357 vs. the 45

Originally posted by ANNED
The 45 has about the same stopping power as the 357

You will notice that the 357 will have a brighter mussel flash sometimes to much.

In most cases the choice depends on if you like a semi-auto or wheel gun.

Allmost all 45s are semiautos and allmost all 357s are wheel guns.

I will stick with my 1911 and ten rounds over a 357 and 6 rounds.

I'll take my Sprinfield XD with 14 rounds over any 1911. I'll even take my carry Taurus 9mm with 13 rounds over a 6 round 357 revolver.

I prefer the .45 over the .357 for a defensive pistol caliber. I am more of an automatic kind of guy, over revolvers. If I were going to have a revolver, I'd get a .44 mag. But at the same time I would rather have a high cap 9mm over a .45.

You guys forgot the 357 Sig. There are several semi-auto models that pump out them hot stingers, Glock and Sig come to mind.....I think the Police should get them issued.

357 sig, one of the fastest FPS semi auto round.

[edit on 11-3-2009 by 38181]

the revolver is certainly the best way to go as far as reliabilty goes. fewer moving parts, jamming is very unlikely and there should be very little chance of an accidental firing.

the semi gives more bullets and would be easier to carry as concealed carry (thinner).

it depends on use.

also, how likely do you think it would be to need and fire more than 6 bullets if you were in a position to fire your weapon?

Originally posted by LiveFreeOrDie..

also, how likely do you think it would be to need and fire more than 6 bullets if you were in a position to fire your weapon?

True especially if the "one shot one kill" applies.

Its just a warm fuzzy feeling to have 4 more fast buddies ready to go and another 10 in a clip a second away from needing them in a gun fight, with a semi-auto.

reply to post by 38181


yep, I don't disagree. I also have a 40 cal S&W that holds 14 in the mag, lol

There is one distinctive advantage of the .357 over the .45 ACP in a firearm.

Being a wheel gun or revolver..one can use .38 Specials for versatility in this revolver..no matter how many rounds the cylinder has.

.38 Specials offer less expensive practice rounds than does .357 Magnums.
You cannot make such a statement about the .45 ACP. .45 ACP rounds are expensive..even to reload as compared to the .38/357.

I practice mostly with inexpensive .38 Specials. I am not particularly enamoured with high capacity as I carry speed loaders.

I also am a readloader and load .38 Specials, .357 Magnums, and also .45ACP.

Wheel guns by nature are more dependable and reliable..in spite of having lesser capacity. It is just the way it is...though the semi autos have come up significantly in reliability today.
Semi autos can also be fussy about the brand of ammo you feed into them. They often have feeding problems with various brands. This is seldom an issue with a revolver as far as dependibilty to feed or fire. So if you choose a semi auto..know your tool and know what ammo it prefers for reliability and dependability. This is a big plus in favor of the revolver.
Actually..now that one thinks it through..know ones ammo for ones tool ..no matter....revolver or semi auto. But be aware that semi autos can be quite finicky about ammo brands/types.

I also have a revolver in .45ACP and it is a very accurate shooter. Here ..this one..

www.gunblast.com...

I will sometimes carry this revolver concealed along with the .45ACP speed loader clips but mostly I carry my .357 six shot.

I enjoy shooting this .45ACP revolver for pure shooting accuracy and it is more accurate than my 1911 and my 1911 has been worked on and is quite accurate.

The .45 whether in .45ACP or .45 Long Colt has one thing going for it if you can handle and or master it..it makes a bloody big hole. The .357 is not slack in this regard..but it is not a .45.

My preference is a wheel gun. But whatever you prefer..whatever caliber....there is no substitute for practice. Know your tool...no matter what you choose.

Thanks,
Orangetom



[edit on 12-3-2009 by orangetom1999]

reply to post by backyard guru


If it was a "cheapie" it doesnt suprise me. A good "reputable" brand will seldom if ever do this.

It all goes to personal choice.

I think I'll throw a bit of gasoline to this thread-

" What about 45 vs 9mm?"

Just a joke for us .45 fans! LOL

I think both are too much for self defense. I mean I live next door to people. A 9ml or a 12 gauge full of buck shot are not going to kill my neibors when they go through the person. The walls will stop buck shot and a 9mil hollow point will still blow a head of but won't go through the walls.

You have to understand when protecting your home there are sometimes more people than yourself in the house. The benifits of a .45 or .357 are that the neibors will be the ones calling the police the draw backs are the ambulance my have to go there first.

I used to have a colt .45 revolver 56 model I believe but it was loud and powerful. If I was working on the farm it was great for killing a cyote or snake but I live in town now.

To tell you the truth in a home invasion situation a .22 should be more than enough. If you can not take one or 2 people down at that range with a semi automatic .22 you have no buisness with a gun in the first place.

Plus .22 ammo is much cheaper and a great girl gun for teaching the lady how to shoot. My wife wants to learn but has never fired a wepon and if I started her on a big boy one good kick and she would be done.

Also you can get the .22 bullets that fragment on impact and they would be just as deadly if not worse than a .45 at 15 yards or less.

Buck shot will easily pass thru walls, probably more so than a hollow point .357 as the buck shot does not expand. Also with buck shot you have 9 holes per shot vs 1 for a pistol round.
If you live in an apartment building and are concerned about over penetration, they make frangible rounds that will disintegrate upon impact with a hard surface but still go thru flesh.
I load Gold Dot .357 rounds (aka 'the flying ashtray') which expand very fast and transfer most of their energy upon initial impact with the target. I still wouldn't want to be on the other side of a plaster wall when one was fired at me, but buck shot would be even worse.

eb

Originally posted by bcroper
To tell you the truth in a home invasion situation a .22 should be more than enough. If you can not take one or 2 people down at that range with a semi automatic .22 you have no buisness with a gun in the first place.

