Posted by: mrussel: if money is an issue,a 9mm is alot better than a 45 OR a 380 as far as controllability because the ammo is a lot cheaper,so your going to be able to practice more and get better at using it.
I guess I'm the odd-ball. Since I've never shot a .380, I can't attest to its control-ablility. On the other hand ~To me the .45 1911 doesn't have the sharp recoil, nor the deafing report as does the S&W 5906 9mm. A choice between the two, the .45 wins, hands down.
What I was getting at is,380 is on the smaller end,or 32acp for that matter. All other things being equal,something small like a 32acp is going to be really controllable. I can unload 9 rounds almost as fast as I can pull the trigger and make a decent group. Some people say 45 is a little much for them. I dont agree,in fact I carry a 1911,but some people say that. Actually,many years ago when I bought my first handgun,I tried many different ones and settled on a Browning Hi Power. (A decision Ive never regretted,it was and is a fine gun. You may notice the pattern here of classic single action autos.) I found that I was much more accurate with 9mm in general than 45. After some years of practice and experience that changed,and the 1911 turned out to be more accurate,so I went with that instead.
My overall point however was,you can get a box of 9mm for around 10 dollars at Walmart. 45 can cost twice that. 380 and 32 are also very expensive. I certainly wouldst recommend someone go with 32 as a self defense round,especially since all those tiny guns that come in 32 usually come in 380 as well, but the point is these smaller calibers actually cost MORE than 9mm or even 45 sometimes. (in fact,that's what started me down the road to reloading. Most local stores were out of 32 and those that had it wanted crazy prices.) My point is, if practice and skill are more important than caliber,then if your on a budget 9mm beats out most others just because its cheap and commonly available. In fact,there is a gun store in town that has surplus 9mm for about 7 dollars for 50.