I recently wrote about bullet choices, and in that article I mentioned that I thought .380 was a bit light for a carry gun. Today, I’m going to expand on that and discuss carry guns and calibers. I realize this is a fraught topic, and everyone has an opinion on what is a good carry gun. What I’m going to do is present some options, and present some data to support my conclusions.
Before I get into what I think are good carry options, I need to get one point out of the way first: Having a gun if/when you need one is better than not having one. Only have a little Spanish .25? Well, it’s better than nothing as long as you can use it. As the great Jeff Cooper said “beware the man with one gun, he can probably use it.“
Now onward into the depths. . .
Let’s start with some definitions. By carry gun I mean a concealable handgun of some sort. Obviously, what is concealable for me, a 6’1″ 210lbs man may not be concealable for a 5′ 98lb woman, but there is an upper limit. You are not going to conceal an 8″ barreled S&W X frame chambered in .500 S&W unless you’re the Mountain. So we’re going to limit today’s discussion to 4.5″ barreled pistols or smaller. For reference, that’s the barrel length on a Glock 19.
What Caliber?
Before we can get to the guns, we need to take a look at the calibers. There are a wide variety of pistol calibers suitable for carry. That is, they are chambered in guns that are concealable and light enough to carry. Everything from .22 lr to .45 ACP can be found in a carry gun, but some are better than others. Let’s take a look at the external ballistics of some of the more common rounds.
| Caliber (man., weight and bbl length) | Muzzle Velocity | Muzzle energy |
|---|---|---|
| .22 long rifle (Win, Silvertip 37 gr, 1.8″ bbl) | 1080 fps | 92 lb-ft |
| .22 WMR (Hor. Critical Def, 45 gr, 1.8″ bbl) | 950 fps | 91 lb-ft |
| .25 ACP (Hor. Critical Def. 35 gr, 2″ bbl) | 900 fps | 63 lb-ft |
| .32 ACP (Hor. Critical Def. 60 gr, 2″ bbl) | 1000 fps | 133 lb-ft |
| .380 ACP (Hor. Critical Def. 90gr, 2.75″ bbl) | 900 fps | 162 lb-ft |
| .38 Special (Fed. Punch +p 120 gr, 1.875″) | 900 fps | 216 lb-ft |
| .38 Special (Speer Gold Dot 135 gr 4″ bbl) | 1025 fps | 320 lb-ft |
| 9×19 mm (Fed. Punch 124 gr 4″ bbl) | 1150 fps | 364 lb-ft |
| .38 Super (BuffBore +p 115 gr 4.5″ bbl) | 1402 fps | 540 lb-ft |
| .357 Mag (Fed HydroShock 158gr, 2.125″) | 1100 fps | 400 lb-ft |
| .357 Mag (Fed. Hydro-Shock 158gr, 4″ bbl) | 1240 fps | 540 lb-ft |
| .40 S&W (Fed Punch 165 gr, 4″ bbl) | 1130 fps | 468 lb-ft |
| 10mm (Hor. Crit. Duty 175 gr, 5″ bbl) | 1160 fps | 523 lb-ft |
| .45 ACP (Fed. Punch 230 gr, 5″ bbl) | 890 fps | 405 lb-ft |
So, what are we seeing in that chart?
I chose the data in that chart based on a couple of factors. First, I chose rounds that are relatively common across most of the US. For that reason, there are no entries for 9mm Makarov or 5.7×28. Second, I used loads based on what is commonly available at the typical local gun shop. Third, the velocity and muzzle energy numbers come from real-world velocity testing in barrel lengths that are typical in carry guns.
What can we take from those numbers? Obviously, some calibers are more powerful than others, some are faster than others and some are better suited for self defense than others.
One thing I think I have to point out is the seeming lack of performance for the .22 WMR. The .22WMR is a rifle round, and has been from the start. It uses slower-burning rifle powders that are optimized for long barrels. If a manufacturer loaded up the .22WMR with a faster-burning powder, I think the numbers would change, but not enough for me to consider carrying one.
But what makes a caliber suitable for carry and self defense? There are a couple of things to consider. First, is that caliber available in a carry sized gun. Second, does the round deliver enough energy to be effective.
During WWII, the US Army felt that 36 lb-ft of energy was enough to kill a human. Today the Army says 59 lb-ft is what it takes. As you can see, all the common calibers I listed above generate enough energy to dispatch a human according to the Army. It’s pretty clear to me that it would take a very precise shot to do it with something like a .22 or .25 though. So the question becomes, what is enough energy to do the job with a less than perfect shot.
From my perspective, there is a pretty well defined cutoff point, 300 lb-ft of ME, of calibers that should be considered for carry. That power level will provide satisfactory penetration. 300 lb-ft of energy is enough to cause enough hydro-static shock to cause major disruptions in bodily systems. Looking at the chart, that cutoff is at the .38 Special with bullets of at least 130 grains. Generally speaking, pistol rounds with that level of muzzle energy also carry enough velocity to ensure reliable expansion at typical self defense ranges.
