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Charles,

Good comments. This is something that I have wrestled with for some time (have always liked my 45 ACP pistols). I have taken several classes with Paul Howe (CSAT). He tells us to use what we can shoot accurately (he has high standards for that and we learn why in the classes) but go bigger if you can shoot it well (he likes the 357 Sig). Several of the classes I have taken are heavy in LEO attendance. More than a few of the SWAT officers carry 1911's. They are teased that the pistols are always half unloaded at best (as compared to a polymer pistol) but they like them for the same reason as Mark.

I have both 9mm and 45 ACP. My hand loads for my 9mm are well above IDPA power factor (147 grain bullet at 920 feet per second) and I also run my 45 ACP IDPA loads well above power factor. I bought some Speer 124 +P Gold Dots for my 9mm and tested them in my M&P 9 full size. Those things have much higher recoil than my practice/match loads and feel as stiff as my 45 ACP loads. Point I am trying to make is that if you are shooting standard 115 grain 9mm or IDPA loads and have not experimented extensively with your carry ammo running fast paced drills, you may be in for a surprise. Google Dave Spaulding's 2 X 2 X 2 drill and try it first with regular 9mm ammo then your +P carry ammo and you will see what I mean.

Dave Spaulding has a lot of information on bullet performance in gun fights with modern 9mm ammo. He has a two part You Tube video on this and presents bullets taken from autopsies.

This is a tough issue for each of us to sort through. Mark is right about hitting your target. The advanced classes we went through at CSAT were set up as real world to really drive home that accuracy must come before speed (both for the precision of the shot you may have to take as well as the need to take the time for proper target discretion). These classes will show how the speed that competition pushes for may get you in a bad way in the real world (I know because I went too fast and tagged an undercover LEO target once in each of the advanced classes I took because I failed to do proper target discretion).

Lots to think about that should be driven by a lot of range time. Mark told me that he would often get to shoot 500 rounds a day at department expense. Few of us have that luxury to get in that much practice. I am glad that some of our LEO does.