How much more quickly and accurately can YOU shoot 9mm...

[MikeInOr]

I love 9mm pistols, mainly because I enjoy shooting several pistols that aren't made in any other caliber.

There is not one of my eight 9mm pistols (from a Broomhandle C96 Mauser and P08 Luger to a 92F and XDM) that I shoot faster or more acurate than my Norinco 1911 in .45 ACP. The tuned trigger and smooth action of my Norinco 1911 trumps the lighter recoil of a 9mm. I think I shoot my P38 the best of all my 9mm's with my Beretta 92 being a close second. The light barrel and slide on the P38 makes for a faster pointing pistol for me... mag changes with the butt mount mag release on the P38 makes changing the 8 round mags very slow though.

I don't shoot .40's, I don't like .40's! .40 brass is too hard to seperate from my 9mm and .45 brass and the stupid 40's always jamb my Dillon press.

I have been keeping an eye out for an affordable double stack 9mm 1911/2011 with the belief that I will be able to shoot faster and more accurate than with .45acp 1911's.

 

[mdauben]

...versus 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 10mm, 380 ACP, etc.?

I think I'm a bit of an anomaly. I shoot my Glock 21 better than my Glock 17, and my Glock 36 better than my Ruger LC9s. I've never timed myself, or done any sort of accuracy comparison so this is just my subjective "feel" and I "feel" better shooting the .45s.

 

[JR24]

I think I'm a bit of an anomaly. I shoot my Glock 21 better than my Glock 17, and my Glock 36 better than my Ruger LC9s. I've never timed myself, or done any sort of accuracy comparison so this is just my subjective "feel" and I "feel" better shooting the .45s.

The 21 does shoot very smooth for a .45

 

[mdauben]

The 21 does shoot very smooth for a .45

Comparing the G21 side by side to a nice 1911, its not as smooth. For my practical shooting, the G21 just works great for me.

 

[JR24]

Comparing the G21 side by side to a nice 1911, its not as smooth. For my practical shooting, the G21 just works great for me.

Trigger, yes. But I find running rapid strings with my 21 vs my 1911s, even widebody double stacks, that the 21 gets back on target better and smoother.

Works for me, though truthfully I like and shoot my 1911s more.

 

[Glockula]

For me the gun is as important as caliber for speed. I will be faster with a tuned .45 kimber than a standard Glock 19 because of trigger pull and the .45 will have more weight. I have Been able to shoot Berretas fast and accurate as well because the design has a lighter smaller slide producing less recoil. And the DA to SA trigger. So the platform is just as important as caliber for shot ting fast

All things equal? I am faster with the 9mm, but I am not a competition guy so that .01 of a second is not important to me as accurate shots.

I have always found the .40 a little snappy but that's OK I just learned to shoot my G23 and I'm as quick as anything else now. And I just like the .40 for no real reason other than I feel like it's got a little more oomph than the 9mm. But that is personal not data based at all.

Pick one and shoot it out of a pistol that has a good trigger. Practice a lot. Much more important than caliber.

 

[P5 Guy]

Nothing to compare to all my semi-auto pistols are 9mm

 

[94045]

This is so platform dependent. In the same platform I shoot the 9mm better than the .40. That said I shoot the .45 Shield better the 9mm Shield. The slight difference in grip size makes all the difference.

 

[Iggy]

Hit'em with a big enough bullet and you don't need follow up rounds.

I was in a couple of serious social encounters and only needed one .41 Mag JHP to bring things to an abrupt conclusion.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Best shooting gun I ever owned was the HK P7. Happened to be 9mm. I could shoot that gun fast and accurate. Faster than a revolver and faster than a 1911.

 

[JohnKSa]

Hit'em with a big enough bullet and you don't need follow up rounds.

That works great until there's more than one attacker--or until the first bullet misses.

 

[94045]

Hit'em with a big enough bullet and you don't need follow up rounds.

I was in a couple of serious social encounters and only needed one .41 Mag JHP to bring things to an abrupt conclusion.

I had a friend that did the same with a 629 .44 Mag and Remington 240 JHP but it did shoot through the Perp, the front wall, the flower bed and exit to parts unknown.

That also so doesn't answer what you do when 6 rounds of 12 ga Buckshot doesn't stop the attacker and you end up fighting for yoyd Glock. This happened to a local officer. No drugs involved the guy was just angry..

 

[Iggy]

That's pretty angry!

 

[Narwhal]

On recoil intesensive drills, such as 10 yard bill drills, I am roughly 10% faster and 10% more accurate with 9mm vs .40 S&W when shooting 147 gr P9HST2 and 180 gr P40HST1.

On drills where the recoil does't matter so much, like mozambiques or el presidente, I find that there isn't much difference, and sometimes I get better times with 40. In those cases it is simply my ability to execute the drill with proper dexterity that determines my success more than caliber/recoil.

I once shot the IDPA classifier back to back with 9mm (first run) and .40 (second run) with the same gun (barrel/mag swap). I shot a better score with the .40. What this tells me that the benefit of warming up/practicing the drll once prior matters more than the recoil difference in that type of game.

WIth that said, if they truly have equivalent terminal performance, I guess you would be well served carrying the 9mm and getting that extra bit of control in rapid fire stuations and the extra few rounds of capacity.

 

[Zerodefect]

I'm a hair faster with 9mm. Not enough to be a worthwhile tactical data point.

My two peso's:
Guy's with big heavy arms naturally handle recoil better, and see less advantage from 9mm.
Big calibers cycle better with my thumbs dragging on the slide.
jhp 9mm is noticeably stronger then fmj, but .40 and .45 is often the same
If you're only punching paper, downloaded weak .40 seems like less recoil than 9mm, and easier to dial in the ''just'' right spring.

 

[cougar1717]

I didn't see anyone mention the FBI's specific course of fire. Many have mentioned IDPA or different pistol training exercises in this discussion. I just wanted to point out that the context of the "quickly and more accurately" quote is in reference to the FBI's specific course of fire and the firearms with which FBI agents must use. If someone was willing to test this for themselves, it may be beneficial to use this specific course of fire with a timer: https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/start-shooting-better-episode-7-fbi-qualification/

I am not saying that this is a difficult course of fire by any means and many of the courses above may be more difficult that this one. It's just that I feel the quote should be viewed in context of this course of fire, targets, distances, and firearms G17/19, 22/23, and whatever the 45acp numbers are - haha*.




*It's a joke 21/30.

 

[Hangingrock]

For (X) number of individuals it may simply be a matter economics between the 45ACP and 9X19mm thus the 9X19mm being more economical to shoot gets shot more. The first handgun I fired was the 1911A1 at Parris Island and thought to myself the recoil aspect was over emphasized/exadjurated. The 1911A1 was just not that difficult to shoot. All these decades later I have not changed my opinion.

 

[Doublehelix]

But repetition really never hurts and sometimes rephrasing a topic increases understanding..

True dat!

This is correct!!!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist!!!)

I have been shooting .40 all year in competition, and I can say that I can shoot that gun easily as fast now as I can my 9mm guns, but then again, the .40 is pretty tricked out and has a trigger that is built for speed.

I know I don't shoot my .45 as fast as my .40 even though both guns are similar.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have two pistols, one I carry every chance I can (XD9 service model), the other gets carried if I cannot conceal the first one (M&P Shield 40 cal).
I hate the 40 and shoot the 9 very well and as frequent as I shoot it yes I am faster with my 9.