Pistol Ammo Comparison

The debate over the "best" caliber of pistol ammunition for self defense, target/competition shooting or hunting has been going on for as long as different calibers have been available.  Everyone has a personal story about why they only shoot .45 ACP, or why the 10mm is the best caliber etc. Our goal here isn't to provide our opinion of why a certain caliber is the best but rather show some of the key considerations of the differences in the most common calibers of pistol ammo.  

On the table below we layout the ranges of some of the key specifications of the following rounds: 357 Sig, 357 Magnum, 38 Special, 380 Auto, 9mm Luger, 10mm, 40 S&W, 44 Magnum, 45 ACP, 45 Colt and just for fun, 500 S&W Magnum. 

The velocity and energy ranges are based on the lightest and heaviest bullet respectively found for each caliber.  The "As Cheap As" includes reloads.