When is a .223 Better than an 9mm?

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The two rounds have two distinct uses. The .223 is intended to defend oneself from mass attack (i.e. Katrina, L.A. Riots). Frankly, unless you are in the military it has very little use outside of that.
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Funny, I always thought the .223 Remington cartridge was initially designed for long-range varmint hunting, and the 5.56x45 NATO cartridge was derived from the .223 Rem for making people dead.
 
30 round AR mags are easier to find than 30 round 9mm mags. Easier to load too.
 
the 5.56 is better in regards to penetration against bullet proof vest, knock down power & kenitic energy. I guess you can say more stopping power.
The 9mm ball ammo will penetrate more barriers then the 5.56 because the 5.56 is smaller and travels faster & more prone to fragmenting than the 9mm.
But price wise you'll be able to shoot more 9mm if you don't reload.
 
If you want it for just paper shooting, a .22 conversion is the king.

The only thing the 9mm has over the .223/5.56 is its probably easier to suppress.
 
For pure shooting fun, my AR15 9mm wins hands down! It kicks a little harder so it feels like your shooting something:D If you reload, the 9mm is way easier, and way cheaper. Theres a reason the MP5 is so popular, so a 9mm isn't just a toy. A civilian better not be taking 100yrds self defence shots, either. The military can engage targets out that far, so they actually need a rifle. For most of us, the 9mm is more than enough, and a better choice for barriers:cool:
 
If it's an "either/or" thing, for just one gun for now, I'd first spend some time thinking about scenarios and probabilities. For instance, if it's boogers in the house, a one-hand gun leaves the other free for flashlights and light switches and telephones. And with the usual training and practice, a handgun is usually adequate within the confines of one's yard.

As far as comparing the cartridges, the .223 makes much bigger messes than the 9mm. More shock, trauma, blood and goop and all that stuff. Obviously, a rifle is gonna reach out farther when sending greetings to hostiles.
 
223 is better every where except the cash register.

Really though for your use a 9 mm sounds fine but one can get cheaper 9mm carbines. I like the sub 2k with glock mags. Of course an AR lets you change uppers
 
The 9MM AR is a lot of fun at the range and significantly cheaper to shoot. Ballistically, the .223 has it beat all day. :)
 
Are you going to use both in a long gun as opposed to the 223 in a rifle and the 9mm in a pistol? Otherwise all things being equal the rifle will almost always be more accurate than the pistol. At least it is in my case. Also remember that shoot out in California a number of years ago. Cops armed with 9mm pistols had to go to gun shops to get 223 cal rifles to down the bad guys.

RJ
 
The .223 is intended to defend oneself from mass attack
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Rubbish. The .223 was intended to provide a smaller, lighter round which would be effective in the engagement distances real warfighting had been found to actually occur.

John
 
Real men use 7.62 and 45's!

Kidding. Split the difference get your self an M-1 carbine. Flatter trajectory and longer range than a 9mm, 15 rd mag is standard, light and handy in close quarters. Doesn't look like an 'evil black rifle'. Ammo comes in 50 rd boxes about the same price as premium 9mm/20 rd box.

Oh and it's legal for DCM matches, 3 gun, whatever.
 
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