Happiness is a new gun 2

[berettabone]

I'm an old fart, but I still enjoy the larger calibers without pain. I shoot .40 cal. my fav and .357 in my revolver. I'm just not getting that "too much recoil" reaction with the larger calibers and have always preferred the two. Maybe it's the fact that I'm shooting .40 cal. from my H&K, which really seems to tame the caliber. The .357 is still a handful out of my revolver, but still fun.

[berettabone]

That was my first Kahr. Traded a Ruger P89DC for it. Came in a great little leather pocket holster that was squarish so it looked like a cell phone in my pocket. Being rather new to guns, I did not even test it out for about the first 6 months or so. Once I did I got rid of it pretty quickly. I agree, that is a nasty round for such a small gun with such a small grip. I’ve read that people say under the stress of a defense situation that trigger pull and recoil is not a such big deal, but I don’t buy into that. I think being able to quickly put multiple shots on target is crucial and that there’s no way I would have handled that one the way I can the CW9 or the Ruger LCP 22, LCR 22 WMR or Taurus TX22 that are the carry rotation these days. I do like the big booms at the range, but definitely would not carry something like that. Even if I found myself going into bear or big cat areas, I’d rather have a high capacity 9mm. I know people could go rounds about what caliber is needed for such large animals, but again, I’d rather be able to hit something many times. Maybe I would step up to a 1911 though, since the weight brings down the recoil. Again, I know different people have different feelings/thoughts about that subject though, so my points could be debated.

You're right about the bear caliber debate. You just can't go big enough when it comes to bears. Alaskan's use .44 mag at a minimum. I'm not even sure that what I shoot would do the trick. They have a very large heavy skull and when they run towards you, they usually have their head down. If you don't have a caliber that can penetrate their skull, you're in for a bad day. If you can get some into their chest, you may survive. Smaller calibers just annoy them and pisses them off further. There's a reason why many bear hunters use 45/70's. I don't know if you've ever heard the old bear story??????? I was walking the dog in a nearby park and ran into a woman sitting on a bench. We got to talking and she asked if I came to the park often. I said yes. She then spotted my revolver on my side. She said that her and her husband loved hiking and had been all over the U.S. hiking around. She asked if there were any bears in the area. I replied, oh yes, many in this area. She asked what her and her husband could do about protecting themselves. I told her that they could get a firearm. She said oh no, we could never do that. I said ok, then go to the local five and dime. Buy yourself some of those little bells in the bag. Sew them on to your clothing. Then get yourself a big can of bear spray. Then when walking through the woods, the bears will hear you coming and you have the spray to fend them off. She asked how she would know if there were any bears in the area. I told her to look for their scat. She asked how she would know it was bear scat. I told her that it would smell like bear spray and have little bells in it.

[BirdsThaWord]

Lol! Funny bear story. I’m certainly hearing you. I also read a story (forgot where and all of the details) about how many bear attacks there were, what stopped them, etc. From that story, the statistics said that many a bear had not been stopped with larger calibers and that multiple shots by a 9mm from the victim or those that saved the victim had put the bear down. Wish I could find it and post it (maybe I can look it up after I type this) to verify or back up my statement, but that’s why I would carry a high cap 9mm.

[BirdsThaWord]

Here it is. I retract about the larger calibers (at least in this write up) not being “successful” as there are no instances in this write up. But again, would still stand by the 9mm due to this write up. I have read other articles though, where larger calibers and 12 ga shotguns failed to stop the attack. I think this article was only posting up about the success rates, less about the failures. Again, as always, the caliber debate will rage on for the ages. Due to other articles I’ve also read, I do not feel outgunned when I carry a high capacity 22 LR loaded with high velocity ammo. I know it’s a “To each his own” thing.
https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/de...ts-by-caliber/

[Bawanna]

I'm an old fart, but I still enjoy the larger calibers without pain. I shoot .40 cal. my fav and .357 in my revolver. I'm just not getting that "too much recoil" reaction with the larger calibers and have always preferred the two. Maybe it's the fact that I'm shooting .40 cal. from my H&K, which really seems to tame the caliber. The .357 is still a handful out of my revolver, but still fun.

40 out of the H&K is no contest for a 40 out of a Kahr. I have no trouble with 40 out of a mid size or full size gun. Glock 27, no problem.

[berettabone]

I've handled a few different Glock's but I've only fired .40 out of a Glock 23. My H&K handled the recoil a lot smoother and was a bit less jumpy. Not to mention that the grip was a bit large for my hand. The firearm you choose does make a difference for sure.

[dao]

My Beretta Cougar does the best job with .40 than any I've owned. Which is not surprising since the rotating barrel is designed to mitigate recoil. I would imagine the PX4 full size or Compact would do a similar job. The PX4 subcompact does not have the same barrel design. But in all fairness I have not shot my Cougar in a long time, let alone in the same session as the HKs I shot recently.

[jeepster09]

I had a 50 Desert Eagle...couldn't figure out why after getting it and it found a new home. Worst gun I ever had for SHOOTING was my S&W 329PD - .44 Mag AIRWEIGHT. BRUTAL!!!!!
I had it Magnaported which eliminated muzzle flip but the the STRAIGHT BACK FORCE felt it was going to tear THROUGH your hand.

[Armybrat]

I may have to downsize to the .22 Short....

[BirdsThaWord]

Worst gun I ever had for SHOOTING was my S&W 329PD - .44 Mag AIRWEIGHT. BRUTAL!!!!!
I had it Magnaported which eliminated muzzle flip but the the STRAIGHT BACK FORCE felt it was going to tear THROUGH your hand.

I’ve heard those are BRUTAL to shoot