Better caliber in an apartment: 9mm or .40 S&W?

[SavageEagle]

I'd go with the shotgun since you're in an apartment. I did the same thing when I lived in my apartment. Got me a Sears 500 with some birdshot and 00Buck and left it in behind my headboard.

I'd get the .40 since you will probably be carrying the pistol with you when you leave once you get your permit (Assuming you haven't yet). Wise man once said "Best to shoot the bad guy with the closest thing to a concrete filled coffee can as you can get". Or something to that effect. Either way, bigger is most certainly better. Try a .45. It actually has less recoil than .40S&W.

 

[-XL-]

Know your target and what is behind it.

No matter what kind of fancy frangible ammo you buy, if your shot misses and goes through a glass window, someone across the courtyard or in an adjacent structure is going to get it.

Make sure you have your fields of fire worked out in advance and practice engaging targets where the backstop is an open field, brick wall, or large appliance. Make sure you have a weapon light and night sights as well, and practice target acquisition in low light conditions as much as possible.

 

[fg12351]

Thanks for all the input guys. I purchased a Glock 23 (.40 S&W) because I want to get into handgun shooting as well as self-defense. Once the fiancee and I are wed and moved into her house (and have money again) I will look at an investment in a Mossberg.

Thanks,

FG

 

[Badboy65260]

I, myself keep a Glock 17..9MM...does just fine IMO

 

[Marc]

i had a 650sqr ft apartment and i used an AR15

 

[waloidian]

go shotgun. i did with 4buck after reading many opinions, but a gelatin test of various shells convinced me that 4buck is plenty of knockdown without excessive penetration.

 

[Rlee]

9mm versus .40? I prefer a .40 because bigger is always better (so I keep hearing from my wife ), but I would advise you not to rely on it as a primary source of home defense...

Now think about how your gonna feel when she leaves you for someone that has something smaller but knows how to use it.

All jokes aside, I don't agree with that thought process. That's like the car world and the V8 guys against the 4cyl guys. Power is power, one has a power band of 2800-6000 rpm's and the other pulls from 4800-8000 rpm's and in between those rpms the same power is made. But off the throttle the 4cyl gets 18+ mpg to where as the V8 gets half that but sounds great. Bottom line is get what you like and does the job that you need done. A 9mm has less recoil and is cheaper to shoot, a .45 is going to have more recoil and is more exspensive to shoot, a 9mm is a smaller round but if you can take 3 well placed shots and still keep coming at me then I plan on kicking your crippled ass when you get to me.

 

[hemicharger]

Dont hate on the V8's. My charger gets 22 plus mpg on the highway. Around town, well thats a different story. LOL. Anyways, I'm no expert by any means on firearms but my recomendation would be 9mm. Its quite a bit cheaper to shoot than a .40. My .40 cal G35 collects dust now. I feel well armed in my condo with my G19 w/ night sights and a 17rd mag in it. Be sure to use quality hp's for ammo. Gold dots, hst, ranger.

 

[Drail]

Having built maintained and torn down a lot of apartments I would wholeheartedly second the comment made by a previous poster, KNOW what is behind your target. Drywall will not slow any kind of round down enough to make a difference. If you get lucky and catch a stud it'll slow it a little but at my old range we used to have 2X4 shoots a lot and everybody's bullets went right through them. Shotgun rounds carefully placed are probably your best option. Let them get real close first.

 

[Ri22o]

Thanks for all the input guys. I purchased a Glock 23 (.40 S&W) because I want to get into handgun shooting as well as self-defense. Once the fiancee and I are wed and moved into her house (and have money again) I will look at an investment in a Mossberg.

Thanks,

FG

Let us know how it works, when/if you need to use it.

 

[flyingbeeboy]

Shot guns are best

Neither gun : I suggest a Taurus Judge loaded with 410 shot gun loads. Revolvers are dummy proof for inexperienced gun owners and the shot load is almost :No miss This may be the best defensive weapon made to date.

 

[hemicharger]

go to Theboxotruth.com They show the Taurus Judge to be an extremely poor performer. The guys that run the site shoot different handguns and ammo through various barriers to show how much each round will penetrate. They even do shotguns and rifles.


Lessons learned:
1. Jack bought this pistol for snakes and it looks like a fine tool for that job.

2. Birdshot, in any gauge, is for little birds.

3. Buckshot out of a .410 does not penetrate enough to be an effective personal defense load.

4. The rifled slug was also a disappointment and did not have enough weight or power or penetration to be effective as a defense load.

