I would not carry - worrying about someone in body armor. None of the handgun rounds will penetrate higher levels of body armor anyway. Carry the gun and round you are comfortable with.

Here is a very good thread I posted before... Its got good info:

Recent events and rethinking CCW caliber... - M4Carbine.net Forums

great read.The armour issue isnt really something to be concerned about.The avg street crime we carry for is not armored.These punks are not wanting a fight.Just look at all the crimes caught on video and reports.When someone fights back their first reaction is to run.Also look at the North Hollywood shootout.Hundreds of police firing and not one headshot when the radio were saying they were armored.A shotgun round in the head would have stopped them.In the latest one the gas mask is nothing more than rubber and plastic lenses and any caliber would have stopped the aggression.

Many of the newer small automatics let you choose between .40 caliber and 9mm. The 9mm with a modern high-end defensive round is very capable and the recoil is very reasonable, even in a small weapon.

The .40, in my opinion, is more capable but the recoil is far greater.

I shoot a Glock 27 and a Glock 23. The G27 took me about 150 rounds to get used to; the G23 was much faster (but it was the second weapon purchased).

If you are recoil-sensitive then I'd go with a 9mm. If not, then give the .40 about 150 to 250 rounds to see if you can manage it.

You can also get a small 1911 in .45, but if you limp wrist at all, they will jamb.

And the .357 Sig is a good round, but I have not seen any low priced practice ammo available for it. Walmart near my house does not carry .357 Sig.

any ammo that is weapon specific like the 357 sig or 45 gap is going to be expensive.

I wouldn't carry a non-standard round for availability,the 9,357mag and 45 have proven themselves and can be had or made easily.

I put the Sig,Gap,9x21,9x23,etc in the wildcat class,all of them.Some go into production and some dissappear.The 40 is similar to the 41mag,it filled in a large gap between 2 popular rounds and took,and popularity pulls it from wildcat status.The 357SIG to me hasn't graduated and don't really see it happening.The round is good,but it's nothing special,plus you have to deal with a bottlenecked case.If you consider a worse case scenario,you aren't going to find any of those lying around,where the 45 and especially the 9 will be anywhere.My main handgun has to meet the criteria of; if I could have only one for anything from walking in a store for milk to social collapse,this covers it.Having that,now you can play around.

I carry a 9mm.

I carry a .45acp and have for many years. I would not concern myself about the bad guy wearing body armor because it will still slow them down and can break ribs on the wearer when hit in the chest.

The Colorado shooter wearing body armor I believe is being re-evaluated. In any case, it's not common at all outside of law enforcement. In my opinion, the vast majority of "shoot thru's" are a result of shot placement rather than caliber, or cartridge design.

Bulletproof vest? Really?

PDF of the receipt where Holmes bought the vest....

Pdf : TacticalGear sales receipt for James Holmes

...and this is the vest.... body armor? hmmmmm

Blackhawk Urban Assault Vest @ TacticalGear.com



I'd suggest you carry what "fits" you, what's reliable for you, what you're proficient with, and what you can "hit" with. Caliber means nothing until you can put your rounds on target. It has been suggested by some well-respected shooters that your carry ammunition be of commercial manufacture.