I vote 10mm, but then again I'm something of a Philistine. More power than full-house .357 Magnum, but can be downloaded loaded to 40S&W levels if so desired.

It's kind of a handful, though, and the gun selection new isn't what it should be.

I like 10 mm, too, but I have a few concerns as a practical matter. There's just not a lot of choices in commercial loads -- particularly full-house commercial loads -- just as there aren't a lot of choices in a new guns. (The Glocks are pretty good, but I can't point-shoot a Glock worth anything.)

The other issue is penetration -- more particularly overpenetration. I'd like to see a lot more gelatin tests with good controls on them. (Any time you see a picture of a gelatin block without the index round, it's utterly worthless.)

And, that said, I'm still a revolver guy -- right now, as I'm getting ready to head out to dim sum, and carrying my Taurus ultralight 44 special snubby. A little larger than the 38 snubby I usually carry (okay; I'm a creature of habit -- I've got the 38 snubby in my pocket, anyway), but five rounds of hot 44 special are, in my opinion, just about as good as it gets.

The overpenetration issue dissappears with proper shot placement.

the 10mm can be a handful, but if you shoot it well that's what really counts. When I think about what firearm I want to buy and keep for PROTECTION, one thing that really matters is being able to get ammo for it. Rifle, shotgun, handgun, it is all the same, they do not make good clubs!Without ammo they are almost useless. Therefore, I feel it is a good idea to use a firearm that is very common, military cal. is the best, as if there is a breakdown in our daily lives, ammo is still going to around after the first couple of weeks. What do you think??