Capacity vs Caliber - 9 vs 45

9mm.

Less recoil. More capacity. Every bit as effective as .45 with todays hollow point technology. Cheaper to shoot to for more training... the list goes on and on and on.

Cooldill summed it up for me.

I voted 7x45ACP because that's my usual CCW (Glock 36), but honestly I'd feel perfection satisfied with either option.

With good quuality, modern ammo I don't belive there is that much difference between 9mm and .45ACP anymore. I personally chose to carry a .45ACP just becuase I like the .45ACP, not becuase its a magic bullet.

Tritto what cooldill said.

Here we go. This poll should be old guys (45) vs younger guys) 9mm

I went with 9mm

I have sold off most of my .45ACP pistols and will stick with 9mm plus a couple of .40 S&W. Overall, I prefer the softer recoil of the 9mm and usually more compact gun. In guns of the same size, I will have more rounds, quicker recovery from recoil and more than adequate stopping power.

The only place where the .45ACP has an advantage to me is when using fmj ammo which I do not use for defense. If I were in the military and stuck with the fmj only rule, it might make sense, but not as long as I can carry a good hollow point.

Jim

I'm one of the old guys, 45.

I voted for 7 rounds of .45, the reason being that my current carry gun is a 7+1 .45 and I can get more accurate hits with it than I can with my 9mm. (Granted my .45 is a S&W Performance center and the 9mm is not.)

I have nothing against 9x19mm, I just shoot the .45 better and have more confidence with it, which isn't that a big factor in choosing a SD gun.

BTW: NOMI WASP, I'm a young guy.

9mm

I stopped using .45ACP in semiautos 20 years go. When I carry a semiauto big enough for .45ACP it is chambered in 10mm Auto.

marb4 said:

In a concealed carry environment, given similar size pistols with equal reliability, accuracy, etc;

Click to expand...

This suggests to me that they are essentially the same form-factor ... assuming that to be the case, I would choose the 12-round 9x19 ... but I am old, so I may be stuck with a 7-round .45.

EDIT: BTW, my current CCW rotation consists of a .45ACP XDs, a 9x19 PF9 and a 9x17 P3AT ... the XDs is in my pocket most of the time.

I voted for the 9mm...it's cheaper, less recoil, and cheaper.....

Laura

9mm.

I'm not going to say the rounds are equally effective, but I do know that shot placement is far more important than caliber. Since I know I can shoot 9mm more quickly and more accurately than 45, 9mm takes it. Even of the capacity was equal between the two, it would be 9mm. The fact that the 9 in this case holds more rounds is just a bonus.

Given the choice between the two, the 9mm with more rounds. But given my choice, a .40 with 10 rounds. Seems like a nice compromise. I shoot a .40 a lot more than a 9mm, and don't own a .45.....yet......, the cost difference doesn't matter because I reload, recoil isn't enough different to matter. I actually shoot my .40 better than my 9mm.

Chose the 9 and I am an old guy.

It is what I carry now. Why would I change

just for a Poll?

There are a number of studies comparing the effectiveness of various center-fire rounds. There is also an FBI study that evaluated a lot of shootings. The answer most of these studies point to is that SHOT PLACEMENT is far more critical than caliber -- assuming that the round used has the power to penetrate far enough to do damage...

I'm oversimplifying in the following comments, but this type of discussion often requires simplfication...

If you can place a larger round in the bad guy's central nervous system, you should use a larger round; if you can't shoot a larger round well, you'd be better served trying to get CNS hits with a smaller round than missing it with a larger one. (I don't shoot .45s as well as I shoot 9mms -- so I'll continue to carry a 9mm handgun when I can. Some folks I know shoot .45s better than I shoot 9mms, and they'll continue to shoot .45s. I think those are wise decisions, in both cases.)

The capacity question seems important, but it may be more of an an intellectual issue than a practical one, for unless you're missing with a lot of your shots (which might happen in high-stress situations), all those extra rounds (12 vs. 7, or more realistically, 17 vs. 8 or 10) won't matter that much, because in most self-defense encounters things are generally over pretty quickly, with relatively few rounds fired.

9mm.

Less recoil. More capacity. Every bit as effective as .45 with todays hollow point technology. Cheaper to shoot for more training... the list goes on and on and on.

Click to expand...

Also, IMO no one has made a true .45 ACP Pocket Pistol that works reliably.

If I'm going to carry a larger gun, I want it to fire the same ammo as my pocket pistol micro-nine

More is better, accuracy is everything.

I carry both. Just depends on what I feel like that day. Colt Defender or PF-9 KelTec With to days ammo I think close to a toss up.

My .45 is a Glock 30 sf and usually has either 10 rounds or 11 ! I f I am going to carry a 9mm it will be a glock 19 with 15 rounds !

My carry rotation is 1911a, 92fs, & P226 (45, 9mm, 357sig).
I am accurate with both and the 1911a grip conceals better, but I chose 9mm because the 92fs fits my hand better.
...and 357sig was not one of the choices...

9mm with 7-8 rd "mags" for carry IWB best suits this small guy who likes to shoot.
Right or wrong, I won't feel a bit undergunned.

Depends on the pistol.

I pick the pistol I want, for example a mid size Glock, then I chamber it for the largest round possible. Like the .40 G23. If the gun handles poorly because of too large a round, then I go down a caliber or so. To a 9mm G19.

But .45 is still my favorite round. 8 rounds is plenty. Reload.

A 45 caliber hollow point will expand to make a way larger hole than a 9mm. With that said it doesn't matter to me anymore as shot placement is the key. Years ago I would swear by 45 but now I carry 9/40/45 with no discretion.