Favorite Handgun Round

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So the what are you deer hunting with thread got me thinking about all the different calibers and which is my favorite.

So thought I would pose the question. What is your favorite handgun round? Please explain why. Not with the “well my favorite is the .45 because they don’t make a .46” junk. There isn’t any right or wrong answers. I am just curious as to what others like and why. Good possibility it’s a reason I’ve overlooked. Since this is my idea, I’ll go first.

Mine is the .22 LR. While it isn’t an ideal self defense round and not what I use for personal protection. It is a round that is simply fun to shoot. There are so many different types of handguns chambered in .22 LR, and everyone can find something that strikes their fancy. Anything from single action revolvers to the semi-automatic race guns.

The .22 LR is a cost effective round to shoot. And many major manufactures of self defense handguns offer a .22 LR chambering that minors the their offerings in larger calibers. So you can train more without spending more.

It is also a favorite round of mine to carry fishing, never know when you’ll run across a copperhead or some other poisonous snake while walking to, from, and around the banks of a pond.

Finally and most likely the best reason for me is the nostalgia and fond memories I have of growing up and shooting the .22 LR. I learned to shoot from a couple of my uncles who stepped up and were fathers to me after the death of my Dad. The very first gun I shot was a .22 LR High Standard Dura-Matic that belonged to my Dad.

I imagine the .22 LR was the first for many others as well. My uncles have long been pasted on to join my Dad. But they live on in my heart, especially when I break out my Dad’s ol High Standard and head to the great outdoors with a couple fishing poles.
 
I would have to say .45 acp/auto rim.
As a reloader it is very easy and satisfying to work with (unlike 5.56!) and offers you a wide range of bullet options and velocities to play with.
At the range it gives you a throaty “gong!” when hitting steel and who doesn’t love the perfectly round holes semi-wadcutters make in paper?
 
Have to separate rimfire vs centerfire to have a fair contest.
CF I vote .38 Special. Great to plink with using light loads and fully capable of 50 yard 10 ring accuracy.
Decent defense load with either snub nose carry or +P+ in a K frame.
Love to shoot in everything from 2" to 6" bbls, fun to drop jaws at the steel range running DAO with speedloaders.
AND - you never lose any brass !!!
 
While I also love the .22, I mostly like it in a rifle. My favorite handgun round is gonna be .45 Colt. And I like it in a carbine too. Big slow heavy, classic. Especially with a good Keith style semi-waddcutter or LBT style bullet with a large meplat. Very versatile, but probably more because I grew to appreciate classic big bores form an old friend who taught me a lot about shooting. His favorite was the .44 Spl. So, there's a nostalgic factor too.
 
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If costs weren't a factor, it would be .45 cal.; but, since it is, I tend to shoot my .22's and 9mm's more often as they are more bang for the bucks. As accuracy, it is a toss-up between my tricked-out .45's and my .44 sp. S & W.
 
For me, it’s kind of a holistic thing. Gotta have the right gun for whatever round you like. I love making big holes I can actually see for follow up shots with .45 out of a 40oz all steel gun but I’ve got a bum wrist these days that doesn't like it anymore. Hurts all day the day after a match.

9mm is certainly a ubiquitous round that can accomplish many things, but it sorta bores me, like shooting Glocks, which are about all I own now.
 
Oh man, this can change depending on my mood. Some days I like the 9 for the versatility, some days the .44 special for its accuracy.

But if I were pressed, I would have to say the .45 ACP. I find it’s recoil to be pleasant, its accuracy nice, and the platforms it is most made for to be the most aesthetically pleasing to me. While I enjoy my plastic toys for carry and competition, I am a wood and steel man at heart.
 
"Favorite" is kinda' broad, of course, but if I had to pick one it might be .357 magnum. A .357 levergun in my hands and a 6-shot K-frame on my hip gives me a warm feeling.

.327 Federal Magnum is a very close second: Supposed ballistics better than a 9mm and less recoil than a ,357, can use it for defense, plinking, in a lever-action, and allows 6-rounds in a J-frame.........availability hurts it though.
 
