P5 Guy
Member
9x19, 9mm Luger, 9mm Parabellum.
9mm is the elder statesman of semi-auto pistol ammo.
9mm is the elder statesman of semi-auto pistol ammo.
Staying strictly within your parameters. I go with 9mm.I want to pare down my carry pistols to a single caliber, between 9mm, .40S&W, and .45acp. Which do you think is the best single caliber and why?
There's a great point. Regardless the odd outlier that a fella can throw into the mix - 9 is more than fine from micro-9s to fantastic pistol-magazine carbines. BIG factor for a lot of folk - that platform versatility.9mm carry pistols can run the gamut from subcompact to duty-sized and retain sufficient rounds on board, control-ability and effectiveness to keep a shooter confident in their chosen guns as they age. Good self defense rounds can be had for micro pistols that won’t beat a shooter up, plus one could go for +p “duty” rounds with larger framed pistols and still not suffer from a lot of recoil.
I have a small wiener, and I mainly carry a 380. So much for your theory!
View attachment 983912
I went the 9mm route. LC9, Glock 19 and Ruger PCC 9mm. Looking to add a 9mm revolver.I want to pare down my carry pistols to a single caliber, between 9mm, .40S&W, and .45acp. Which do you think is the best single caliber and why?
I'm leaning toward 9mm because of variety, price, and reliability.
I hear you. I added the line on my post “as we age” after literally having a conversation that morning with a peer who was selling his Xd subcompact .45. He said he’s selling because the recoil of the gun “is making my arm bones hurt” after a few shots. (The guy is an in-great-shape 45 year old.) He likes his 1911’s, but has realized with age that the little poly framed Xd just didn’t work for him anymore.If this is going to be a long-term decision, keep aging in mind. The mathematical free recoil energy of the cartridge is not the only factor. The weight of the weapon, how it fits the hand, and the height of the bore axis, are all involved. I, and plenty of my middle-aged LE colleagues, who were/are enthusiastic shooters, including most of the instructors, switched to 9mm duty pistols, from .40 S&W and .45 ACP, as soon as the chief OK’ed 9mm to be an alternative duty cartridge.
My hands differ from other folks’ hands, but this is what happened, in my case. Notably, I had fired too many big-bore Magnums, during the Eighties, using N-Frame revolvers in my K/L-Frame-sized hands.
My 50th birthday “gift,” in 2011, from my high-bore-axis SIG P229 pistols, chambered for .40 S&W, was quite a wake-up call, a sudden worsening of what had been mild arthritis. I had to keep carrying .40 S&W on duty, but I switched most of my training to my .22 LR S&W Model 17-4 DA revolver. I considered switching to a different .40 pistol, that was on the list of approved duty pistols, but with a lower bore axis than the P229. I was told, however, that the chief was about to approve 9mm as an alternative duty pistol cartridge. I kept only my railed P229R DAK, to carry at work, and sold my extra .40 P229 pistols. The SIG DAK trigger is much like a DA S&W revolver trigger. The rail, itself, adds weight, and I could add more weight by attaching a Surefire X200 or X300 light. I always kept a light on the rail, while shooting .40 through my SIG DAK, and kept the sessions short.
Notably, I was able to continue shooting an all-steel, full-sized 1911. The 1911 has a relatively low bore axis. In 2012, I added a 9mm Glock G17, and found that shooting it was not a problem. The next year, I added a 9mm Glock G19. It was not nearly as comfortable as the G17, but, it did not hurt. I added another G19, the next year, and another G17, the next year, 2015, when my chief finally OK’ed 9mm duty pistols. I started carrying a Glock G17, at work, and during most personal time.
In 2017, I aged-out of being able to keep shooting the “compact” 9mm Glock G19. At my October qual, I happened to shoot my pair of G19 pistols, during my first trip to the range. Eighty rounds, fired right-handed, produced swelling, that lasted about a week, and pain that lingered for almost two weeks. In late October, I returned to qual with my G17 and 1911 pistols. No pain; no swelling. Looking around the internet, I saw that I was not unique, in having to set aside compact 9mm pistols, due to the effects of advancing age. I sold my G26 to a rookie colleague, that year, and did not fire my G19 pistols after 2017. I cleaned my total of three G19 pistols, and put them away. (In 2020, I finally traded the G19 pistols.)
I could, and can, continue to shoot the full-sized-grip G17 pistols, and the similarly-large, all-steel, 1911 pistols, with my right hand. Same with revolvers, that have full-length grips, though I reserve the more-energetic-level ammo for my healthier left hand. Applying my serious-amateur-level kinesiology to my issue, it looks like that if the rear of a handgun’s grip reaches the “heel bone” of my right hand, it remains shoot-able, with no noticeable ill effect. I do, however, keep range sessions short.
To be clear, I do not “blame” .40 S&W, for anything. And, I am not saying that .40 “kicks worse” than .45 ACP. My .40 and .45 pistols are of differing weights, different widths, in the grip area, and, the SIG has the higher bore axis, which provides more leverage for the it to work against my hand, during muzzle flip. An apples-to-apples test would be to shoot 1911 pistols, with identical frames, but with one having a .40 upper, and the other having a .45 upper, and, importantly, both upper units weighing exactly the same.
