Sure wish there were more hammer fired models to choose from

[berettabone]

Double action, single action, about as safe as you can get and a big ole hammer, easily hidden under a shirt with a Remora or high and tight with a Jit holster. IMHO you already have one of the best carry firearms, but you're saving it for your son. I love mine in .40 cal.

[Armybrat]

I second the SP....

[dao]

I have the SK, in 9mm, with 10, 13, and 15rd mags. But looking for something with a little more punch, either in .40 or .45. And preferable something that can be cocked and locked. And a rail for a light. That's not too picky is it?

[340pd]

I have the SK, in 9mm, with 10, 13, and 15rd mags. But looking for something with a little more punch, either in .40 or .45. And preferable something that can be cocked and locked. And a rail for a light. That's not too picky is it?

I do not wish to start a bar fight but we have ammo reps in our building on a regular basis and from the discussions and gel tests they provide, not one of them tells us there is any difference in stopping power between 9, 40, and .45acp. There are good reasons why LE agencies have continued to rid themselves of 40 cal and opted for 9mm as the duty guns. I love bigger holes but ammo manufacturers have come way to far to ignore their improvements in smaller bore bullet performance.

[dao]

True that. But at o'dark30 if my aim is not the best I want to hedge my bets with the bigger holes, bigger shock, and someone's arm hanging by a thread if that's all I manage to hit.

[dao]

Sig P227R, .45 acp, 10+1, with 14rd factory mags available. Found a good deal on a new old stock example.

And, I now get to put the M18 into my carry rotation

[JohnR]

I was looking today. Springfield XDE, HK P2000 and P2000SK are nice hammer fired compact 9mm guns.

[dao]

Yes but, wasn't after a 9mm. And not a compact. Strictly for HD, and loaded for bear

[187911]

I do not wish to start a bar fight but we have ammo reps in our building on a regular basis and from the discussions and gel tests they provide, not one of them tells us there is any difference in stopping power between 9, 40, and .45acp. There are good reasons why LE agencies have continued to rid themselves of 40 cal and opted for 9mm as the duty guns. I love bigger holes but ammo manufacturers have come way to far to ignore their improvements in smaller bore bullet performance.

Using real world data from from this study, and even a couple of respected trauma surgeons (once I find the links, I'll cite them here), the consensus is "You want 12-18″ of penetration capability through ballistic gel and, once sufficient penetration is achieved, you want as big of a bullet size as you can possibly get." There's no such thing as stopping power. For handgun ammo, you want a bullet of any caliber that first you can shoot well, then can penetrate to reach vitals, and then can cause the most damage aka bleeding. A larger bullet both will cause more damage, and will have a better chance of hitting vitals... Unlike rifles, handgun ammo mere pokes holes which is why the survival rate is so high.

The only possible improvements in 9mm that they could have possibly made is in better and consistent penetration and expansion. That, or 9mm ammo that performs better out of various barrel sizes respectively. Be that as it may, a 45 ACP that also has similar penetration will still expand to be larger to 9mm no matter what improvements were made to 9mm over the years. Plus, what L.E. choose to issue has a lot to do with cost, politics, and catering to the lowest denominator of officers.

I personally carry 9mm over 40s&w, 357sig, 45acp, 10mm, etc because ammo is cheaper and more plentiful, there's a better selection. Then of course you have a size and capacity advantage as well. With that said, I don't pretend that it's equal to the aforementioned calibers. I just can shoot more 9mm for less, so I'm more competent and comfortable EDC'ing handguns in that caliber.

[gb6491]

Congrats on the P227 DAO!