Why This And Not That?
“It must be the best, because so-and-so uses it.”
How many times have we heard that? And how many times, heaven help us, have we bought something for that reason, only to find out later that so-and-so had different needs than we did, and what was right for so-and-so wasn’t right for us?
It applies to handgunning, too. Let’s look at a few examples.
Why A Revolver?
I was on the indoor range at my gun club, and at the opposite end of the firing line from a couple of young guys who were busily potting away with their auto pistols, while I was getting in some practice time with a double-action sixgun. Through my Gentex active hearing protectors, I heard a whispered conversation. They were discussing why old guys like the one on the end didn’t trust modern technology and only used old-fashioned revolvers.
I couldn’t help but smile. While I can’t deny being something of a Luddite geezer, that wasn’t the reason for the wheelgun. This particular range is very strict about not leaving brass on the floor when you’re done. An auto would give me the choice of sweeping it up with a broom and putting lead dust in the air, or bending down with my old back to pick up a hull at a time from the dirty floor.
With the swing-out cylinder gun, I could simply punch the empties out onto the table and pick them up in one swoop at the end of the session and dump them in a plastic bag. I had come to shoot for fun.
Why A 9mm?
Most would answer that question, “More bullets.” Well, there’s that, but there’s a little more to it.
The more ammo thing takes different forms. I travel to firearms teaching sites by air for the most part, and FAA limits how many pounds of ammo can be carried on board in checked baggage. I can get a helluva lot more 9mm Luger rounds within that poundage than I can .45 ACP rounds.
If the range we’re using is remote and buying ammo locally would be inconvenient, switching to 9mm will get enough carry loads and practice ammo in under the limit to get me through the week.
Since 9/11/2002, there has been another possibility that makes the 9mm more attractive to travelers. On that day, air travel in the U.S. shut down and stayed down for some time. Travelers were left to make their own way home, sometimes across several thousand miles, and there were horror stories of people hitchhiking their way back.
My wife and elder daughter were trapped in Las Vegas by the shutdown, and unable for days to get rental cars due to the swollen demand. I felt comfortable knowing they were armed.
Some modern terrorist scenarios involving biological weapons have led authorities to predict longer transportation shutdowns than the last one. If it happens, a traveler relying on 9mm will have more ammo to get him home than the one with the .45, if the ammunition supply cannot be replenished in transit, which might indeed be the case.
Besides, the 9mm kicks less, and that matters to some more than others. Also generic ammo is way cheaper for 9mm than for larger calibers.
Why A .45?
“More power” is the standard answer. Well, yes and no. The fact is, the best modern 9mm defense loads (115 grain JHPs at 1,300 fps or better, and 124 grain JHPs at 1,250 foot-seconds or so) will deliver dramatically more tissue damage than a 230 grain ball .45 round.
Of course, the .45 is more effective with JHPs, but it’s less dependent on projectile design for terminal efficiency than is a smaller caliber gun throwing a bullet of only half the weight.
I’m partial to the .45 Auto for police issue, and for defensive use in cold weather. One reason is that even the most efficient hollowpoint bullet can plug if it has to go through enough layers of winter clothing, and a JHP whose cavity is filled with inert matter is a JHP that will probably not expand. If the bullet is going to turn into flat-nosed ball, I want it to turn into large diameter flat nosed ball.
Military history throughout most of the 20th century, being repeated now in Afghanistan, shows us that 9mm ball is an impotent manstopper, and .45 ball is a pretty efficient one. Certainly, .45 hardball penetrates too much to be ideal for American law enforcement or citizen self-defense settings, but the same is true of 9mm ball.
While the citizen can change guns or ammo with the season, most cops can’t, and in regions where winter brings deep cold, the .45 caliber makes particularly good sense as an all-weather police duty weapon.
The reasons that compel another handgunner’s choice may not be on point to our own needs. As a rule, the question “why” generally needs to go past just the initial asking to be truly informative, and certainly needs to go past supposition.
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