Why 9MM? Well, number one, 9MM is the most widely available center-fire handgun ammunition in the United States of America.
You can get it pretty much everywhere. You can get it in all types of varieties. From really inexpensive practice ammo to very expensive defensive ammo. It doesn’t recoil that much.
And like we said with the AR-15, these may be guns that you are handing to family members. Your spouse. Your teenage children. Anyone who is a responsible adult human you may have to hand them a gun and say look, use this to defend the family to defend your life.
You want it to be as simple and straightforward as possible, and that’s why I recommend a 9MM handgun.
Professor Paul Markel

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I am curious what your second choice would be? I am guessing either .38 or maybe .45 ACP since both are well established and have been around for decades. I would be interested in your thoughts.