.22 is not a home defense round, unless you consider your self good enough to shoot these two intruders in the eye or something.

A .22LR fired center mass has a very low one shot stopping potential. I'm sure someone else can post the raw data.

eb

357 has huge stopping power if looking at delivery of foot pounds of energy. 45 holds more rounds, but may not be needed in typical self defense.
Both guns are great self defense weapons - - if you are practiced and effective.

22's can kill and have killed many but don't have the instant immobilzation power of bigger calibers.

Theagentnineteen sums it up quite well. Lot of good posts here about his.

reply to post by Razmear23


Both recent school shooters in Finland used .22s They are lethal enough...

Altough my own choise would be a .45, simply because i'm more familiar with it. Or even 9mm as i put 1000+ rounds through my CZ a month.

Originally posted by on_yur_6

Originally posted by ANNED
The 45 has about the same stopping power as the 357

You will notice that the 357 will have a brighter mussel flash sometimes to much.

In most cases the choice depends on if you like a semi-auto or wheel gun.

Allmost all 45s are semiautos and allmost all 357s are wheel guns.

I will stick with my 1911 and ten rounds over a 357 and 6 rounds.

I'll take my Sprinfield XD with 14 rounds over any 1911.

I'll even take my carry Taurus 9mm with 13 rounds over a 6 round 357 revolver.

Have a friend who swears by 1911's and such... He bought an XD and carried it concealed. One day he loaded it into a holster in the small of his back. As he was tucking in his shirt, the "Not Quite so SAFE, SAFETY" didn't hold as the shirt wound it's way into the trigger area, compressed and fired off a round. He took a slider down across his butt iinto his left calf muscle, and out.

The really great thing about the model 1911, is the true stopping power, and it's length of time as an active round. It was designed to knock over the Philipine Natives, Moros, I believe they were called, after they got hopped up on dope and charged the American lines, and nothing else would stop them... Immediately.

The .45 acp isn't for everyone. The .357 is a great round, as well. The .357 also has more of a propensity for going in one side, and out the other, while the .45 "usually" dums up enough to stay put, anbd provide enough stopping power to take down a charging stoned ummm... person. Without endangering bystanders.

I, personally am very fond of both rounds, and currently have a S&
W .357 with 2.5 inch barrel, and an auto-ordnance model 1911 with a rattle snake skin finish. Both field tested, and mother approved.

I like the m1911a1 a lot so I'd go with the .45.
the difference in power does not really matter in this situation, so it comes down to small (and some rather large) details. such as clip size (or the number of chambers) size of the gun, noise, style, barrel length, the sight... it goes on and on.

The .357 puts holes in people just as well as .45, and it's much better at penetrating armor. Not that anyone really has any business putting holes in armor with a pistol.

I prefer semi auto handguns myself, so I'm fond of the .357 sig

It is not the caliber or the weapon, its the user that makes the difference! For those that cannot or will not practice enough to be proficient with any weapon, the revolver is by far the best choice. I don't care what caliber if you can't hit what you aim at, your just p**in' in the wind! Most all of the jams I see from auto's encountered are because of the shooter not the weapon or the ammo. If you can't hold onto a .45 auto with a stiff enough wrist, your auto will jam from inertia and false angles of ejection. This especialy true of any of the Hot calibers discussed here. Stove pipe jams or lack of completing a lock into battery of the slide is always a problem of the shooter if its being fired with factory ammo. Most women (and I'm not picking on them) should honestly try different calibers if they are considering a carry weapon and most times it should be a revolver they choose.
Me? I'm 6'2" and 245 lbs. I can hide almost any weapon on my body for concealment. Most ladies need a small snub nosed revolver! Get yourself a great instructor and practice. Don't ever just buy and hope!!

Zindo

I own a 357 Magnum revolver and a 38 Super Auto and the one thing that stands out to me is that over a longer distance the revolver comes into its own for accuracy whereas the auto sprays wider and wider the further out you shoot.

[edit on 17-4-2009 by mazzroth]

Originally posted by backyard guru
What is your opinion on which is a better self defense caliber.

My opinion is what you asked for so that's what I'll give you here. In my mind, when it comes to stopping/killing power, bigger is better. Does that mean bigger caliber or more powder behind the projectile? That I'm not sure of. The one thing I do know is that if protecting your own life by taking anothers is the only way to go, you need look no further than a .22. All it takes is training and knowing where the bullet needs to go to stop someone.

... Which would be the gun you wished you would have in a conflict?

(Lethal?)
My .30 Carbine seems to work just fine. (Yeah, it's not a handgun, but it is considered to be a handgun caliber.) It's a rifle that is both small and light for close in and can be used for longer range as well.

My second choice (for real firepower close in) would be a short (18-20")barrel 12 Gauge shotgun loaded with "Chainmail" rounds. You can buy them online but they are a bit expensive.
They're easy enough to make on your own if you have the right tools (Which I do) so I made a few to try them out. I'll have to make more and try them on different objects. Trees don't seem to stand up too well to them. From the initial tests, saying that I was impressed with the results doesn't really get the point across. It was far more than what I thought I'd see from them. If you need to stop someone with one round, these rounds would be a good start.

(Non-lethal?)
Again 12 Gauge but with beanbag rounds or something equal. Also expensive, but when it comes to dealing with the courts, it's a better first round to use for self defense. (first two rounds at least.)