SOTSpro21:31
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9mm v. 40 S&W for all around gun?
9mm v. 40 S&W for all around gun?
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cat_IT_guy
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My vote goes to the 9mm, primary due to ammo cost.
Okiegunner
Member
I own about as many .40 as I do 9mm. I am a fairly big guy, and while I can control it and find it tolerable, I find the .40 snap a little too much sometimes.
I am much more accurate with the 9mm. Follow up shots are also much easier for me to place on target.
Having said this...I do belive the .40 to be a much more robust round.
I am much more accurate with the 9mm. Follow up shots are also much easier for me to place on target.
Having said this...I do belive the .40 to be a much more robust round.
SOTSpro21:31
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Thanks!
thefamcnaj
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This was a tough one for me. When I first started in the handgun world, it was with a g27. Simple minded reasoning I had then. It was a bigger cartridge than the 9mm and cheaper than .45acp to shoot. So my first few months into guns was spent shooting the snot out of my g27. Then I branched out into other calibers. When I started shooting the 9mm I couldn't believe how much more accurate I was with it, and how much further 50 bux would go on ammo.
Then I started really researching self defense ammo and quickly realized that the 9mm loads offered are pretty potent. So: more rounds in the mag, better accuracy, cheaper to shoot, great sd loadings to choose from etc... made me come to the conclusion that for me 9mm was a better over all option. I still own .40's but rarely shoot them any more.
Nightstand gun is a g19. Summer carry is a g26 or khar cm9. Winter carry is a gen 4 g19.
Then I started really researching self defense ammo and quickly realized that the 9mm loads offered are pretty potent. So: more rounds in the mag, better accuracy, cheaper to shoot, great sd loadings to choose from etc... made me come to the conclusion that for me 9mm was a better over all option. I still own .40's but rarely shoot them any more.
Nightstand gun is a g19. Summer carry is a g26 or khar cm9. Winter carry is a gen 4 g19.
SOTSpro21:31
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Thanks, thefamcnaj! I'll probably go with 9mm....
Onward Allusion
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I voted 9mm. Yes, 40S&W is a higher performer for SD, but the key phrase was *all around gun*. 9mm is extremely inexpensive at the range and top tier 9mm SD rounds come close to 40S&W. Now if the poll was on which one for SD only...then it would have to be 40.
RBid
Member
9mm.
Quality SD rounds make it potent. Capacity advantage, light recoil, low cost. As long as you have access to quality SD rounds, it has no weak points.
Quality SD rounds make it potent. Capacity advantage, light recoil, low cost. As long as you have access to quality SD rounds, it has no weak points.
SOTSpro21:31
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Thanks ya'll!
nickn10
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I have 9mm, 40S&W, 38sp and 45ACP. Quality SD 9mm costs close to quality 40 or 45. Heck you only need 20 rds of the SD stuff. I reload and the cost of any of these rounds is close enough to each other so it isn't a factor. I reload my practice rounds so the point of impact at 15yds is the same as the high priced stuff (which I carry to keep the lawyers happy) The only advantage for a 9mm is factory ammo cost, let's face it if it's for SD you ain't gonna need more than 2-5 rds anyway. The 45 is a bit too bulky for CC IWB carry and not too much more potent than the 40. The Shield is easier to carry than my Glock 26, XD 40, or my Sig 220 so I chose a Shield 40. It is easy to shoot, sufficiently accurate and a pleasure to carry. I sold my Kahr 9, it just didn't feel right in my hand, the LCP, I don't trust a 380, and the LC 9 had a horribly long trigger pull, my S&W 438 is sweet but compared to the Shield it feels bulky in my pocket. To me round capacity is not a factor in a SD handgun as long as I have at least 5. It's all just personal preference, I can't argue anyone's choice so I go with mine. Thanks for your opinions.
Here's another vote for 9mm. I'll break it down into categories.
For personal defense (the only place where a strong case can be made for the .40): The differences in terminal performance on humans between a 9mm, .40, and even .45 are pretty marginal. You will be able to shoot the 9mm faster, and perhaps more accurately, than the .40. If you buy the current view that handgun bullets just poke holes, is an extra .04" of hole width worth the tradeoff of fewer holes in total (due to both capacity and rapidity of fire)? Modern 9mm SD/service ammo meets FBI standards and is plenty potent. If you don't agree, the answer is to move off the service-caliber power band entirely and go to a 10mm or magnum revolver cartridges or the like.
Hunting: Neither round is a good choice for hunting, so no points for either.
Practice: Strong win for the 9mm here, from both cost of ammo and for development of a flinch-free shooting form.
Gun games: 9mm is the better cartridge for IDPA; .40 gets to major in USPSA.
Safety: The 9mm, and guns chambered in it, are very "safe," insofar as a cartridge can be safe. The .40 (although pretty safe when you consider the vast number of rounds of it fired every year) has some issues. Bullet setback quickly leads to a compressed, over-pressured load in a .40, which can result in case rupture and ka-booms.
By my scorecard, unless you're going to shoot USPSA and want to hit major scoring, the 9mm is the all-rounder winner.
For personal defense (the only place where a strong case can be made for the .40): The differences in terminal performance on humans between a 9mm, .40, and even .45 are pretty marginal. You will be able to shoot the 9mm faster, and perhaps more accurately, than the .40. If you buy the current view that handgun bullets just poke holes, is an extra .04" of hole width worth the tradeoff of fewer holes in total (due to both capacity and rapidity of fire)? Modern 9mm SD/service ammo meets FBI standards and is plenty potent. If you don't agree, the answer is to move off the service-caliber power band entirely and go to a 10mm or magnum revolver cartridges or the like.
