9mm, .40, or .45?

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Which One?...

Alot of great advice, from alot of old pro's who have answered this question many, many, many times (as I'm sure you can tell)!... The 'net' of the whole thing is this:
1). Shot placement is the key and NOT 'knock-down' power... how well you can control your gun and place your shots... if you want pure KDP get a 12 g shotgun w/ buck.
2). Get a gun that feels right when you hold it/shoot it... get to a range, rent some of your 'favorites' and shoot 'em! Don't spend $300-500 on a gun that 'looks good' but just doesn't feel right!
3). I would start-off with ONE Gun (you'll eventually get more) and go with the 9mm first! Ammo is getting VERY EXPENSIVE... 100 rnds of 9mm (at WMT) is almost $20, and double that for .40s or .45s... Trust me, none of the guys on this site, can go to a range and STOP at 50 rnds!! If you enjoy shooting and targeting, 200+ (with a gun you love) just starts gettin' you warm, and that's $40+ dollars!. If you want home-protection a 9mm will do the job!! I have eight pistols and by my bed is a SIG-P229 9mm, with hollow-point Hornaday Taps... two or three well-placed torso shots with that gun and ammo WILL do the job!
5). When you go to your second gun, go to the extreme, go to the .45 next... but make sure you can handle it and shoot it.
Shooting is a great experience (that will usually last a life-time) and home-protection is a MUST! Take your time, shoot different guns and spend your money wisely... and build that collection Baby!!
 
9mm. Easier to shoot, cheaper to shoot, just as good in a fight. Use hollowpoints and the bad guys won't know the difference.

Oh, and I have a bunch of .45s.
 
.357sig for CC, protection, duty

I'd say buy a XD or SIGsauer, HK etc in .357sig , ;). It works great! It feeds extremely well and holds the same # of rounds as a .40/9mm. The .357sig is like a .357magnum for a semi auto pistol. The .357sig is in active use by many, many US law enforcement agencies too.

If you must choose, go with a .40S&W. I have shot/used a few and like it more than the 9mmNATO. The .45acp is good too but for a starter/new shooter, get a .40 or even better a new .357sig, :D.
 
I have only .45's but that really means nothing. Shoot what you are comfortable with. My 5' nada, 100 lb mother shoots a 9mm but I'm confident that she can kill what she shoots at. Why? If she shoots one round, she'll shoot them all. :)

That is, however a bad*** knife. I'll be picking one up for myself.
 
For the O.P. and others who refer to caliber

Firearms are chambered for cartridges, cartridges besides other
characteristics have a calber.

Shoot whatever you can hit something with and use
top quality bullets of your choice for SD/HD.

That said I would recommend something in 9MM
Parabellum/Luger aka 9x19 for economical training at
point and hold off buying a second handgun until you
gain some proficiency with the first one.

Randall
 
9mm. Not necessarily because it's the best, but because it's the cheapest and lightest recoiling of the three. Once you're a proficient shooter, then you can consider moving up to something more powerful.
 
I'll get some popcorn and Kool-Aid. Who wants to get the dessert?



To add something productive to the thread, I must say that these are the three most important factors:

1. Shot placement
2. Bullet selection
3. Shot placement

Oh, and ''stopping power'' means nothing until a one-five-five millimeter howitzer is brought into play.
 
Well with the current price of lead in consideration, there's definitely something to be said in praise of buying a 9mm. It's the cheapest cartridge you can buy that has a moderate amount of stopping power. However, shot placement is essential.

.40 will give you a great balance of stopping power and economic savings. Magazine capacity is just slightly less than 9mm.

.45 will give you the best odds of causing physical harm to your target, its bad news to get shot ANYWERE with a .45, but offers low magazine capacity and is expensive right now.

Personally, seeing that you are new to handguns, I would recommend buying a .22lr pistol for a first gun. 22’s are cheap, reliable, fun to shoot, and the ammo costs almost nothing. The resale value on a .22 is excellent as well, because they are ALWAYS in demand. It will be a cheap way for you to become acclimated to handguns and you will pay less for ammo than range fees.

Another side effect to owning a .22 is that you will be able to shoot with people that have other kinds of guns. As you go to the range more, you'll find that a lot of gun guys are willing to let other people check out what they have with them. After all, an armed society is a polite society. Thus, you won’t have to buy a gun to see what it shoots like.

