.357 mag or .45 ACP for concealed carry/home defense?

Question

I'm trying to decide on a handgun for concealed carry and home defense. Currently, I'm trying to decide between a S&W Model 327 and a Springfield Armory 1911.

Which do you think is the best choice, and why?

Beyond that, which would you think to be the best ammunition choice for a concealed carry/home defense weapon oif either of these two calibers, and why?

I live in Georgia, so there's no trouble with using jacketed hollowpoints for self-defense, or something.

As for the guy who said 'more ammo'...Look at the specs of the revolver I mentioned, compared to the 1911. 1911 holds 7+1 rounds, the Model 327 has an eight shot cylinder, and, when compared to the M1911, I don't have to have the hammer ****** to put it on safe, if i want to walk around with a round chambered.

I'm not worried about my ability to hit what I'm intending to hit - I've qualified 'expert' every time with my sidearm, and I've never shot badly with any pistol I've used, aside from my sidearm. Thus, my main qualifiers for self-defense here are lethality/stopping power, concealability, and reliability.

With the ammunition, I'm looking at cost, legality, lethality, and something with low penetration (i.e. won't go through what I'm shooting at, and the wall behind him).

Further note: The Model 327 I'm looking at is the snub nose one, not the one with the full-length barrel. I realize this would make my accuracy go to ****, but I'm not going to be target shooting with it. If I ever have to engage targets with a CCW, it'd likely be within five meters.

Answer 1

Either one of them are fine choices. Your options are about what I would narrow it down to if I were deciding on a carry weapon. .357 as far as revolvers, just can't argue that it isn't a smart choice. Same goes for the 1911.

What it really boils down to is how comfortabl each weapon is, if you had to carry it around all day. The revolver is definitly the easiest to operate, just point and pull the trigger. No fumbling with cocking, safties, etc.. We do not need to get into the effectiveness of the .357 Mag as most informed people will agree, it will certainly suffice as a defensive weapon. Especially with some medium to heavy hollow point loads (slower bullet, more energy transfer at impact).

The 1911 on the other hand is ideal for slow, big knockdown power. Mag capacity is almost the same as the revolver, so no real issue there. As far as carry, you may find the flat gun a little easier to stash on your person, but again that's up to you and what you feel comfy with. I would use a 180-200 Gr hollow point for the .45 for a defense load.

As far as the ammo, I would recommend hollow points but for the .357 I would also recommend a heavier/slower bullet. No need to reach out and touch the neighbors in the event you have to use it in the house and possibly miss. The .45 is a fairly slow round so its not as much an issue (overpenetration).

The only real advantage that I can see with the 1911 is reloading would be a lot quicker, but if you have to reload to get your point across, or stop someone, you should just throw the gun at them and run.

So I guess it would be a toss up between the two, leaving your personal preference and confort level

Answer 2

I do own both a springfield 1911 A1 .45 and a Ruger GP100 and a few others. I would have to say that both pistols have worked well.
The springfield 1911I would have to say you couldnt go wrong with one. The one I have is a GI edition with high cap mags so mine will hold more rounds. From other people I know that own springfields say the same thing its a good pistol.
The .357 is a tough round no doubt but it still cant compare with some bigger stuff like a .44 for big game hunting. For personal protection you would have alot of power. A snubnose revolver in .357 may give you more of a kick than my GP100 with a 6 inch barrel. At least you could still fire 38 special in it too.
If your worried about recoil then the .45 auto may be the better choice. It dont kick hard from what I notice and it destroys the target. I like to freeze 2 liter pop bottles and use them for targets both the .45 auto and .357 mag break chunks off and of course knock the botttle over.

Answer 3

I personally carry a Colt Commander in public, and have a full size Les Baer Premier II 1911 on the night-stand. The Colt is concealable, for me at least, and has NEVER jammed in the 3 years I've been shooting it. The 45 is much more controllable than the 357 and follow-up shots are much easier to achieve. Because of the bluet diameter, the 45 gives you a BIG hole even with ball-ammo. The 45 also has less tendency to over penetrate, thus reducing the chance of you accidentally hitting someone unintentionally. As far as reliability goes, I have never had any trouble with the 1911's I mentioned above. Most quality 1911's manufactured today are very reliable out of the box, especially if properly maintained.

Answer 4

I like the 45 ACP because of the heavy knock down power & low penetration of the slow heavy round. In an urban setting it is not as likely to penetrate a wall 3 blocks away & kill the neighbor kid.
I would use a light load in the 357 revolver if I carried one... also a hollowpoint or other low penetration round. Chuckle, unless you want to bust an engine block? However I've carried a 911 ACP for many years & it is the handgun I feel most comfortable shooting... that is the most important part of any choice.

Answer 5

I personally carry a 45 ACP. But a 357 revolver is OK also. It is a matter of personal preference, and experience. As for what type of ammunition to use. Find out which ammo your state police use in their service weapons, use that. The reason is if you need to use your weapon for a legitimate reason some overzealous prosecutors will try to make a case against you for using "cop killer" or some other BS type of bullets. When asked you can simply say, I use the same ammunition your police department uses. End of that argument. My concealed carry instructor told me this. He is also a police officer.

Answer 6

Carrying a pistol is probably a waste of time and energy when hunting grizzly bear. First, you really don't want to get close enough that you'd need your pistol. I assume you are hunting with a rifle. If you're not hunting with a rifle then don't go grizzly bear hunting. Period. I've hunted them twice, both times in Alaska using a .375 H & H. The first one I shot was at a distance of less than 100 yards. It dropped like a stone. The guide made me put another shot in it, which I did. The second was just a bit over 100 yards and again, the guide made me put in a second shot. "Insurance" the guide said. It never occurred to me to carry a pistol. We did a lot of walking, a pistol would have been cumbersome and useless. That's my opinion. If you're insistent on hunting grizzly with a pistol, neither of your suggested rounds would be safe.

Answer 7

John Moses Browning introduced the 1911 Colt 45 ACP and in the past 100 plus years it has been copied ad nauseum; it is still used as the yardstick by which all others are measured. It adheres to the KISS theory; keep it simple stupid. It always works, it always stops what it hits, quit agonizing over trivia and male bovine excretement details; it ain't broke so quit trying to fix it. Break it in so you can shoot eyebrows off a fly and you can do no better.

Answer 8

I would take a .357 revolver as it will not jam like an auto can do and it has a lot more power. Wish I lived in a place that allowed you to protect yourself. We live in the UK and nothing is legal here and even if someone breaks into your house and you hurt then if it is not deemed as reasonable forse you will goto jail. More to the point if they injure themselves they can sue you!

Answer 9

the .45 acp is the better of the 2 choices and as far as the round anything as long as its not "target" or "range " rounds id stay clear of hollow points until you know the laws where you live regarding there use

Answer 10

.45 acp because it holds more rounds. A revolver would be too big and because its a .357 the muzzle flash in the night would be kind of blinding.