Hunting: Neither round is a good choice for hunting, so no points for either.
Practice: Strong win for the 9mm here, from both cost of ammo and for development of a flinch-free shooting form.
Gun games: 9mm is the better cartridge for IDPA; .40 gets to major in USPSA.
Safety: The 9mm, and guns chambered in it, are very "safe," insofar as a cartridge can be safe. The .40 (although pretty safe when you consider the vast number of rounds of it fired every year) has some issues. Bullet setback quickly leads to a compressed, over-pressured load in a .40, which can result in case rupture and ka-booms.
By my scorecard, unless you're going to shoot USPSA and want to hit major scoring, the 9mm is the all-rounder winner.
MTMilitiaman
Member
9mm
Ammo, as mentioned, is much cheaper and more available. This should lead to more practice, which should lead to more competence, and in turn, confidence.
And nothing I have seen suggest there is that much difference between the popular defensive handgun rounds. I read something in a gun rag not to long ago that suggested there is about 15 to 20 percent advantage in favor of the .45 when compared to similar loads in 9mm. Now that may be enough to matter, but I think most would agree that cheaper ammo, higher magazine capacity, and faster follow up shots are all advantages in favor of the 9mm over the higher caliber stuff that are likely to be more appreciated more often. I used to be a fan of the .45 and the 10mm Auto. I don't even own a .45 anymore and my 10mm hasn't fired a round in two years. All the centerfire autos on my want list are 9mms. The only "Forty-something" on my handgun wish list is a 4 inch Ruger Redhawk .44 Mag. I quickly noticed how much better I became when I transitioned from my G20 to my G19. And that added confidence matters more to me energy figures or caliber.
Ammo, as mentioned, is much cheaper and more available. This should lead to more practice, which should lead to more competence, and in turn, confidence.
And nothing I have seen suggest there is that much difference between the popular defensive handgun rounds. I read something in a gun rag not to long ago that suggested there is about 15 to 20 percent advantage in favor of the .45 when compared to similar loads in 9mm. Now that may be enough to matter, but I think most would agree that cheaper ammo, higher magazine capacity, and faster follow up shots are all advantages in favor of the 9mm over the higher caliber stuff that are likely to be more appreciated more often. I used to be a fan of the .45 and the 10mm Auto. I don't even own a .45 anymore and my 10mm hasn't fired a round in two years. All the centerfire autos on my want list are 9mms. The only "Forty-something" on my handgun wish list is a 4 inch Ruger Redhawk .44 Mag. I quickly noticed how much better I became when I transitioned from my G20 to my G19. And that added confidence matters more to me energy figures or caliber.
Skylerbone
Member
There's a lot to consider when deciding between the two like bullet weight and style, load, platform (was it designed around one or the other), would you consider a future caliber conversion to .357 Sig?
I'm another reloader who does not factor in cost to shoot but that must be a consideration for many folks. If I could chose only one of the two I would pick the 9mm without pause. It shoots faster and flatter. It recoils less for quicker follow-up, it's cheap and plentiful and, as more Govt. agencies and LEOs migrate toward 40 S&W, that may well be where the next shortage crops up. I do shoot 40 S&W regularly, only because I cannot tolerate a firearm gathering dust and selling has never been my policy.
I'm another reloader who does not factor in cost to shoot but that must be a consideration for many folks. If I could chose only one of the two I would pick the 9mm without pause. It shoots faster and flatter. It recoils less for quicker follow-up, it's cheap and plentiful and, as more Govt. agencies and LEOs migrate toward 40 S&W, that may well be where the next shortage crops up. I do shoot 40 S&W regularly, only because I cannot tolerate a firearm gathering dust and selling has never been my policy.
7mmb
Member
I would vote for 9mm out of the two cartridges on the ballot but would like to see how the 45 Auto would compare to the two. And I assume you meant all around auto pistol when you said "gun" because for best all around handgun cartridge I would vote for the 357 Magnum, although when handloaded for Ruger large frame revolvers the 45 Colt would be high on the list too. For best all around gun a 12 gauge pump would be hard to beat.
SOTSpro21:31
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Yes 7mmb, I meant automatic pistol. Thanks!
Dreamliner787
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9mm because it's more controllable for shot placement for most subcompacts.
For a SD gun, I always weigh round count vs. caliber.
When I bought my XDSC40, the XDSC9 held only one more round than the 40 - I opted for nine rounds of 40 over ten rounds of 9mm.
When they redesigned the XDSC9 magazines to hold thirteen rounds (up from ten), I went from the 40 to the 9mm (same gun) - I'd rather have thirteen rounds of 9mm than nine rounds of 40.
Reasons for a 9mm:
1. Advances in SD ammo have increased the potential of the 9mm.
2. Cheaper to feed and practice.
3. Double-taps etc. are generally easier / more accurate with a 9mm.
4. If you've been paying attention, BG tactics have changed over the years - there now seem to be more multiple attacker situations than in the past, so extra rounds are (What did Martha Stewart say?)...that's a good thing!
When I bought my XDSC40, the XDSC9 held only one more round than the 40 - I opted for nine rounds of 40 over ten rounds of 9mm.
When they redesigned the XDSC9 magazines to hold thirteen rounds (up from ten), I went from the 40 to the 9mm (same gun) - I'd rather have thirteen rounds of 9mm than nine rounds of 40.
Reasons for a 9mm:
1. Advances in SD ammo have increased the potential of the 9mm.
2. Cheaper to feed and practice.
3. Double-taps etc. are generally easier / more accurate with a 9mm.
4. If you've been paying attention, BG tactics have changed over the years - there now seem to be more multiple attacker situations than in the past, so extra rounds are (What did Martha Stewart say?)...that's a good thing!
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