Trying to Decide Between 9mm and .40

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both... but mainly for range use. i should mention also that my gun shop has a .40 in stock and no 9mm's, but they are ordered. im just afraid that the guns may be on back order and they may not come. they say they are in the shipment but they don't know how many and when the shipment will come in. it's kind of frustrating.
 
Don't pick a calliber based on what happens to be in stock or out of stock at a particular shop. Think about which would serve your purposes better. If you're going to carry this piece, then consider the higher power of the .40. However, there are intelligent arguments to be made for using either size for defense. However, if this will be only for target practice, you might want to just go with the 9mm.
Are you going to reload? I haven't checked the prices lately of reloading supplies for these rounds (prices have kept shooting up since the election of the messiah). You may want to think about which would be cheaper to reload.
 
the 9 is the obvious choice for me but i'm getting this nagging feeling that it won't come in. and every other shop around here has even less in stock.

is it too early to impeach the president?
 
With modern HP design and the availability of +p and +p+ loadings in 9mm there is no meaningful difference in the performance of .40 and 9mm. The .40 has more recoil and muzzle flip. The 9mm has the advantage of cheaper loads for the range. In the same sized gun you also get the advantage of two more rounds of 9mm. If the 9mm SD ammo that is on the market today was available in 1989 the .40 would never have been created. There would have been absolutely no need for it.

9mm is the most popular handgun round in the world. There will be more on the shelves. All calibers have been selling out rapidly due to panic over Obama.
 
I had an XD9. Make absolutely sure the gun fits your hand first, I had to sell mine as it was too small. Bought a CZ instead which fits better.

And yes, get a 9mm. Definitely.
 
If .40 is what's availble go with it. I'm not aware of a huge difference between the rounds, although I'm sure 9mm is cheaper and possibly more available.
 
Had .40's, Got .9mm's

I had a couple of .40's, got rid of them because I sucked with them. Many people shoot .40 and 9mm well.

Every where you go .40 is plentiful, 9mm are not, ammo cost being 1 reason.

Both are good, 9mm just works better for me.

I shoot 9mm, .45 and .357 mag's well, but the .40 not so much.

Sigbear
 
I don't know which caliber you should go with but I personally chose to go with 9mm. It is cheaper to shoot and effective if you train well enough.
 
.40 has more power, and not much less capacity.
So the obvious answer is .45 :D
Get the .40 if it is what you want.
Never choose a gun based on what is at the local shop.
Travel, look at other shops, handle ALL kinds of guns.
Then find a rental shop and shoot the ones that felt good.
Buy the one you liked the best.

Jim
 
If you're going to use it for defense, there's NO WAY I'd choose a small caliber. To the poster that claims there's not much difference between them, I call that HOGWASH-just look at the actual shootout statistics. It's been proven countless times there's no substitute for cubic inches, and the bigger hole you put in somebody, the faster they'll decide to cease all further aggression. The bigger the bullet is, and the more frontal area, the less you have to trust it to expand.

You might consider ordering the XDM as it's improved with such features as shorter trigger reset, less overtravel, you don't have to pull trigger when fieldstripping, etc.
 
As far as the Springfield XD goes, which round should i go with?

If you have decided on the Springer, well done! If not, may I suggest you look at the S&W M&P? I have been totally impressed with this gun, and pricing makes it reasonably attractive...

I will vote with the "shot placement is everything" group, and suggest that with the large variety of loadings available in 9mm you should be able to find a satisfactory round for your purposes, at lower prices than comparable rounds in .40 or other calibers. However, I also believe that you have to make the final decision as to which round serves your purposes; do the research, try to shoot both in your selected gun, (if possible), and see what works best for you.

Good Luck, and enjoy the process!
 
The only real advantage to be gained is increased penetration of intermediate barriers. The stats I've seen from the people that I trust indicate that the "street record" of the major semiauto service calibers is basically the same when using modern, high quality hp ammo such as Win Ranger, Gold Dot or Federal Tactical.
 
i say get the 9mm, it is cheaper to shoot. i have an xd service model in .40 with almost 12k rds through it, you can't go wrong either way. I would go 9mm, but i reload .40 so the price of ammo isn't a factor, especially wehn i can reload 10,000rds for approx. $650.
 
Buy it in .40 and then pick up the 9mm conversion barrel for it, you get both now while the pistol is still available and won't have any regrets down the road.

I don't see why more people don't do this when they are fretting about getting a pistol in .40 or 9mm - especially with a pistol that can easily be converted with a $100 barrel and mag swap...
 
As far as the availability of magazines goes...
At my last visit to a local sporting goods store, they were out of all 9mm and 45acp XDmagazines. They had plenty of .40 though.

I'll choose 9 over 40 all day long though.
 
I tend to stay with ammo that is readily available no matter where you go, hence, no 10mm, no .40, and sure as hell no .45GAP.

Too many of these "different" rounds were made to supposedly better the ammo that's been around for decades and decades. For the most part, even if the new rounds (including .40) are "better" than those they are intended to replace, they don't usually offer "that" much better performance.

So +1 for 9mm over the .40
 
9mm 147 gr Gold Dots rule :cool:

Okay, maybe they don't rule rule, but they're pretty good.
 
Generally, if you have to ask this question, buy the 9mm and don't look back.

.
 
Go with the .40. It is the best balance of .45 type stopping power in a smaller 9mm sized frame.
 
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