So unless you've had the chance to shoot the gun you want to buy, I wouldn't be in a big hurry. Take your time. Impulse buying will just give you a safe full of guns that you never shoot. At best, gun dealers will only give you 2/3 of what your used pistol is worth.
 
Gents: I just got off work and am blown away at the number of responses to my post. I appreciate all of the advice. I plan to visit different ranges in my area and rent different caliber guns to try them out. Bias going in leans to the 9mm for my first gun. I'll let you know what I decide. Thanks to all for the great info.
 
I agree with the people that say shoot with what you can stay on target with. If you want to make a big hole in something and stop it fast go with a hollow point. I personally prefer 9mm gold dot hollow point for my personal defense handgun.
 
Oh yeah, "a guy at a gun show" is usually the very last person you want to listen to or take advice from - somewhere around the level of asking the Brady bunch.
Click to expand...
The more I learn about guns and the gun business the more I realize this. Some guy at a gun show told me that BUIS makes a good flip up sight. I guess no one told him it was an acronym and not a brand name. Scary thing was he sold AR parts. Another shop owner didn't know how to take an AR apart.
 
Don't consider anything but a 9mm in my opinion, unless you really want to spend a lot of money on ammo learning how to shoot. 9mm is just as effective as the rest despite what gun shop employees and internet forums say, it comes down to shot placement and not bullet size. If you shoot 2x as much with a 9 as you do with .45 or .40 because of ammo cost, you will be 2x as good of a shot and it will count for far more than 0.04-0.09" difference in diameter.

Not to mention lower recoil and overcoming "flinching" which will happen to you as it does to any new shooter with any caliber > .22 LR. I've been shooting 9mm and higher caliber handguns since I was 12 years old (26 now) and will still catch myself flinching from time to time and yanking a shot off target. It's much less likely to happen and much easier to force yourself not to with lower recoil.
 
start with the nine, get real good and build from there. Ultimate goal have one of each and be proficient with them, then go to wheel guns, rifles , shotguns ..... get the idea. you have a lot of fun ahead of you
just my irrelevant .02
 
JGW, If you are buying two guns, then you make it real easy. Buy one 45 Springfield, Colt, or Kimber1911 then buy one 9mm plastic wonder pistol M&P, Glock, or Springfield. Skip the 40, you have all of your bases covered with the 9 & 45.
 
As has been said...

9mm to start off with and get proficient. Any of the three as a JHP to the right area is going to bring someone down quickly.

As far as damage goes if I shot the same person in the same place .45>.40>9mm

Bigger stones make bigger holes. Is the difference worth $30 a box for range time? Probably. Is the difference worth it when it comes time to shoot in SD? Probably not. If you're going to shoot once you'll probably shoot 6 or 7 more times.

Then you get into mag capacity...I like my nine because I get 17+1 that's a lot of forgiveness compared to a .45 in 7 or 8+1.

P.S.~I just posted in my first caliber war! I'm so proud of myself *sniffle* :neener:
 
+100 on lessons!

Then shoot alot!

Find what you like! Buy and carry what you like & Shoot WELL!

my favs are .380 , 9mm , 45......dont much care for a .40 ...... but see just time spent at the range and some training will go beyond your own expectations and you can come in and give us your favorites and your opinions.

Thats what makes this place work well

Hats off to THR!

Guns.....prices vary

Ammo....prices vary

Information From THR!......Priceless!

GOD BLESS ALL WHO CONTRIBUTE!
 
Welcome to THR :cool:

Depending on your budget, I'd recommend 9mm & 45 acp. Go w/ the one you will shoot more often & w/ greater quantities
 
I agree with the other fellows who are saying to choose what you shoot best. There are a lot of other factors to consider too. Are you a big guy with a strong grip? If so, then grab a .45 auto. If you have small hands like me, and since you are new to shooting, maybe you should start out with the 9mm. I first chose a 9mm years ago. I stayed with it for the longest time because I was accurate with it and could handle the recoil easily. I have been shooting for around 6 or 7 years now and have gone to a .45 auto. But when I need to carry a light, concealable pistol, I go with my pocket 9mm.

If you can, grab someone you know who has a caliber handgun you are considering and go to the range to try it out. That way you can get some hands on opinions for yourself.
 
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