On the Caliber War

I think we all hear a lot about the caliber war. What is best? Does (fill in the blank) have enough 'stopping power'? Does (fill in the blank) have too much kick? Will (fill in the blank) be better than (fill in the blank)? Does it even matter?

I'll admit it: I'm a 9mm person, myself. Oh, I know that .45ACP or 10mm might have a 'better' reputation as defense rounds and I can't tell you the number of times someone has said: 'you should get a .44 magnum for your carry gun'. Well, maybe. But I have my reasons for sticking with 9mm. Just as others have their reasons for whatever caliber they are sporting. Here's what it really boils down to for me:

Is my chosen round is used by military and/or police?

If so, it probably has enough power for any situation I'm going to get into.

Am I comfortable shooting this load?

.44magnum might be great, but the last time I shot one of those, it kicked like a mule and my hand was sore for a week. I won't practice if it's no fun.

Does my chosen ammo come priced reasonably enough that I can afford to practice?

For some, this is not a big deal, for anyone on a budget, it is. If your ammo is too expensive for you to practice with it, then you might be better off shooting a .22 at the bad guy. At least you'd hit him.

Do I have reasonably good performance with this ammo?

Facing the facts, sometimes we just don't shoot as well with certain loads/guns. Those shouldn't be our primary defensive tools.

If you answer yes to all of these, then whatever you picked is just about fine. Maybe the holes aren't as large as some, but they will end up where they need to be and that's what really matters.