If something were to happen to our ammo.

[Extremely Pro Gun]

If something were to happen to our ammo.

Which caliber would be easier to come by?

.40 s&w
-or-
9mm luger

I realize that 9mm would be what most people think, however the .40 is beginning to have a HUGE following with law enforcement and military, most LE no longer use 9mm. I want to steer my future combat handgun (ie XDm or Sig) purchases in the direction of the availability as my carry gun is a .357 snub and always will be. I want these guns to be for ITSHTF, Terrorists Come to America or Civil War.

Thank you

 

[rcmodel]

By far, the 9mm.
There are at least a gazillion rounds of it squirreled away in every nook & cranny in the country.

The .40 is popular in police circles in the U.S., but has very little following in the military or the rest of the world.

Whatever the current U.S. military cartridge is, is what will always be the most easy to acquire.

rc

 

[average_shooter]

I think it depends on where you are and how you plan to procure future ammo.

If you want to stock up now around me .40S&W would probably be the way to go as that's what I always see on the store shelves. Because everyone has a 9mm that stuff flies off the shelves first and fast. .38 Special and .357 Mag are also scarce yet and when they are in they are expensive, more than I am willing to pay when I have at least 1,000 pieces of brass and components to reload with. Similar with .45 ACP...I think...haven't seen any of that anywhere in probably six months...

 

[TexasRifleman]

I think your argument for .40 makes sense but think about all those crates of surplus 9mm out there in the country.

Would take a very long time for .40 to catch up to that.

If you mean in a retail environment only, maybe so.

But think of it this way. If your "sht whatever" scenario actually happened the only ammo you would be able to get would be whatever was in your closet at home.

If "something" happens all the stores are going to be closed anyway.

So, stock up on whichever you prefer. 9mm is cheaper to stockpile in quantity and takes up less storage space.

 

[Cosmoline]

9x19, in part because the .40 is getting more popular. You have fewer official outfits to compete with for the supply of 9mm.

 

[GRIZ22]

I voted 9mm. I have no use for a 40. If I want bigger I'll go to a 45. If i wanted bigger and faster in an auto pistol I'd get a 10mm.

 

[Orion8472]

Nothing would be "easy to find", . . . most would even be nearly impossible to find. The recent up purchases of ammo is evidence that, IF something happened, it won't matter what you have, because shelves would quickly become bare and the vaste majority of people would have absolutely NO way of finding any. It would be "what you have in your gun case" as what you will have, at that point. Stock up before such things happen (if the ever do).

 

[CoRoMo]

the .40 is beginning to have a HUGE following with law enforcement and military, most LE no longer use 9mm.

Therefore, if your scenarios were to play out, .40 would be hard to get as all the manufacturing would fuel the needs of LE and military.

 

[bg226]

No contest, 9mm.

 

[leadcounsel]

Maybe law enforcement would hoard .40; then again maybe the US military would hoard 9mm given a disaster that limited ammo.

 

[Hokkmike]

I shoot a .40 but I vote 9mm.

 

[huntsman]

If something were to happen to our ammo.

Which caliber would be easier to come by?

All I know is when I went to the local WW the only handgun ammo they had was .25acp and .40S&W

 

[Voland]

By the sounds of things, and if I think this through to your conclusion, you are talking about our existing ammo going away AND a need to use it. If that is really the case, get whatever is easiest to reload. In handgun ammo, 9mm is just as easy to reload as .40 and .45 but to me, .45 is a little easier. Its lower pressure and most .45 pistols are overbuilt there is much less of a chance for a kaboom...

Just MHO...

V.

 

[leadcounsel]

Carry guns in both calibers!

 

[Eightball]

Nine millimeter has been around for.....a century now, hasn't it? The P08 Luger had 9mm anchored down a long, long time ago.

 

[John Parker]

If something were to happen to our ammo.

Which caliber would be easier to come by?

Something did happen to our ammo, and both were scarce. What's the point of this thread? Who here can really predict which caliber will be more widely available in a particular region?

 

[freakshow10mm]

Tough question. 9mm is the favorite of military and .40 S&W is favorite of law enforcement. I say 9mm.

 

[cchris]

Think outside the country. Sure, if something happens to the US's ammo supply, .40 S&W might be easier to come by in the US. But in Europe I'm sure they'd still be using 9mm.

.40 S&W is too new of a round. If ammo manufacturers had to axe one, I'd bet they'd keep 9mm.