CCW Caliber thoughts...

I really don't want to start a religious war, but this forum seems pretty sane and rational, so I'll ask...I have a snubby, a small .40 and a small .45 (small-ish - Springfield XD compact). I find that I can easily carry the snubby AIWB, and I'm going to pick up a dedicated AIWB holster for at least one of the semis as well. I'm glad I worked with the .38 for a while first, since I had to get comfortable adjusting my pants when I sit, and figuring out the best spot to put the gun.So the question about caliber is this: is there enough of a difference in performance of the different calibers to lend more weight to one or the other? What about 9mm? I've read that "with modern bullet technology, 9mm is just as effective as .45 or .40". (And that the mighty .45 is actually inferior to the .40.) Is that optimistic gun writers selling articles, or has someone got some data on it? I could always sell a couple of guns and buy another with the right characteristics in 9mm. (I have a 9, but it's a beast of a Ruger that I wouldn't try to carry.)Here are the CCW guns I have and what I like about them:Kahr K40 - reasonably powerful and quite small. It also feels nice in my hand. I am least accurate with this one, though, so until I find ammo it likes (or something), I'm not sure if I want to carry it. (Slow fired off of sandbags, but all I had in .40 that day were some crappy reloads.) Hogue grips and a matte stainless finish it make it a pretty gun to admire before and after holstering.S&W 642 - Just barely adequate caliber and low capacity. Surprisingly accurate in my hands with any ammo (extensive sandbag testing at 21' gave me tiny groups - offhand it was still solidly accurate), and looks sweet with Hogue grips on it. Really easy to conceal.Springfield XD 4" (compact) in .45 - Most fun to shoot and points naturally for me. I haven't fired it off of sandbags yet (this weekend I will), so I'm not sure how intrinsically accurate it is. Probably pretty accurate with no support, though, since it fits my hands so well. This is the least concealable, though - I'd need a better belt and a good holster for AIWB. It's the same size as a G19, but I think it's a few ounces heavier. Kinda ugly, but feels so nice in my hand I don't care.Kel-Tec P32 - Nothing. It's a hateful little machine that I regret buying.I know that the aesthetics comments sound trivial, but for something you're going to look at every day, it matters at least a little.Anyway, accuracy at the range should be related to accuracy under stress, and a .38 that hits is better than a .50AE that misses. I'm curious if anyone thinks there is that much difference in performance of the 38, 9, 40 and 45 these days to make it a factor in gun selection, or if "anything bigger than .22 that you can hit with and will actually carry" is more the consensus. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2nVuBC8