It's not the caliber, it's how well you shoot it.

[Carson]

Hearing protection is the least of your worries if some dirtbag breaks into your house during the night. If you are forced to engage with lethal force, chances are, you won't even hear the report of the gun because you will have so much adrenalin pumping through your body.

What he said.

[calypsocoral]

.40 cal, 165gr, 1150 fps in my CZ P-09. I'm getting nicely-comfortable with that loading. Grouping nicely. Consistent between Cor-Bon, Speer, and Remington, although the latter has slightly-sharper recoil.

It's what I shoot well with, and the 480+ lb-ft of energy is nice to have. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[ShooterInPA1]

Proper shot placement is easy to train for, easy to say and easy to do when your on the range shooting paper or steel. Try it in the dark, disoriented and in your tightly whities and tell me how it works for you. My guess is you wont be scoring amazing one off head with any pistol in any caliber.

Shoot a man from the side having to penetrate through an arm then into the toroso and tell me if you would want a 36gr .22lr.

I have never seen anyone volunteer to stand in front of 22LR.

[SauerGrapes]

Thanks for saving me some time. Of course shot placement is important. Dark house, unknown threat, stress level thru the roof, you better be ready. 22, 22mag, 32 ,I don't think so.

Proper shot placement is easy to train for, easy to say and easy to do when your on the range shooting paper or steel. Try it in the dark, disoriented and in your tightly whities and tell me how it works for you. My guess is you wont be scoring amazing one off head with any pistol in any caliber.

Shoot a man from the side having to penetrate through an arm then into the toroso and tell me if you would want a 36gr .22lr.

[SauerGrapes]

Just because I don't want to be shot by one, doesn't make it a superior choice. If I were in a defensive shoot out. I would much rather be up against a 22 than a larger caliber weapon.
Which would you rather face?

I have never seen anyone volunteer to stand in front of 22LR.

[Armor Snail]

It's funny how many people recommend shotguns for defense when those who practice and compete shooting multiple targets quickly under stress almost unanimously agree that it's harder to use well than either rifle or pistol. I can hardly see how someone who shoots 1-5% as many rounds a year is somehow better off.

This. Fully agree.

For me it's 64Gr OTM

[Delkal]

An expert competitive shooter can shoot 5 stationary steel targets in a about a second. A shotgun in slower........so what?

I was talking about real world home defense and still think nothing can beat a 12 ga. I did not piss off a Colombian drug lord so I don't think think there will be that many people in my house to shoot anyway. Then add the fact that handguns are not that deadly and a one shot stop with instant incapacitation is rare. Read the paper and you will see most people shot with handguns survive.

I don't think many shot with a 12 ga buck load at 20 feet do.

[vjb.knife]

I have never seen anyone volunteer to stand in front of 22LR.

I have. I think it was on the tonight show with Johnny Carson. He had a ballistic vest on, of course, and it was pretty funny. I was shot in the forearm by a woman with a .38 derringer once. It really pissed me off. I was at a shooting range at a Gun Shop in Texas back in the 1980's. She pulled the thing out of her purse and it discharged to her left where I was standing. It took several minutes of her crying and the Gun Shop owners talking me down before I decided not to shoot her with the .45 I was holding.

[Hokkmike]

I have shot a fair amount of handgun calibers over the years. But eventually I realized that I did not need large calibers for carry/home defense. I am now of the opinion that .22lr, .22 mag, .32 acp, .327 mag, .32 H&R mag, .380 acp, 9mm and .38 are all that is needed by most people. Learn to shoot a caliber well and you are better off than having a large caliber that you do not shoot well. The important thing is shot placement. Can you put a double tap in center mass? Do you feel confident in the weapon you carry? Because if you are accurate with the gun you carry, you are doing well.

Not going to argue as I shoot a .380 well. But ponder this, what about shooting a large caliber well?

[Tim Ault]

Not the same as shooting inside of say a hallway or room in the house But I can tell you that shooting a 45 cal. handgun from the inside of a car(sitting drivers side shooting out the pass. side window) is 5X as loud as shooting at the range without muffs or plugs in also there is the concussion and flash even in daylight. It was similar to a flashbang! everything felt like it was in slow motion for a few seconds, This was a training scenario we did back when I was a LEO .

As others has stated though In a stressful situation ie: buck fever for example I have heard that rifle going off but that report and concussion were alot lower than just at the range but still noticed it , How that would translate to a handgun fired inside of a narrow 3 foot wide hallway when your zoned in and ampped up with Adrenalin I dont know but I will tell you you will feel that concussion .

As to the original issue of this thread ,Simple shoot as much gun as you can accurately and with total control. Keep shooting till there is no longer a threat .