which caliber semi auto handgun is the most powerful of these?

Question

I live in a good neigborhood but lately there has been alot of burgalaries, rapes etc. what kind of gun has the best range, accuracy and most importantly stopping power. i've been thinkin of a glock. 357, glcok 9 mil., beretta 45cal., smith n wesson 38special, .40 cal. in desending oder of most powerful to least powerful.

which is the most powerful riffle out of a springfeild .308 or bushmaster .223 carbine in terms of reliabilty accuracy and stopping power

Answer 1

If you are looking for home protection the gun to buy is none of the the ones you have listed, buy a 12ga shotgun with a short barrel loaded with buck shot that way you can't miss and you don't have to worry about where the bullet is going if you do. I have a mossburg 500 with three different barrels its inexpensive reliable and can be used for deer hunting with the rifled slug barrel bird hunting or trap shooting with the "bird barrel" and home protection with the short cylinder bore barrel. if you want a hand gun I would suggest you go to a gun store with a range so you can rent a few guns and see what one fits you best that is more important then what is most powerful I have a glock model 22 which is a .40cal most reliable gun I have ever owned decent accuracy knock down power and range I also have a 1911 style Springfield .45ACP also good gun but if my life was on the line I'd grab the glock. as for rifles never fire a rifle in a neighborhood they are dangerous at very long distances and you will end up hurting an innocent person both of the rifles are very good the .308 is much more powerful than the .223 I'm not a big fan of bushmaster I would suggest going with a Wilson combat or just building one yourself with parts from M&A arms

Answer 2

If you are looking for a good reliable home protection firearm these are my suggestions and only my opinion.
A 223 or 308 is not a good choice because they are long-arms with a high velocity, they'll go through walls and into your neighbors home.
Large magnums have heavy recoil and not much time for follow-up shot, 50 cal semi autos have so much recoil the magazines drop from the mag well. The 357 mag, 41 mag. and 44 mag hold 6 rounds, though the 357 is the better of the three it's still not a good choice.
That leaves the popular semi-autos (pistols) and the 9mm is the bottom of the pack in my pick. The 40S&W is not only my pick ask yourself this question, what is the choice of more Goverment/Law Enforcment Agenties around the world...Glock 40s, like the G23 and the G22.
The 375 Sig or 45 GAP are fine rounds though you can not find those bullets at all sporting goods locations, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Mills, etc.

I own allot handguns but my choice for the past 8 years have been Glocks, and own three of them, 1 G23 and 2 G35s (all are 40 cal. S&W).

I hope this information becomes useful, good luck in your pick.

Answer 3

Your first question, in order of power:

The .357 Sig (Glock chambers this caliber in the Model 31 Glock).

The .45 ACP (if Beretta chambers this caliber I'm not sure of the model #).

The .40 S&W (All modern auto-loaders make a model for this caliber).

The .9mm (Glock chambers the Model 17, 19 and 26 in .9mm).

The .38 Special (NOTE: This is a revolver cartridge).

The .308 is more powerful than the .223 and normally very reliable, but then, so is the Bushmaster in .223 or .308.

If it is 'most power' you want then get a Glock Model 20 in .10mm and an AR-30 in .338 Lapua. However, if it is home burglaries you are concerned about, 'most power' may not be your best solution. Remember, bullets go through a lot of drywall. Consider a Glock Model 19 in .9mm equiped with Trijicon nightsights and loaded with pre-fragmented ammo in high capacity magazines.

Good luck.

H

Answer 4

For the handgun/home defense question, any of these is powerful enough to get the job done at close range. So why not go with the one that would be easiest to control, I would pick a Glock 9mm, they have 3 different frame sizes, so you can pick one that fits your hand, and suits your needs.

But I would consider the 12ga pump with a 18in barrel and a pistol grip, loaded with buckshot. With this, there is a much smaller chance of hurting a family member that is in another room, because the walls of your home will slow down the pellets. But its a little big for concealed carry.

As for the 308 and 223. They both are accurate rounds, if you buy quality ammo. But the 308 has more stopping power.

Answer 5

Wraith's right. If you lived in the country, the 45 ACP (if you can learn to shoot it, a big "if") and the 308 would be a powerful combination. But in an urban or even suburban environment, the risk of killing somebody two blocks away is too great. You could easily have a legal shot at a bad guy and serve time for manslaughter of a neighbor you didn't even know was there. I'm even nervous about buckshot, and would recommend #4 shot in a 12-bore, and I have no brand loyalty at all. Racking a pump gun will scare away a lot of bad guys, but if you want a double-barrel coach gun or an autoloader, that would be fine, too. I'd use my handguns only as a backup to the shotgun, and my backup is a 44 Spl snubnose with handloads keeping both effectiveness and penetration issues in mind.

