Anyone else change their opinion of the 9mm lately?

Anyone else change their opinion of the 9mm lately? Post a Poll

  • I don't believe and have never believed the 9 is adequate to defend my life.

    Votes: 25 5.3%

  • I used to believe the 9 wasn't adequate to defend my life, but now I believe it is.

    Votes: 78 16.6%

  • I have always believed the 9mm was adequate to defend my life.

    Votes: 360 76.4%

  • I used to believe the 9 was adequate to defend my life, but I no longer feel it is adequate.

    Votes: 8 1.7%
  • Total voters
    471
  • Poll closed .
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Bushmaster, Like I said I will loose the argument about which is more powerful 9mm or .357 mag. The .357 mag can undoubtedly be loaded hotter! I conceed that argument.

Here is a link from doubletap ammo. It stats that their 124 grain speer gold dot will leave a Glock 19 at 1295 fps. I think that seriously bumps the power threshold of the the 9mm up to .357 mag levels.

LINK


Tom
 
Meh...

Didn't vote.

9mm is adequate imo, and I wouldn't have any problems carrying one. BUT, given the choice, I would carry a .45ACP over 9mm any day.
 
9mm is plenty. Dead bodies may keep coming toward you at times and for some distance, but it's no big deal. I don't see any reason to blow them backwards.
 
I'd only step down to a 9 if I some day bought a tiny little carry gun....if I some day feel the 1911 isn't as concealable as it used to be. Till then its 230g JHPs.
 
If they come in my house....and my 9 doesn't drop them, my AK will.

15 rounds of HP is more then enough.
 
While my preferred carry weapon is a 45, I occasionally carry a 9mm and believe it to be quite adequate for the job.
 
I would rather use my 357 but I have more shots with my 9 and with all the SD ammo out today I don't even keep my 357 loaded.I just load up my 9 with 16 rounds.
 
What was it Jeff Cooper? said...

"Ain't a damn thing wrong with a 9mm, but sooner or later somebody's gonna put their eye out"! :D

All seriousness aside...
With the newer/better self defense ammo I've tended to move down in calber over the years. If size is not a problem (as in open carry) I'll carry a 40, 45, or 357 SIG, but I kinda wish when I bought my XD40SC I'd gone with the 9mm.
 
"I believe no caliber nor any bullet for that matter, is adequate to stop a man, for the bullet nor the gun is the one that will stop him, for it is the person behind the gun and therefore the person behind the bullet that is the one that will stop him."
-Me

I made that little quote up on the spot. Not bad huh?

Haha i'm saving that one for other caliber war threads. Hell i might even put that one on my signature!

BTW can anyone tell me if i have the correct quote format? I'm not sure if the one i have up there is right. I believe it is though.
 
The 9mm gets a bad rap because the military is forced to use FMJ bullets, using a modern, well designed hollow point levels the playing field significantly. The 9mm isn't a 40 or 45, but using the right bullet it's quite acceptable.
 
Focusing on comparing ballistic factors of velocity & energy levels is relatively fruitless. What matters most is comparing terminal ballistics: penetration & expansion abilities.

Ammo makers have worked hard and successfully achieved a remarkably similar degree of terminal ballistics (penetration and expansion) in 9mm vs. .40 vs. .45 when using the right choice of ammo.

With today's top grade 124 gr. +P JHP ammo, the 9mm is very close in terminal ballistic effectiveness (penetration & expansion) to competing defense calibers, even if velocity and energy numbers are different. This is purely the result of great bullet designs.

I appreciate and carry both .45 acp and 9mm pistols and feel equally well defended with either, given good shot placement. I really do like the benefit of much higher capacity with 9mm, however.

Even with great shot placement (which is critically important), having more rounds on tap is ALWAYS better than fewer rounds on tap. Especially in the event of MULTIPLE ASSAILANTS, BODY ARMOR, etc. High capacity is nothing to be sneezed at. People who say "if you can't do it with 7 rounds of .45 then you can't do it at all" are being short sighted. 7 rounds *may* do the job, but then again, you might need 10, 12, 14, or 16, you just never know what circumstances might present themselves. I believe it's better to have 16 9mm +P on board before a reload than seven or eight .45 acp! Much as I love my 1911's and the 45 acp caliber.

