Which Is Better, 9mm or .45 ?

Originally posted by DeepThought
Since the second amendment was written in 1791 you should all be restricted to muskets.

The 2nd says arms, not muskets.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Or a woman, who might find a .45 knocking her on her own ass.

A .380, or even better, a 9mm, which rounds down to a .354, is a better choice for her.

Don't worry, the recoil of a .45 is exaggerated. The reality is that felt recoil is relative to not just the bullet weight, but the muzzle velocity, relative to the weight of the pistol.

In short, that compact .380 may actually produce more felt recoil, than a full sized .45acp. Same is true of many lightweight mini nines. Of course, if you choose a Glock 17, or Berretta 99, high capacity, full sized nines, then you run into almost the same hand size difficulties as with a double stack .45acp, and long trigger actions on both.

There is no "better" only what suits the user best, fits hand size comfortably, allows comfortable trigger press, and recoil that the user isn't overly averse to. Shoot some at an indoor range, and note the overburn (muzzle flash). If you use it at home in the dark the muzzle flash may temporarily blind you, and this is apt to be worse in small short barrel guns.

Originally posted by FishHead111
Couldn't find anything on google but having read many guns & hunting magazines over a 30 year period I've read of several instances where a grizzly bear was shot 8 or 10 times with a high power rifle before stopping, and I'm sure there are many more I haven't heard of.

Shooting at a grizzly with any auto pistol is probably hopeless, only better than being empty handed. A .44 magnum, with heavy bullets, 300 grain or more is considered minimal bear defense in Alaska. There it isn't how many but rather how much.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
A fully automatic small calibur assault rifle (his M4) is much different than a typical .30 cal high powered full length hunting rifle. I doubt USAP could land 10 shots from an M1 Garand or semi auto M14.

Even .30 rifle rounds are on the light side for grizzlies and Brown bears. Most people legally hunting these animals prefer shorter range heavier bullets such as the 45-70.

Gosh a google search disagreed. http://www.chuckhawks.com/grizzly_cartridges.htm

Turns out the .338 magnum is preferred by Alaskan hunting guides. Still bigger than typical .30 rounds.