5. The .45 Long Colt loads had plenty of penetration and would be the preferred defense load for this pistol.

6. It's fun to bust clays with this pistol.

And, as usual, it's always fun to shoot stuff.

Thanks to Jack for the loan of the pistol and thanks to Tman for the photo and water hauling help

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[TWaka41]

Whatever you decide, don't worry about overpenetration because you can buy hydrashock rounds for both calibers that implement take down power and decreased overpenetration on impact.

 

[Bigtanker]

Neither gun : I suggest a Taurus Judge loaded with 410 shot gun loads. Revolvers are dummy proof for inexperienced gun owners and the shot load is almost :No miss This may be the best defensive weapon made to date.

This is a horrible idea.

 

[Hohn]

In an apartment, the most important criteria of all is not missing. Any weapon capable of being remotely effective on a human being is also effective in penetrating drywall.

Since "not missing" is so important, I STRONGLY recommend something you can shoulder and quickly bring to a target with high confidence of hits. Apartment defense is essentially CQB. What do CQB pros use? 1) something short 2) something shoulderable 3) a red dot or holographic sight.

I think the ultimate CQB gun would be a 300 BO AR pistol with a shoulder-able brace. Make it over 26" so it's a "firearm" and you can use a proper vertical foregrip which helps a lot. 300BO is much better suited to short barrels.

Such a weapon gives you the best combination of time-to-first-shot-on-target, with nearly instant follow up.

 

[Expat]

Did someone's post get deleted between BigTanker or is he the necroposter?

 

[Hohn]

the shotgun MAY be a good choice. if you limit yourself to "birdshot" and are careful about fields of fire...
our research tells us that the 55g m193 tends to breakup, almost explode, in drywall and that is my choice for home defense. this tendency and, what i've seen shooting at dummy walls, what may penetrate is of little or no consequence. the drywall fragments seemed to do the most damage on the backside of the wall, and that isn't much.
the suggestion for lighter, high velocity bullets is good data. BUT, if you don't hit what you are shooting at, most defensive pistol rounds will penetrate both sides of an interior sheet rock wall.

I think the reliable "explosion" of M193 depends on a minimum velocity threshold. If one is taking this approach for home or apartment defense, it's wise to ensure you're using a sufficient barrel length to achieve this velocity.

 

[Bigtanker]

Did someone's post get deleted between BigTanker or is he the necroposter?

Guilty as charged.

 

[Trapper Jim]

I'm looking at purchasing my first handgun for self defense/home protection/target shooting. I'm looking at a Glock 19 (9mm) or 23 (.40 S&W).

I've shot both with about the same accuracy at 21 feet and am comfortable with both. I like the .40 S&W because frankly it makes bigger holes and packs more punch.

My question is, I live in a small apartment with other apartments all around. What would be a better/safer caliber in case I would have to use it on an intruder? My future house is also small and has other houses built very close together.

I would like to lessen the chance of any over-penetration into another apartment or home and collateral damage or god forbid hurting someone in another apartment or home if I miss and put one into the wall.

I don't consider MagSafe or Glazer ammunition an acceptable solution due to price and inconsistent results I've read. Would a slower load help?

Thanks,

FG12351

In staying with the only 2 choices you offered, then I would get the 9mm. First, more choices in ballistics available with a wider range of commercial ammo off the shelf. Second is worldwide availabilty of ammunition no matter where you go. Third, a lower cost per round so that you can and should practice more with your firearm. Fourth the .40 has marketing cancer. It has already peaked and lived it's fast short life and stands a good chance of becoming extinct commercially in your lifetime depending on your age. Fifth,the 9mm is forgiving in handloading which unless you win the lottery, you are going to have to do to get the many rounds of ammo to pratice. Handloading components are easier to come by and at a lower cost. Sixth, if you have a wife or children or grandchildren to bring into the sport, then as their second Gun to a .22 starter, the 9mm will be easier for them to manage. Seventh, 9mm will sell or trade easier the more we go into the future. Eighth, considering that you stay with a brand name piece, service and parts will be more accommodating than the lesser sales volume of the .40. Ninth, the 9mm round being our service round will no doubt even get less in cost with government over runs and surpluss in the after math of a national emergency. Coming in for number 10 is storage. You can stash more ammo in less spaceman the .40.

I am sure some will find fault with my logic but you asked. IMHO I would choose the 9mm and get some practice.

 

[Bigtanker]

Whatever you decide, don't worry about overpenetration because you can buy hydrashock rounds for both calibers that implement take down power and decreased overpenetration on impact.

Can't let this one get by unnoticed.