Answer 6

357
45
40
9
38

308
223

now with that said don't get a rifle for home defense because neither the 308 nor the 223 were designed for close quarter combat get the all mighty 12 gauge as far as range goes the 12 gauge is good for about 100 yards with slugs and 75 yards with 00 buck and in a close quarter scenario you aren't going to be shooting over 50 yards and chances are its going to be under 10 feet plus when using a rifle you are increasing the probability of shooting one of you neighbors because the rifle rounds penetrate much more and the chances of it zipping right through one of the walls in your house and into one of them is much greater

below are some gelatin test so you can see why you want the 12 guage and not a rifle

the first link is buck shot the second is a slug the third is a 308 and the last is a 223

Answer 7

i would get a .45 their old reliable and have a great stopping power. but also the .357 has some bang for ur buck, and it can shoot ,38 out of it.

and for the rifle question the .308 is good for large game like elk, caribou, and other things larger than whitetailed deer, i would get a .30-30 or a .270 for deer because i believe that the stopping power is ideal for whitetails, and the .270 is a great cartrige for something that is either close at at a distance. the .223 carbine is a flat shooting and accurate gun, it doesnt have a lot of stopping power. But it depends on the type of game that u are hunting.

Answer 8

Purchase a Glock Model 23 in .40 caliber. You can buy a .357 Sig (not magnum) barrel (for model 32, which is .357 Sig for $100) and drop it in so that you can shoot both calibers. I would use the .40 caliber for defense as the .357 Sig can "overpenetrate" and shoot innocent people in your home.

A 9mm is also decent as is a .45 ACP.

I think that the .40 caliber is a happy medium between the .45 and 9mm. The .45ACP has the best knock down power of these.

If you don't shoot a whole lot, then you can buy a .357 magnum revolver. It is easier for non-shooters to use and you can also shoot .38 special's out of it (but not vice versa).

Glock, Beretta, S&W (good revolvers, but the Sigma sucks), and Ruger all make good guns. Some people have also made good comments about Taurus revolvers, but not necessarily their auto pistols.

If you are in doubt or short on cash, a good pump shotgun is one of the best defense weapons.

Answer 9

Others have adequately answered your, "which is more powerful" question.

Let me address your choice. For home defense, in a residential area, the most powerful weapon or ammunition is a poor choice. If you shoot your rapist burglar with your powerful round, it will probably zip right through him, through the wall of your home and hit your neighbor. You get to go to jail with your burglar and be sued into bankruptcy.
You want a MODERATELY powerful bullet. Both the .357 and the 9mm over penetrate. The .40 and the .45ACP are semi auto rounds. You don't want to be awakened in the middle of the night and have to fumble around with a magazine, slide cocking, slide release levers, and safety switches. That leaves the .38 special revolver. Nice simple revolver, point, pull trigger, it goes bang. Load your .38 with standard velocity bullets, skip the +p, high velocity stuff. Either the 125 gr. jacketed hollow point or the 158 gr.jacketed hollow point. If you can find them, get the Winchester silver tips.
If you must have a semi auto, then I would recommend the 40 Cal., CCI Blazer, 155 gr. jacketed hollow point. Or, the .45 ACP, CCI Blazer, 200 gr. jacketed hollow point. Both rounds are effective without being too powerful.
Best gun to use: The Smith & Wesson Model 10 with a four inch heavy barrel. A good used one will cost between $200 and $300. Use the money you will save on the pricey Berretta and buy a Crimson Trace Laser Grip for the .38.

Answer 10

May I suggest that you really want to ask which one will be the most appropriate for your purposes.

For a home defense handgun, range has little bearing. Power is easy to list for you, but the most powerful may not be the best for you.

.45acp
.38Sw or special
.40sw
.357sig
9mm

Now, one of these, the .38 is a revolver round.

For the novice shooter who will not be able to train and practice a lot and needs something simple and utterly reliable, the revolver is the way to go...however let me suggest a .357 magnum. You can always shoot .38 special in your .357 (never vice versa) revolver if the magnum round seems a little powerful at first.

What you don't tell me is how big you are and how big your hands are. While I have many more powerful handguns, my wife practices with and keeps what many will say is too small a caliber, a .380acp, because it suits her hand and size and she will practice without any hesitation. I am confident that if she needs it, she will put all 8 rounds into her target. Those factors are more important that just power.

The .357 Sig is a very new caliber. Gun and ammo manufacturers come out with new calibers to raise interest and sell more product. While it has good properties, it's not good enough or different enough for you. It's strictly for real gun entusiast at this point, not the one gun owner.

Most people think the 9mm too weak, however it has been doing it's job for a century. It's very common and cheap to practice and actually pretty effective. I carry a 9mm, but I have a sentimental attachment to my Browning Hi Power. I just like having 18 rounds as that is what I originally trained with and continue to.

The .45 acp is the US military round that is very powerful and has an almost cult like status. Despite many attempts to replace this venerable old caliber, it is still the best "man-stopper" there is for many. If you are unfamiliar with shooting handguns, it may be too powerful for you to learn good skills and technique with.

.40 SW was developed as a compromise between the 9mm and the .45 and it does just that. An outstanding caliber that will be around for many years.

The rifle calibers are for hunting and target shooting. They should never be considered a defensive round. The possibility for a rifle round to go through a wall then kill someone a block away is too great and the barrel is too long to be dealt with inside a house.

Bottom line: Make sure you have the will to take a life..... if you don't know, don't get a gun or point one at anyone.

My advice with the little bit of info given:
Get a revolver. Get some training. Practice.

Good luck and God Bless