I just recently (2 weeks ago) got another carry gun. I settled on a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 special. Great little gun but heavy on the recoil with the defense loads I'm using.

twinkiedooter must have a soft spot for the Hardballer while I prefer the Backup from AMT. I carried a AMT Backup .380 for a short time and found it sufficient to suit my needs but swapped to a .38 Derringer which I carried for many years. I was impressed when AMT later added the 9mm, 45, and .40 cal to the Backup line. They are fine weapons but I have since moved over to a 32 cal. Beretta Tomcat that I carry in a shoot-thru in the pocket holster. Works for me. I have it in my pocket all the time just as my keys, wallet and change purse. In other words it is part of my daily carry items. I found I like this setup and the holster saves my pocket from having holes. It really comes down to what your comfortable carrying and using. Proficiency with our weapon is part of the responsibility we take in bearing arms, just as cleaning and maintaining the weapon is a responsibility. The caliber of the weapon is not as important as being able to hit where we aim. The best thing to have if we needed to defend ourselves would be a police officer but they would be hard to conceal and carry.

I am a gunsmith and firearm instructor, I have several fine answers above but as I tell all my students and everyone that asks me that in choosing your firearm you need to pick one that first you are willing to trust our life with, next that feels right in your hands from the grips to the sights to the trigger pull and also accuracy is very important remember that in a stressful situation IE your defending yourself, even the most trained professionals loose 60% of their accuracy when it counts. Another thing you need to keep in mind is conceal ability of the weapon. And from the other side of my life I am a paramedic and have been for almost 17 years and have dealt with more than my fair share of the recipients of bullets weather it be bad guys or victims. When it comes to close combat caliber is not as important as ammunition. DO NOT USE HAND LOADS AS A DEFENSE ROUND EVER! If you don't have a FFL-amunition manufactors liscenes and you shoot someone with a hand load you can and will be in ton of legal trouble regardless of how '' justifiable'' the shoot is that spends from a case in Florida of a Florida trooper off duty shot and killd a guy trying to car jack him after being shot twice himself before getting his weapon out and then killing the assailant, he had hand loads in his off duty weapon and is now in prison for MURDER 1st degree. Now off that soap box use a good hollow point and don't skimp on them. Don't ever use ball ammo or full metal jacket. From the actual damage I have seen, well I carry the remington golden saber, after that I would use the gold dot or hydroshock. Where caliber comes into play in close is anything smaller than a .380 might not be as affective as people think. Its winter time here I have seen a leather coat stop a .32 auto from 10 feet away just for for thought there.

Do you know or can you remember the logic that was applied to charge him with murder due to him using reloaded ammo ?

This is why Im asking the question.


Ref:
In 2005, under Governor Bush, Florida became the first state to pass a "Stand Your Ground Law," expanding the right to self-defense in the home to other areas including the workplace and in a car.

About Florida Self-Defense Laws | eHow.com

.500 S&W with 4 inch barrel

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Originally Posted by sharkkiller1

.500 S&W with 4 inch barrel

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Why would you want a gun like that for daily carry? Seems a little over the top as far as being able to handle an SHTF situation.

A gun like that would be asking for trouble. Not only is it too big and heavy as well as hard to control but it's too likely to have over penetration and risk innocent lives.

This recommendation comes from someone who hears voices on a daily basis - maybe I'm sensitive after Boston but I have to ask..

I suspect he was only trying to be a smarta$$... or maybe trying to show us his ultimate knowledge of guns.