Best Caliber Choices .. How MUCH power Needed for The Gobsmacked ICBMs?

The U S air force currently has plans to spend 100 Billion on building 600 replacement ICBMs .. for deployment by 2019, - I may well not keep ticking to see these GBSD 6,000 mile range nukes snuggled-down into their bunkers. These new GROUND BASED STRATEGIC DEFENSE missiles - while each being 20 times more powerful than a Hiroshima bomb .. haven't yet been allocated a sexy name like Titan, Atlas or Arnie.S - So I'm going to name them  'GobSmackeD' as I'd be well gobsmacked with surprise if these mass murder machines serve any useful function other than to provide jobs for middle-Americans from the rust belt.

Looking For Nuclear Missiles in Wyoming or Nebraska?

 .. The Give-Away is the work site PORTA-POTTY

The worlds biggest weapons industry does like a G-rated name to promote it's ordnance sales .. so I doubt the Pentagon would name their new nuclear weapon The Porta-Potty .. despite them both spreading shit everywhere when they're dropped.

And don't kid yourself - If the apocalypse event does accept a local booking .. your chosen firearms may prove to be less than optimal protection from instant thermo-nuclear disassembly & incineration ..

Hmm .. is there actually one gun/cartridge combination that makes for the optimum choice?

Of course not .. because there are too many variables at both sides of the equation to determine the 'One Ring To Rule Them All'.

e.g. If you are a light-weight with small hands at the user end - one of your first considerations has to be .. can you achieve a solid aiming grip of the gun and also reach the trigger comfortably so as to maintain your front sight on target while pressing the trigger .. only then can you control the recoiling firearm efficiently so as to execute subsequent shots accurately and in a timely manner.

Halitosis Too  ..

- At the impact end  - are you seeking to 'stop' a charging 500 kilo Grizzly Bear (or a leaping 300 kilo Siberian tiger) - or are you concerned about penetrating vehicle bodywork & glass at a road-block?

It is widely recognized that a long-arm is far more capable for the legendary "stopping power" than any pistol .. but even there - conditions can vastly alter the results. 

The British .303" SMLE Battle Rifle showed remarkable variation in it's ability to penetrate the earthwork parapets of trenches in WW I - depending on velocity at distance. - At maximum long range the .303" bullet would slide through the earthen defenses and wound .. But at close ranges it's bullets would impact-shatter into dust with little surface penetration - Somewhat like a second nuke slamming into the same ground zero .. all it does is rattle the burnt bone chips in the rubble.

The short caliber answer is a  l o n g way away from finality. - While both small and larger hands each have limitations.

Get a Grip ..

My guess is that just about any available lesser caliber can function effectively .. while even the most powerful ordnance may fail miserably to perform .. You the shooter must try to learn it all &  select whatever brand and power levels that you personally can comfortably control - afford - and enjoy shooting regularly .. because PRACTICE & training are key to ability.

I was just recently reading (online) in a 1990 American Handgunner Magazine, a great story by Col.  Charles Askins discussing revolvers versus semi-autos. - NOT a story that could be published today as it's content is definitely 'non-PC.' and tells of unlawful shootings & mythical untruths .. What an excellent publication that was - with superb color pictures of guns.

So Much To Try - So Much Fun:

Perhaps we peasants ought borrow & sample more real guns on range - with full attention to the results - and forget about virtual experiences ..

Marty K.