You will note that I have not mentioned the FBI ammunition testing protocols. There is a reason for that, namely that the hard barrier tests have little civilian application. I do think the 12-18″ penetration number is important however, as an oblique shot would have to travel that far to hit the vitals. Moreover, the FBI itself says the tests are not determinative of the actual effectiveness of a given round on a human target.
Am I saying .25 ACP is unsuitable for a carry gun? Yes, with a caveat. If the only gun you have, whether it’s the only one you own or the only one you can conveniently carry, is a little .25, please carry that. I’d say the same thing for the .22s, .32s and .380s. You are better off with one of those than with nothing. Getting shot, even with something like a .25 hurts. You’re going to need to be good enough with your gun to hit a ping pong ball sized target at 10 meters consistently. If you’re not, carry something that reaches that 300 lb-ft threshold.
Now onto the calibers that do meet that 300 lb-ft threshold. Every caliber 9mm and larger round I looked at produced more than 300 lb-ft at the muzzle regardless of load. Some like the .38 super, .357 Mag and 10mm are pushing past 500 lb-ft of muzzle energy. Based on the data I saw, the .38 Special requires a load of at least 130 grains to reach the 300 lb-ft threshold. The issues I see with some of the more powerful loads comes down to capacity, concealability and shootability. We’ll get into that in a couple of paragraphs when we start talking about carry guns.
What’s the best carry caliber?
As much as it pains me to say so, (your editor carried a pistol chambered in .38 super for a very long time and until very recently thought that caliber the best for carry) the best all-around choice for carry caliber is 9mm. It delivers enough energy on target. It is chambered in a lot of different guns. It is affordable to practice with. Recoil can be fairly mild, especially with the lighter 115 gr loads. It has good capacity in carry sized guns. Even a single stack compact 9mm holds at least 8 rounds, 2 more than any compact revolver chambered in either .38 special or .357 magnum.
Carry Guns
Now on to what to carry. In the interests of full disclosure, this Editor has three pistols he carries regularly. My main EDC is a Glock 43x MOS with a Trijicon RMRcc red dot. I also carry a Colt Commander chambered in .38 super and a custom 1911 in .45 ACP on occasion.
Unlike the caliber section, I am not going to proclaim one gun or manufacturer as the superior choice. Instead, I am going to point out the things you should look at when deciding on a carry gun. Pistol/handgun fitment is a very personal thing but there are a couple of criteria that need to be looked at as far as suitability in carry guns goes.
The most important criteria to look at is how the gun fits. Can you get a good grip on it? Is the trigger in the ‘right spot’? Can you reach all the controls easily? Those are all questions you need to be asking when looking at a carry pistol.
Next you need to determine if you can carry the gun comfortably and conceal it well. If you plan on carrying Appendix, or anywhere forward of 3/9 o’clock, barrel/slide length becomes an issue. Width of the gun is also something you need to look at.
The third thing I take into account is capacity. More is usually better. When it comes to carry guns, there comes a point of diminishing returns. The grip gets longer and thicker for more ammo capacity. That becomes an issue when it comes to concealability.
Being in the People’s Republic of New York, capacity is kind of taken out of my hands; 10 rounds is the max. Those of you in southern New England and Commiefornia are likely in the same boat.
The next thing to look at is reliability. This is largely reputational, as guns, like every other piece of equipment, can vary in quality. The best thing you can do is buy a gun from a reputable brand.
So, now that we’ve covered all that, I have a few recommendations for carry guns. As I said above, the pistol I carry most often is a G43x. It has a 10 round single-stack magazine, a mid-sized grip and a 3.4″ barrel. As a side note, there was a time when your editor really disliked Glock pistols. I could not shoot them well. Then this particular 43x came into my life. . . Anyway, if you can shoot a Glock well, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend one, the same goes for any of the other Mid-sized (G19) and smaller 9mm models.
If you’re looking for something in a smaller form factor, I would point you to the Sig P365. It’s 5 ounces lighter and just about an inch shorter than the 43x with a similar capacity. I have some trigger time on the P365, and I like it quite a bit. The compact P320 is another pistol I’ve shot and it would also be a good choice.
The Glock 43 (not the 43x) is another choice in that segment, however it only holds 6 round with the flush magazine.
Staying in the compact 9mm realm, the Springfield Hellcat is another decent choice. When that gun was first available here, I got to shoot one quite extensively, and while the grip didn’t fit me well, I experienced zero stoppages.
The field is wide open when it comes to mid-sized pistols, all the brands have at least one 9mm offering in that space. The S&W Shield series is a decent choice as is the FN 509 if you can handle the extremely aggressive grip texture. If you’re on a budget, I’d take a hard look at the Canik TP9sf. For less than $400 you get the pistol, the best striker fired pistol trigger I’ve ever shot, a decent quality Kydex holster, three mags and a fitted, lockable hard case.