Need input from guitarists/musicians who use handguns...?

Question

I am planning to buy a handgun, either a 9 mm or .45 (or less likely a .40).

My question is whether one particular caliber is better suited for a musician in terms of pain and damage to the wrists/hands.

Basically, is there any reason to avoid a pistol with a relatively high recoil such as a .45 in this case? Would this harm your wrist/fingers in any such way that would make a lower caliber better suited for a musicians (in particular guitarists)?

Thanks for any input.

Answer 1

Call Ted Nugent up and ask him what caliber he shoots. I will bet he shoots anything he wants to and has wrists of steel.

Answer 2

There should be no temporary or even cumulative damage to you hand from shooting a handgun, unless your hands are extremely weak. Seeing you are a guitarist, that's unlikely, right?

I have fired some extremely powerful handguns and never suffered anything more than some minor discomfort. I'm talking 'hand cannons' way beyond what you would be looking at.

Why have you said less likely a .40? It's considered the perfect comprimise between the 9mm and the .45acp.

None of these calibers is too powerful to cause anything that would affect your music, IMO.

Answer 3

As someone noted, stay away from magnum calibers. There is evidence that prolonged firing can do some wrist damage (this would be from years of use, though, and one's hands would likely be protesting after a prolonged shooting session). A .45 with say, 200-grain loads (bullet weight), would not have as much felt recoil. A nine would have less. I've not had much experience with the .40, but it is gaining a lot of ground.

Answer 4

i personally am not a big fan of the 9mm, it does have less recoil then say a .45, but really a .45 does not have that much recoil. The real question is are you looking for hunting or Self-Defense? If your looking for a hunting pistol, try a .41 mag...nice power with less recoil then say a .44 mag. For home defense the .45 or a .40 would be my recommendation.

Answer 5

You aren't going to seriously hurt your hand with a non-magnum cartridge. The 'plastic' guns, i.e. Glock or S&W will kick worse than a metal gun but won't do any long term damage.