Between the .44 Magnum, .454 Casull or the 10mm, which caliber is the best choice?

[ATN082268]

Between the .44 Magnum, .454 Casull or the 10mm, which caliber is the best choice for personal protection against human threats?

[Carne Frio]

The 10mm is more than enough for humans.
The 10mm is available with a much higher
ammo capacity. The lower recoil of the 10mm
allows for faster followup shots. I have and
shoot both the 44 magnum and 10mm.

[FrankenMauser]

Even 10mm Auto is 'overkill' under most scenarios.
Stepping up to .44 Mag or .454 Casull is unnecessary.

I'm not saying there's no reason to do so, or that it's a bad choice - just that I don't think it's necessary, especially when 10mm is in the mix.

[Branko]

If you are a revolver type and wanted a large caliber gun, 0.44 Special is just fine, imo. On account of that, a 0.44 Magnum revolver isn't a bad option, since you can load both. The more powerful calibers are more suited to shooting larger four-legged critters.

[tallball]

Do you prefer revolvers or semi-autos?

What would it be used for?

Best choice for what?

[DaleA]

Do you prefer revolvers or semi-autos?

This ^^^.

I like just about anything and everything for fun guns and range toys but if you get serious I prefer 'revolver' rounds in revolvers, and 'semi-auto' rounds in semi-autos. Pure personal preference. YMMV.

I also agree with the sentiment that all of them are over-kill for personal protection but then again what's not to like about overkill? Except that if follow up shots are important to you a milder recoiling round might be easier to control.

[Cosmodragoon]

... which caliber is the best choice for personal protection against human threats?

All three of these are arguably more energy than you'd ever need for a human threat. (To be fair, the only "threats" I've used these against are water jugs, old canned goods, and expired fruit. The results are a ton of fun.)

If these were your only options, 10mm is probably the most practical option given higher capacity and less overkill. If you prefer a revolver, I think .44 special is just right for human threats.

[mehavey]

"...for personal protection against human threats?"

So EZ a caveman can decide:

None of the above.
Instead, use 44 Special

Not only more than enough, but controllable
after the first round as req'd for follow-up

[Nathan]

Can you explain how your choice became narrowed to these 3?

[TimSr]

I am a hunter of 4 legged critters and use both 44 mag and 454 casull. (I've never fired 10mm) My home defense gun is a GP100 with handloads that I'd call 38 +p+ because I might have to fire more than once. I'd be okay with 44 spl or 45LC.

[T. O'Heir]

"...never fired 10mm..." 10mm Auto is really just a slightly smaller .45 ACP with about the same felt recoil, but isn't any better(or worse) than a .45 ACP(or .40 S&W). It'd do though. The other two are just too big.
Any particular reason you think bigger is better?

[Kosh75287]

All of those cartridges limit you to fairly large sidearms.

Revolvers that shoot .454 are VERY large. Unless it's meant to be a "bedside" gun, it's pretty much at its best as a hunting pistol. If it was loaded with milder rounds like factory .45 Colt, it would deliver a SUPERB balance between stopping power and controlability. It's just that their weight can be a detriment to portability.

A 4" barreled S&W M29 or similar piece would make a superb revolver for a fight, as any .44 Mag will chamber and fire the milder .44 Special round, which gives up very little in the way of stopping power. If you frequent areas where bear or large feral animals are encountered, stepping up to the magnum loads enhances your odds of ending an attack from them.

Currently, S&W makes a 5-shot revolver on their L-Frame (Model # escapes me), which would be a better compromise between power and portability, especially with .44 Special rounds. Expect it to be a major handful with magnum-level loads.

The 10mm is an excellent combination of stopping power, portability, and controllability, offering an easy platform to learn, carry and maintain, 10 or more rather powerful rounds quickly delivered, better controllability with full-power loads than the two revolvers mentioned, and a much faster reload than the revolvers mentioned.

Of the three calibers you mention, I'D probably go with the 10mm. If you are in a fight with one or more "two-legged predators", you'll want all the odds on your side that you can muster. A well set-up 10mm auto can deliver that.

[Stevie-Ray]

I actually consider 10mm a bit overkill for humans, but that would be my choice over the other two. My Glock 29 becomes my protection against humans, only when I'm in the National Forest, where they are still likely to be the biggest threat, but black bears are at least possible.