My primary carry guns are a Glock 30 (.45 acp) with 11 rounds of 230 gr. Gold Dots and a Glock 19 (9mm) with 16 rounds of 124 gr. +P Gold Dots. I'm equally happy with either one.. each having a slight advantage in different areas.
 
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I grew up surrounded by .45s and .44s. On occasion, I would notice a .38 Special or .357 at the head of a bed, but my family has always seemed to prefer more diameter and mass, and somehow even managed to scoff at the 9mm when packing a S&W M10.

I shared these beliefs for a long time and still prefer the .45 or 10mm Auto to the 9mm. However, I no longer buy most of the hype. I don't think there is as much difference as some say there is. And lately, I've noticed I shoot the 9mm much better than the 10mm Auto or even the .45. It's weird, but for the first time, I've found myself actually wanting a 9mm.

So yes, I have considerably changed my opinion of the 9mm. While I still don't think it is ideal, I do consider it adequate. And I have always felt shot placement is more important than anything else.
 
I have no problem with 9mm. It just happens that my duty gun is a Sig P220 .45, so I have a Sig P245 .45 for off duty :) I also have a Springfield XD .40sc, I don't mind giving up 1 round for a heavier, larger bullet...
I'm buying a 642 for pocket carry, but have my eyes on a PPS in 9mm as well :)
 
Tom Krein...You didn't loose...But one must look at the length of the barrel when figuring fps departure of the bullet from the barrel...Even in a shorter barrel the .357 magnum can be running faster then a 9mm X 19. And that must be taken into concideration when figuring effectiveness of a particular round...No matter how you look at it...Carrying any calibre firearm is much better then a stick...:D
 
.357 magnum is much hotter than 9mm, especially from short barrels. Chronographed from the 2.5" barrel of my S&W Model 66, Winchester's 145 gr. Silvertip (a superb defense load, BTW) travels at 1241 fps. 9mm can't begin to match that. The 147 gr. 9mm +P flies at about 1050 fps from a 4" barrel. From a 2.5" barrel that 9mm 147 gr. +P may drop to as low as 975 or so... no match whatsoever to the .357 magnum. And the huge case volume of .357 magnum gives great benefits of lower pressures and greater margin for error in loads than the tiny case volume of the 9mm case. Yes, .357 and 9mm share the same bore size and similar bullet weights, but the other differences between the calibers are huge.

Of course, in the above paragraph, I was just comparing velocities, which isn't nearly as predictive of "stopping power" effectiveness as terminal performance metrics are (penetration & expansion). 9mm does pretty well these days in terminal ballistics, but even with the best designed Gold Dots and other engineered bullets, 9mm cannot equal the terminal effectiveness of .357 magnum.

That said, the benefits of 9mm's semi-auto action, lighter triggers, MUCH higher capacity and much quicker reloads gives 9mm quite a lot to crow about. Despite the power differences between .357 magnum and 9mm, for carry gun/defense purposes, I would choose a modern 9mm semi-auto pistol over a .357 mag wheelgun simply for the benefits other than power that 9mm offers as compared to .357 magnum.
 
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I think a 9mm, particularly with a 115g +P+ like the Federal 9BPLE is more than adequate for the work at hand. And I'll second the votes for preferring a 9mm with me to something bigger at home.

I'm a big guy and have a lot easier time concealing my Kel-Tec PF9 than my Sig 229 in .357 Sig.

That being said, the 229 is in the bed holster, where concealment is not an issue.
 
9mm is adequate for most applications. I prefer the heaviest bullet in each caliber, and the heaviest bullet overall. But, most shooters will shoot the 9mm better (because it's a lower power load) and that's more important than caliber.

What caliber is best overall, what caliber you are best with and what caliber is then overall is best for you can differ. With the 9mm, .40sw and .45acp, how well you shoot your weapon matters more than what caliber it fires. Sure, the 180gr .40sw is clearly better ballistically, and better still is the 230gr .45acp, but 9mm will get the job done with good shot placement.

Gun platform also plays a role in my caliber selection. I've not yet found a .45acp defensive gun I prefer to a .40/9mm size gun platform. The larger .45acp simply round requires a larger/fatter platform.

So, no, I've not changed my opinion on the 9mm. It is what it is. Opinions may change, but comparing the calibers is pretty much the same as it's always been. 9mm has made some advances (fewer of them suck), but the .40sw and .45acp have benefited from the newer technology as well.
 
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