This would be my choice.
Posted on 10/26/2005 1:36:11 AM PDT by bramdawg
Going onto a local PD in los angeles area. Have heard stories both about .40's and .45's what is really the difference. I know comfort is important put I want to know if I will be safe with a .40 or if I should go with .45. I want the best gun for my job.
This would be my choice.
Tou have the best tag line I have seen lately.
Now, that... little cowbell inference, was almost as humourously pinto'd beaned-ed, as this fine thread.
Where ya at, bramdawg? Maybe the Mod knows your special facts and is just savin' your good rhetoric for us heathens.
Anyone who hasn't seen a billion ".XX vs .XX Shootout!" articles in the magazines probably isn't familiar enough with firearms to understand the replies.
Should'a told him to choose between .38 Super and 9mm Largo.
I really like the feel of the .45 M1916A2 when firing pistols. It fits my hand really well. I have never fired a .40, but .45 was designed to take down drugged-out pirates.
Honest question - I am not an American: What is a 'local' PD in the LA Area? How many PDs does LA have? And do any of them allow not only officers to choose thier own caliber, but allow .45 ACP? Not that I have anything against it, given the choice I would carry the .45, but I know it is very un-politically correct caliber, and a lot of PDs do not allow them just because of its association with the military.
I guess I am just a bit suspicious of this post.
Gotta badge?
I tend to agree with the person in post #5. 357 magnum shooting 125-130 grain JHPs - Federal preferably. Sure you can get higher calber guns with larger loads but in a personal defense situation they are difficult to control for accurate shot placement. In the 357 avoid 158 and 180 grain loads for the same reason and be sure to stick with JHPs
There's a ton of departments in the LA area. LAPD Swat uses the .45. There's also the LA Sheriffs Dept. Long Beach has a department. I'm not aware of any that permit choice of caliber, or even frequently the choice of weapon.
Some departments in the real west (not California) still permit choice of weapon and caliber, but they're getting fewer and fewer. Lawyers for departments like uniformity of weaponry and ammo for defense in the inevitable lawsuits that occur when some scumbag gets smoked.
The use of a given caliber by the military has nothing to do with it.
M1916A2 ?
Is that John Moses Browning's lost design?
I disagree. The M1911-A1 and its variants is, IMHO, the finest combat handgun ever designed. That's the problem. It's a COMABT handgun, not designed for peace officers. It's much better for firing doubletaps than holding someone at gun point under high stress situations.
Please don't get me wrong. I love the 1911s. I own and shoot them. But I wouldn't use them for LE work, due to the far greater trainging needed to use them, and the ease with which "something can go wrong" because of the situation.
Mark
With a pistol you have to aim and shoot, and hope you get a kill or at least a knockdown - with a shotgun you just point and shoot.
If the blast of pellets miss your intruder, the muzzle blast - both noise and flash - with scare the poop out of your intruder as you pump another load into the chamber.
Pistol use takes practice...shotguns don't.
No question the .45 is the way to go. I have an EMT buddy who has seen lots of gun shoot wounds. They don't get back up from a .45 in the right area. Keep yourself safe.
And plenty of chances for jamming.
Hey! .38 Super ROCKS! Of course, to load it to "major caliber" loads, you need to run it up to pressures greater than the cartridge was ever designed for, so you can only get 2 or 3 reloads out of a case. And you have to use fully ramped (supported) barrels, otherwise you'll bulge the bottom of the case...
Of course, this is only for games like IPSC and USPSA.
Mark
Personally, I prefer a revolver. Colt Python.
That .454 Casull is interesting.
So is that US Army Model 1917 - .45 ACP...
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