What is the best bullet caliber for a semi-automatic?

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Mo Zadir

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Question 1: If you had to choose between 9mm, 357 sig, 40 s&w, and 45 acp, which would you prefer and why?

Question 2: Which gun manufacturer do you prefer?
 
They all have advantages and disadvantages.

9x19 Parabellum is the most widely used 9mm cartridge. It allows users to carry greater capacity compared to larger caliber rounds and also has less recoil than them. This allows quicker and more accurate firing. 9mm's stopping power and penetration is moderate. It has a kinetic energy of 440-480 J and a muzzle velocity(the speed of the bullet when it leaves the muzzle) of 300-360 m/s depending on the bullet weight

.357 SIG has much higher kinetic energy and muzzle velocity than most hangun cartridges. It is good against body armor for the tremendous penetration it creates compared to all other handgun cartridges. The recoil of .357 SIG is very strong though. If you want to use a 357 caliber round, use .357 Magnum instead because it is known to have slightly better performance than .357 SIG. .357 SIG has a kinetic energy of 700-830 J and muzzle velocity of 380-470 m/s depending on bullet weight.

.40 S&W is similar to 9mm Parabellum in all ways but has %50 more energy (that pretty much means %50 more power). Plus, its recoil isn't too strong for a large-caliber round. If you wanted to use 9mm, don't. Use this instead since it is one step ahead 9mm. .40 S&W's k. energy is 500-800 J and its m. velocity is 320-420 m/s.

.45 ACP is a very versatile round that combines excellent accuracy with exceptional stopping power and moderate recoil. It is roughly equalivent with .40 S&W in many ways. Because it is a subsonic round (its velocity is lower than the speed of sound) it has low penetration and therefore it isn't very good against body armor but still .45 ACP is the most powerful round that can be used with a suppressed handgun/submachine gun. .45 ACP has k. energy of 700-870 J which is very high and m. velocity of 310-420 m/s.

My choice would be .45 ACP because it is great in almost all ways and it is used in M1911 pistol which is one of my favourite handguns. If you want penetration though, .357 Magnum is the answer.

And for the gun manufacturer question; Heckler&Koch is a great manufacturer. I just love the sturdiness of HK manufactured guns such as G3, MP5, G36.

Note: I am no professional hunter or something, I just like weapons and I study a lot about them. I've never even fired a real gun before.
 
1. I prefer the .45ACP because of three things: the 1911 series, making large holes in paper, and accuracy. 9mm would be my second choice because it's more economical and has plenty of different bullet weights for factory ammo.

2. I prefer Kimber 1911 guns (equal to or greater than the nicer Springfields. For a 9mm I would prefer Beretta or that ever-expensive classic FN-Browning High power.
 
9mm
cheap
low recoil
easy to buy
if you can't kill something with one bullet, then shoot some more bullets.

technically I can only buy long guns as of now, and California law has banned all the pistol-carbines. But I would like to have a Ruger carbine in .44mag and a Hi-Point 995 (9mm).

when I can buy a pistol, I would buy a surplus 7.62x25 pistol and a Glock 21 in 45ACP.
7.62x25 has low recoil, cheap ammo, excellent penetration and many of the pistols are cheap, reliable, simple.
The .45ACP packs a deadly punch, still affordable, and the GLOCK 21 is a indestructible, highly reliable, popular (but ugly) pistol. the glock costs more than most pistols, but its more accurate, reliable, durable, indestructible than other pistols.
 
9mm and 40 S&W (Short and Wimpy) are only worth while to carry if you have access to free ammo, or, are a woman and cannot handle the better 45 acp. The 357 Sig - good luck finding ammo in some places.

45acp is the king of semi-automatics. It has the best stopping power and control.
 
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