Sorry for writing a book, but, hopefully, something about my situation might help others understand something about their situations.
Wow, that is an open door for a whole lot of jokes. I'm just going to kick the door shut and back away slowlyView attachment 983947
My wife carries a Glock 21SF in 45 acp - using that last bit of guidance she is going to need a 20SF 10mm
For 20 years I have hated the .40, but I am now carrying it as a happy medium because 9 doesn't have a lot of energy, and 45 doesn't have a lot of capacity. Now that I think about it, I started liking the 40 just after I got my first 10mm.
If you carry only little guns, go 9mm. If you carry a fighting size pistol go 40. If you have a small wiener go 45.
Forget about the wiener for a moment. It was obvious a joke, I just didn't realize people here would enjoy pondering a wieners role in cartridge selection.Not sure what wieners have to do with anything. By the 21st Century, most duty and premium defensive ammo was loaded to achieve a very similar terminal ballistic result. I might as well pick the cartridge which is more enjoyable. If I know that I need to go to a gunfight, I am going to grab a Benelli M2, anyway.
I didn’t worry too much about ammo capacity, while policin’ the mean streets of Houston, Texas. I was eligible to carry an auto-loader on duty, as early as 1985, and I did tote a few autos on duty, for a total of about 3.5 years, in the 1985 to 1993 time frame, but tended to default back to duty revolvers, until 1997, when I made the final switch to autos, and even then, single-column-mag 1911. The major reason for the final switch to duty auto-pistols was the amount of real estate on the duty belt. My belt size remained the same, throughout my almost-34-year career, while the amount of duty gear increased. Ammo for revolvers takes up more area, on the belt. I did not get onto the double-column .40 wagon until 2002, and then, only reluctantly, as the then-mandated duty holster interfered with obtaining a proper firing grip on a 1911.
Even when we were taking full-auto fire, from a “Mac 10” type of weapon, I did not feel that ammo capacity was an issue. I had two .41 Magnum revolvers, and the bad guy surely was doing a lot of missing. (Other officers were in my line of fire, so I did not shoot, during that incident.)
Notably, I have tended to tote a second gun, while on duty, and during much personal time. This has been independent of whether the “primary” weapon was a revolver, a single-column-mag auto, or a wide-body auto. A broken part, found rattling around inside a duty handgun, made me somewhat religious about second guns.
Also notable is that I only needed to fire one defensive shot, (Full-pressure .357 Magnum 125-grain JHC) during the above-mentioned LE career, most of which was street patrol.
My earlier reply post detailed why I set aside .40 S&W, by my mid-fifties. That leaves 9mm and .45 ACP, which I use in full-size-grip 9mm Glocks, and full-sized, 5”, all-steel .45 ACP 1911 pistols. Little guns now hurt, to shoot. Full-sized pistols are more orthopedic. My clumsy fingers tend to fumble 9mm ammo, as I try to stuff it into Glock magazines. (Yes, the loading tool helps.) It is easier to load the larger .45 ACP ammo into 1911 mags. So, handling .45 ACP ammo is more enjoyable.
If I were to have to shoot, indoors, in an emergency, without hearing protection, .45 ACP is kinder to my ears, than 9mm +P or .40 S&W. Most .45 ACP duty ammo has less distracting muzzle flash than most 9mm +P and .40 S&W. At an indoor range, with hearing protection, I find .45 ACP more enjoyable.
Realistically, I like the Glock G17, when shooting lefty, and the 1911, when shooting righty. I have yet to find an ambidextrous safety, for the 1911, that I really like. I am functionally ambidextrous with most handguns, but my left hand deals better with the quirky Glock trigger. (I write lefty.) So, I enjoy 9mm and .45 ACP. I still don’t understand what wieners have to do with anything.
Actually, with panic-demic conditions curtailing our range visits, anyway, all of this talk of 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP is moot, for me, anyway, as long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill. I have defaulted to .38/.357 revolving pistols, for real-world carry and other uses.
Forget about the wiener for a moment. It was obvious a joke, I just didn't realize people here would enjoy pondering a wieners role in cartridge selection.
Which of the gunsI want to pare down my carry pistols to a single caliber, between 9mm, .40S&W, and .45acp. Which do you think is the best single caliber and why?
I'm leaning toward 9mm because of variety, price, and reliability.
Yes, I have 3 9mms and 3 .45 ACPs and zero .40s. Never found a need for one, as I also have 2 10mms-same caliber, only better. In fact the best and most versatile auto-cartridge, IMO. However, I've always said if the price of .40 and 9mm ever transpose, I'll have a new cartridge to entertain.With the massive surge in demand, IDK if 9mm prices are ever going to go back down because IDK if demand is ever going to come down, at least not for 4 years, maybe more.
If 9mm stays at $30-$40 a box, but .40 and .45 come back down to $15 or $20 because demand for those calibers is lower, who is going to pay double to shoot 9mm?
With the massive surge in demand, IDK if 9mm prices are ever going to go back down because IDK if demand is ever going to come down, at least not for 4 years, maybe more.
If 9mm stays at $30-$40 a box, but .40 and .45 come back down to $15 or $20 because demand for those calibers is lower, who is going to pay double to shoot 9mm?