Capacity vs Caliber - 9 vs 45

For CCW, a 9mm with 12 round capacity or a 45 with 7 rounds?

  • 9mm - 12 rounds

    Votes: 92 56.4%

  • 45 - 7 rounds

    Votes: 71 43.6%
  • Total voters
    163
  • Poll closed .
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"We're neck-and-neck here folks at the bottom of the ninth! The hard-ball home team is tied with the visiting European team, who will win this one folks??"

Man this is TENSE! I'm rootin' for the Niners! LOL! :D
 
I would rather not count on my ability to reload, nor carry extra mags on my belt like Batman. I feel fine with 7 rounds of 45ACP or 9mm. But if magically the exact same gun could carry 12 of 9mm, it's an easy decision. I'll take 12.
 
Nom de Forum said:
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.
Click to expand...

Oddly, that makes perfect sense to me. :)



I've made the choice the OP asked about. BHP vs Colt 1911 Govt

I chose the one that I shot better and enjoyed the most - BHP


My choice wasn't made from a "capacity vs caliber" question as either is capable of doing the job IF the shooter does his/hers.
 
jhb said:
No bad choices there.

I picked gods caliber though...cause there was no .38 super or .357 sig choices. ;)

How old do ya have to be to be called an old guy anymore?
Click to expand...

49? :D

I'll take the slim 45 then. You could add a round if you made it 38 Super...
 
I have a 1911 in .45. I shoot it as good as I shot the Glock 19 I used to carry. I just like the steel and wood better. No other reason.

My real choice depending on circumstances is between .38 Special +P and .45 ACP. 9mm has always been a distant third for me. Of course, that bench and loading press in the back room makes a huge differnce too... :cool:
 
Sold all my guns with different calibers and left only with 9mm.
As mentioned here - less recoil, more rounds.
Not so young anymore closer to 60 then 50
 
I choose the .45. I shoot it as well, if not better, than the 9mm, just a tad slower but not enough to matter.

I also don't buy into that a 9mm is just as effective as a .45. A larger hole speaks for itself.

And BTW, I'm older but I felt the same when I was younger.
 
My 12 round 9mm is too fat to carry concealed. I do carry it, OWB and don't care one way or the other if its fully concealed or not.

So my primary CC pistol is a 7+1 round 9mm.

So, given the two options listed in the poll, I'm going to vote 7 rounds of .45 acp.
 
.
The decision is easier to make when one is restricted to 10 rounds maximum...

Even if I weren't, I'd still prefer .45ACP.

Having more rounds is great, as someone once said before me, "if you plan on missing a lot." :D



Never been interested in 9mm... but a neighbor of mine today showed me photographs of a nifty "set" of gear he has at his house in Arizona: a bullpup style Beretta 9mm carbine, a 9mm Beretta pistol (w/ 15-round magazines) and a Ruger LC9...

Now, I'd immediately begin cultivating a stash of 9mm if I had the dough to purchase those three arms. Even if I could only get the Berettas! and even being limited to 10-rounders! and not the Ruger (no longer on the CA Roster...) Certainly interesting pieces, those.
 
Since ".38 special with 5 rounds" was not an option, I selected 9mm.

Honestly, I wouldn't bet one over the other in any way at all. These arguments are entertaining but way overdone.
 
.45, and I'm only 33 years old. So there! :neener:

Both are effective, but 45 makes more sense to me for a lot of reasons.
 
I carry a the smaller (9mm) as well as low capacity.
Kahr cm9 6+1 or my g26 10+1. I feel comfortable with my kahr or my 26.
My sig p229 is just to heavy for edc. My p220 is also to heavy.
I pretty much have to carry lighter weight guns now due to some recent back troubles.
 
I voted for 9mm but have nothing against the .45 ACP. There are just so many great guns chambered in 9mm that are appropriately sized for CCW (for me) but very few in .45 ACP. If I had an HK45c it would probably enter the rotation. But aside from that there aren't many forty-fives I would want to carry...right off I can't think of a single one. It's maybe cheating but I'd carry an HK USPc in .45 if I had one but I'd have to download the mags since it holds 8. ;)

Now if we're talking carbines and there's no mag limit that's another story! Then I would take the .45 in an HK UMP over any 9mm that I can think of.
 
This discussion was a lot more compelling when the bullet technology wasn't as advanced as it is today. Me personally, I prefer the 10mm, but ammo is expensive and difficult to find.

9mm as a defense weapon, .45 as a recreational shooter.
 
I'm an old guy...70...I'm more likely to hit a moving target with 17+1 than with a 6+1, cailber doesn't matter when it's 9mm vs. 45 ACP. I carry the Ruger 9E when out and about but at home all I need is a J-frame.
 
I voted 9mm but my choices for higher capacity would be 15, 17, 19 and 33. Or 16, 18, 20 and 34 if I keep one in the chamber.

33 round mags don't conceal well on even me. But at 285 pounds or so I can cc a Glock 15 & 17 or our FNS-9 if the need be.
 
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A variant of this poll comes up every few years, and it never works. The average participant can't think outside the box, and it slides into a formfactor "slim 1911 vs" or "I shoot X gun better, and it happens to be in this caliber" debate over specific platforms. That's an answer to a question. It just isn't the question that this POLL has asked. :(
 
If souly for self defense, 9mm without hesitation. Higher capacity, less recoil, and just as effective in the stop threat zones.
45 has advantages but when considering the shot placement needed to stop a threat immediately, both cartridges are capable with one shot. The 9mm offers more chances of hitting the stop now button on the bad guy, and with the reduced recoil is a little easier to control in an adrenaline induced mag dump.
 
golden said:
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
Click to expand...
Selling off .45 for the softer recoil of a 9, but keeping .40? Unless you're required to carry .40 for a job, that doesn't make sense. .45 recoil is easier than a .40's.
 
There has never been any documentation that shows 1 round of 45 is significantly better than 1 round of 9mm. when comparable bullets are used. Even if it is 7 rounds of 9mm vs 7 rounds of 45 it is going to be a tie. The difference is small, but 40 and 10mm will out perform either.

I own all 3, in addition to several others, I'm confident all will work.

Selling off .45 for the softer recoil of a 9, but keeping .40? Unless you're required to carry .40 for a job, that doesn't make sense. .45 recoil is easier than a .40's.
Click to expand...

People keep telling me the 40 recoils more than 45. Maybe so, but the difference is mighty small, and worth the added performance of 40 over 45.
 
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