If I didn’t care about the the price, I would say 10mm is my favorite to shoot. As already mentioned above, it is a very versatile load.
 
depends... for plinking - .22LR & 9x19; for EDC - conceal pocket:.380, regular: 9x19; revolvers: .38 Special.
for home defense: .22Magnum & 9x19
.22LR just pleasant to shoot (not cost effective at all 😎 ... bcs you'are shooting much more ammo)
9x19 & .38 Special - powerful enough for any job
.380 - good enough for self-defense on a very short distance
.22 Magnum - high speed, low recoil and, at the same time, very safe for home use
all EDC and Home-Defense are HP (hollow point)

DSC01643.JPG

penetration.JPG
 
Just for fun shooting = 22 LR, handguns and rifles
45 ACP because I like 1911s
45 Colt as I have several handguns and rifles for this round and it reminds me of the Westerns I watched as a child.
 
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9mm
cheap to make, easy to shoot well, and not picky at all. Every 9mm handgun I own feeds and fires every type of 9mm I've fed it without problems. From WWI Luger to a 2011 blaster to a Glockalike Dagger they all just work, and POI doesn't vary enough to complain about it.
 
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Favorite (not most carried) is .32ACP. It is low recoil/bang/flash for fun shooting without the traditional problems with shooting .22LR from a semi-auto.

My Beretta 81 was the most popular pistol at the women's gun safety class my wife took. I certainly wouldn't balk at a 81FS to have as well.
 
For me, its a tossup between 357 mag and 44 mag. If I'm forced to choose just 1, its the 357.

I'm primarily a revolver shooter, and I handload. Both rounds are much cheaper to reload than buy factory ammo. Especially 44 mag. The cost difference between home rolled and store bought is nuts.

Both rounds are very accurate. 44 mag can be loaded soft for paper punching, or heavy for hunting game up to bear.

357 is probably one of the most versatile cartridges' out there. Light 38 for punching paper, heavy 357 for hunting deer. Tons of options for self defense, and statistics show its one of the most effective man stoppers out there. Its a lot of power in a small package. Either round performs well in a handgun or carbine.

If you have a 357 revolver, lever carbine, and a loading press, there's not much you can't do with that combo!
 
My favorite is from 1898. It can be loaded to shoot 230 grain full wadcutters at 850 fps for J,K,L and N frames for defense or down to a 148 grain at 600-750 fps for the Great Model 52 and unbelievable accuracy.....Yep...for this old man the .38 Special does it all.
It duplicates .45 Ball in mass and velocity and Better penetration.....it's accuracy at Camp Perry is legendary...1898 and still going strong...
 
I like .38 Spl. Easy to reload, tends to be accurate, and you can run anything from 620 fps wadcutters up to hardcast .38/.44 loads.

Not to mention the guns built around the cartridge… single actions, snubbies, service and target revolvers, and even leverguns.
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
My favorite is from 1898. It can be loaded to shoot 230 grain full wadcutters at 850 fps for J,K,L and N frames for defense or down to a 148 grain at 600-750 fps for the Great Model 52 and unbelievable accuracy.....Yep...for this old man the .38 Special does it all.
It duplicates .45 Ball in mass and velocity and Better penetration.....it's accuracy at Camp Perry is legendary...1898 and still going strong...
Click to expand...

JRV said:
I like .38 Spl. Easy to reload, tends to be accurate, and you can run anything from 620 fps wadcutters up to hardcast .38/.44 loads.

Not to mention the guns built around the cartridge… single actions, snubbies, service and target revolvers, and even leverguns.
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I miss my Colt Diamondbacks. Had 2 in classic midnight blue with 4" barrels in .38. I could ring the 10" going at 50yds all day long with waddcutters. Even had a 6" in .22. Now, I don't have any. :confused:
 
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Jmoser said:
Have to separate rimfire vs centerfire to have a fair contest.
CF I vote .38 Special. Great to plink with using light loads and fully capable of 50 yard 10 ring accuracy.
Decent defense load with either snub nose carry or +P+ in a K frame.
Love to shoot in everything from 2" to 6" bbls, fun to drop jaws at the steel range running DAO with speedloaders.
AND - you never lose any brass !!!
Click to expand...
Separating rimfire and centerfire is fair. They are worlds apart. So far in the thread there have been some great cartridges mentioned and for various reasons.

My favorite centerfire cartridge would go to the .44 mag. While I love the 10mm, it lacks the carbine/rifle support that the .44 mag has in place. The .44 mag can be loaded light for target shooing and heavy for protection against critters that walk with 2 and 4 legs.

A close second would be the .38 spl. Like @BatteryOaksBilly said, it’s so versatile. And a pleasure to shoot. Doesn’t beat you up bad even when loaded on the hotter side.
 
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