Exactly my point. I still remember the mid-late '80's and the rise of the "wunder" 9's, Glock and Beretta, and clones. Then, there were the failures to stop started being reported. Alas the 9's "needed" the higher capacities. Then there was the Miami incident. The rest is history and the rise of the 10/.40. Before that it was the debate over the .38spl being adequate (though is is, just like the 9mm, barely...) and the .357mag being overly powerful. (Actually it's just adequate, from my experience, just like the .40...).
I live in the Atlanta media market. There is the usual shootings that occur on a daily basis. One thing that is noticeable is the remarkable correlation to l.e. Shootings where the perps are DOA , with few shots fired where agencies are .40/.357Sig/.45acp users, and officers fire large quantities of rounds and perps are wounded and taken to Grady Memorial for treatment, 9mm users.
And I KNOW that all data isn't accurately reported to statistics keepers that skew things in favor of the 9mm to thwart hungry, suit happy lawyers... The 9's haven't gotten that much better. Just a consensus of what appears to be acceptable performance on test media. What has helped the 9 has also benefited the .40, too.
As they say in constitutional law classes, the pendulum swings. First, there was the 1860 Colt in .36cal. Followed by the Colt Walker .44. Then, the .45colt/Schofield is replaced with the .38colt/S&W, followed by the 1911 in .45.
Then, the .38spl, followed by the .357magnum, followed by the wunder 9's, then the 10mm/.40/.357Sig. Now it's back to the 9's. Won't be long before we repeat the cycle AGAIN.
For heavens sake, the .223 hasn't YET completely replaced the 7.62x51, which is a reformatted.30/06.
Like the wheels on the bus, here we go 'round again...
