Posted by Robert Atkinson 2 on 04/01/2023 17:38:02:
Most sources say a 9mm parabellum is a bit marginal for protection against bear attacks.
It does have the advantage that you can get fairly light guns with >10 round capacity and it is easy to shoot accurately. Better 4 or 5hits out of a 9mm auto than 5 misses from a magnum revolver bcause you can't shoot it and it's too expensive / painfull / noisy to practice properly.
Been a long time since I last shot a centerfire hand gun, 25 years thinking about it.
UK anti gun laws are getting more draconian.
…
Robert.
That's about it for me too. I think a good FMJ load in 9×19 might have a chance against dangerous animals – it has very good straight-line penetration. I could get handloads to go through a 7" railway sleeper, and military Mk.2z would probably do more – so long as you're prepared to chuck the pistol away when it starts to break up!
They used to say Lugers like hottish loads, but I've seen 2z break the little cast steel loop that retains the extractor, and crack the crosspin in the breech block toggle link. At least it was the 2z that got the blame, and it was nice minty 1917 Artillery model too.
I imagine the amount of pistol ammunition fired at inanimate targets exceeds that fired at live ones by 6 or 8 orders of magnitude or more. Certainly the 25k or so rounds I shot were never fired at anything living, nor did I ever want to.
Edited By Mick B1 on 04/01/2023 20:42:14