[4V50 Gary]

10 mm, because 44 Mag and .454 Casull are over kill. You want to recover quickly for a second shot and the follow-up with the smaller 10 mm is better than the other two.

[BigJimP]

All three calibers are way too much....and follow up shots can be difficult unless you have a lot of experience with the gun in that caliber.

If I had to pick one ...I'd go .44 Mag in a good 6" S&W revolver...like a 629 model. But you'll need to practice - to become tactically proficient in double tapping a silhouette target with any kind of precision in a reasonable amount of time shooting double action ideally.

[stagpanther]

I'd say the 10--first of all--because like the 44 you can download it lower power 40 S&W level--and 2nd of all if you have something like a glock 20--15 rounds semi auto is serious follow-up capacity; if needed.

[RIDE-RED 350r]

The L-frame Smith 44 is the model 69.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/w...layErrorView_Y


It should be noted that it's not worlds lighter than a 629 with a 4" bbl. The 69 comes in as 37.2oz advertised weight and the 629 is claimed to be 41.5oz. IMHO, I don't think 4.3oz is going to make a huge difference in felt recoil. I could be wrong though.

[Deaf Smith]

Sure 10mm if all I have to worry about is human threats.. and ONLY if it's a bunch of 'em coming at me.

Deaf

[ATN082268]

Originally Posted by tallball

Do you prefer revolvers or semi-autos?

What would it be used for?

Best choice for what?

I like Revolvers and Semi-autos. There are certain aspects I like about each of them and could go either way regarding choosing a larger caliber handgun. I have a few guns around the .38/ 9mm area and wanted a bigger caliber to add to my collection that would be good against human threats. Some initial thoughts were the Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum with a 4 inch barrel, the Ruger Super Redhawk .454 talo with a 5 inch barrel and the Glock 20 10mm. How do you think these three would fair regarding concealed carry?

[44 AMP]

best choice for personal protection against human threats?

You should have included "human threats" in the poll and thread title!

Simply because if you look at things OTHER than human threats, the 10mm isn't the best choice.

I voted .44 Mag, because I voted before getting to the "human threats" qualifier.

Outside of the human threat qualifier, the .44Mag is the most versatile, most common, and available in a wider variety of firearms designs.

[jonnyc]

Those are Bear Threat calibers. What neighborhood do you live in???

[dajowi]

"Revolvers that shoot .454 are VERY large. Unless it's meant to be a "bedside" gun..."

The thought of a 454 as a bedside firearm - WOW! I would consider this an extremely poor choice for a variety of reasons.

[mehavey]

You use it to 'WyattEarp' the bad guy.










Up`til the OK Corral, Earp rarely if/ever used a firearm
other that to club someone over the head with it.

[tipoc]

Between the .44 Magnum, .454 Casull or the 10mm, which caliber is the best choice for personal protection against human threats?

When Jack Fullmer and Dick Casull developed the 454 Casull it was intended as a handgun hunting round for medium to large game. It was chambered in the Freedom Arms 5 shot revolver originally.

The same is true for Elmer Keith and the 44 Magnum. Keith's intent, as he said often enough, was to develop the round for longer range hunting purposes and extend the power of the handgun. He already had the rounds he considered optimum for personal self defense.

Of the three choices the only one designed for self defense against humans was the 10mm. Jeff Cooper thought it optimum in that role. Though we could point out that, for several reasons, he never left the 45acp behind.

You have descending levels of power involved here, at least potentially, in the 3 rounds chosen. Which means differing levels of ability to control the gun and differing levels of ability to shoot the piece accurately at speed, those being critical for self defense. For the overwhelming majority of folks the 10mm would be the only one of the three that would come close to that. There are folks that can shoot the 454 and 44 well and fast...but they are few. You can download the 44 Mag to manageable self defense levels, but then why not just choose the right tool for the job in the first place? While some may do that, down load the 44 Mag for gunfighting purposes...again they are few.

In any case, what ever the purpose, always choose the most powerful caliber and ammo that you can handle well, in a gun you can handle well, with a good bullet designed for the task. For self defense, for some that will be 10mm or 40S&W for others 9mm, .380 or 45acp.

tipoc

[98 220 swift]

10mm hands down. some can hold 15 rounds and have you seen the ballistics on some "real" 10mm loads from buffalo bore and underwood in 135gr and 155gr loads. Simply amazing.