type of the handgun; next comes the SA/DA factor. If handguns are not your everyday cuppa, then know that SA stands for Single Action i.e. you need to cock the hammer before pulling the trigger whereas DA is Double Action or the trigger itself cocks the hammer when pulled. The terms apply equally to revolvers and semi-autos, but DA handguns can also be made to fire in SA mode.

N.B. The hammerless models use a spring-driven firing pin and are considered DA by default.

Let's consider the SA handguns first. These handguns (a semi-auto) stay cocked-and-locked i.e. the manual safety is engaged after readying the gun to fire. Else, you need to pull the slide first to load a round (it also cocks the hammer); in case there's a round in the chamber, you need to pull the hammer back with your thumb. For SA revolvers, the hammer must always be kept down unless you intend to fire. However, hammer down on a loaded chamber is dangerous and unless you are too proficient, a de-cocking attempt or dropping the gun may fire a live round. Therefore, it's always recommended to keep a SA handgun in an 'empty chamber-hammer down' mode. Before firing, just pull the slide to load the chamber and cock the hammer. For DA handguns, they have a built in safety (transfer bar) that prevents the hammer from detonating the primer; it only draws back when the trigger is pulled. Carry it loaded with the hammer down, no problems regarding that.

Both processes take time; however, SA mode provides you with more accuracy since the long and hard trigger pulls can be avoided.

Now, we come to the main part of the discussion regarding the caliber. Let's start with the 9mm.

The 9mm is in fact a .38 caliber, but it equals or surpasses quite a few larger calibers due to a greater mass assigned to the bullet. The problem is that a 9mm depends more on the type of ammunition used to show its real talent; a Winchester Ranger T (127-grain +P+) easily gains an upper hand when compared the Federal 115-grain JHP or the Remington 115-grain JHP +P. This is because the Ranger expands much more compared to the other two. And expansion translates to damage.

Whereas for the beloved 'Forty-Five', it has its own virtues for being effective on a shot per shot basis but not as much as the common myth of being hitting an opponent's little finger and knocking him down. But definitely, it has a knockdown effect since bigger ones always have an edge above the smaller ones. That way, a .45 caliber handgun, loaded with a .45 ACP round is more effective than the .357 SIG or a .40 S&W; at times, it also surpasses the .357 Magnum loads.

But capacity is also a vital factor and the 9mm semi-auto wins hands down in this aspect. Compare a 14-capacity against 6- or 7 rounds; more is definitely merrier. And loading? Just slip in the clip instead of chambering the rounds individually (unless you are carrying a speed-loader) in a revolver.

So which one should be your preference? A reliable one of course - one that points well, delivers a good feel, proves to work well even when it's dark and delivers a recoil you can handle. But above all, give preference to your skill and tactics to handle the chosen one before going after a gun for self-defense.