.40 or 9mm

Hey Deezul, you unknowingly walked into the "caliber wars", which are fought regularly on just about every gun forum on the internet. No one ever wins.

9mm, 40s&w, 45acp are all fine for defense, as are many other calibers. They're all fine for target shooting, too. And you're going to end up trying them all at some point and possibly buying guns chambered in each.

Here's my advice: if you want maximum number of rounds, go with 9mm, but buy a gun that has readily available pre-ban mags. If you want a big bang and larger energy delivered on target, but are ok with lower capacity, go with 45. If you want a compromise between the two, go with .40.

The felt recoil has as much to do with the specific firearm as it does with the cartridge, especially for these 3 caliber choices.

If you're on the South Shore somewhere, I am happy to meet with you and let you shoot a few calibers to get a feel. I don't have an M&P, but I have a couple of other makes you can try out.
 
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IMO - the worst .40's are the Glocks. had a G22 and a G23 i sold off.

the M&P 40 does not muzzle flip nearly as much as a G22 or G23. i got bit by the .40 cal "hate bug" after i found myself shooting w / 9mm converstion barrels most of the time.

made sense at the time. but after getting the equivalent 9mm's (Glock 17 and Glock 19), i ditched the .40 all together as well.


i would personally go with an M&P 9... if you plan on shooting a lot.
 
I love my M&P.40 with a Greg Derr trigger job, I also own a 9mm. If your just target shooting, I would start with a 9mm, ammo is half the price of the 40. If you want a great defensive round I would go with the 40, especially if you don't want the round to cleanly go through the perp, through your house and into the house next door to yours!
 
Personally prefer 9mm because it is affordable to train with and shoot. For myself I find it has less recoil, allows for quicker follow up shots, and a larger capacity. If you look at tests, you will see that the 9mm and 40 both have similar ballistics.

However in typical fashion, you should get both [smile]
 
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All this "get the 9mm so its easier to shoot" but the 40 gets the rap for pussification. WTF?
obviously I like the 40 and I shoot it well enough for defense so I carry it.

if you don't , dont carry it. get something you can shoot well. if you have a 9 and your worried about knockdown power then, double tap!
Signed
40 caliber
 
I like the 40. For me, there is no appeciable difference in recoil between 40 and 45 and you get the extra capacity. 9mm will still do the job, especially with good carry ammo, and is cheaper and easier to shoot. 9mm is a much better choice for a compact pistol.

In the end it really doesn't matter. I don't want to get shot with any of them.

You should really think about how well you can shoot one versus the other. What good is a larger caliber if you can't hit squat with it?
 
For anyone who thinks 9mm isn't enough for self defense consider this test...

Go out and get your hands on two guns outwardly identical but one chambered for 9 and one for .40.

Set yourself a target out at any distance you'd like and run the first gun as hard as you can from the start point of looking down the sights at your target. Time yourself... a video camera on a mini tripod is ideal if you don't have a shot timer.

Then rerun the test with the second gun using the exact same type of target at the exact same distance from the exact same starting position.

I'll wager that in any given span of time from the first shot you will put more ballistic potential on target, in a more accurate manner, with 9mm over .40sw.
 
A year or so ago, a guy on glocktalk claimed to have a lot of experience in morgues looking at people who died from gun shot wounds. His post was well written, quite believable and well reasoned. The conclusion he came to was that among pistol calibers of 9mm and larger, the effectiveness was all essentially the same. The differences in the size of the hole each made was exceedingly minor compared to where the hole was.

Personally, I subscribe to the above theory and therefore I'd rather have more rounds. Consider the above with how effective a good +P or +P+ JHP round is and make up your own mind.
 
PaulD said:
A year or so ago, a guy on glocktalk claimed to have a lot of experience in morgues looking at people who died from gun shot wounds. His post was well written, quite believable and well reasoned. The conclusion he came to was that among pistol calibers of 9mm and larger, the effectiveness was all essentially the same. The differences in the size of the hole each made was exceedingly minor compared to where the hole was.

Personally, I subscribe to the above theory and therefore I'd rather have more rounds. Consider the above with how effective a good +P or +P+ JHP round is and make up your own mind.
Click to expand...

Glocktalk thread here: http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1165386 (you need a login or something, I didn't need it when I bookmarked it, dunno). I think this is a guy saying go for 9mm.

on the flip side,
http://www.gunthorp.com/Terminal Ballistics as viewed in a morgue.htm
 
Lamina said:
I'll wager that in any given span of time from the first shot you will put more ballistic potential on target, in a more accurate manner, with 9mm over .40sw.
Click to expand...

I'll wager if this is the case, you should have spent more time learning to manage recoil then arguing over calibers
 
Deezul said:
Buying first gun m&p in either 9mm or .40. For range use and home defense. Any reason not to go .40?
Click to expand...

For range use- 9mm is cheaper and way easier to find, extra mags are easier to find.
For home defense, go with the biggest round you can shoot well. Since this is your first gun, I would start with a 9mm since you probably don't shoot anything well at this point.
I don't think there is a single NES member with one gun, so don't get hung up on it, you're going to buy a few more guns before you know it.
 
Supermoto said:
I'll wager if this is the case, you should have spent more time learning to manage recoil then arguing over calibers
Click to expand...

Right. So, you're about to tell me that shooting equal ammo (9mm+p/.40+p) you are equally as efficient in putting rds on target? You're about to tell me your split times are unaffected?

And for the record, I wagered what most shooters will do. I see it every day. Most shooters have not taken the time out to learn to apply an appropriate grip and stance and the .40 they went out and bought because their buddies told em the caliber had to start in "4" is flopping around in their hands like a fish out of water.

But back to the internet pissing match... are you sincerely going to make the claim that things like your split times are unaffected between calibers?
 
Lamina said:
But back to the internet pissing match... are you sincerely going to make the claim that things like your split times are unaffected between calibers?
Click to expand...

That is what I am saying. from .22 to 45acp. My splits are limited by the speed of my finger and the type of trigger and not the caliber, the gun will always be waiting on me
 
Lol some interesting info here. I shot .45 ,9mm ,and .40 back to back. Didn't feel any were hard to handle and was most accurate with .45. Still need a lot of practice. Held a Glock G22 and it felt too damn light. I like the m&p due to price and parts availability. Whatever version will get an Apex trigger on day one.
 
Supermoto said:
That is what I am saying. from .22 to 45acp. My splits are limited by the speed of my finger and the type of trigger and not the caliber, the gun will always be waiting on me
Click to expand...

I'd like to see that.

Stock glocks would make for a good test.

17 shooting any 115gn +P.

22 shooting any 165gn +p

21SF (to try and maintain as close a grip size as possible) shooting any 185gn +P.

Note, I went with light rounds, but I suppose the test would be just as valid with heavy rounds.
 
"a man who thinks he always needs to learn is a lot wiser than a man who thinks he knows everything"

back to the OP, the 9mm is definitively cheaper to buy and use for the range, so if you looking at the range i would say go with the 9, the other thing i see , is alot of people trading in their .40 for a 9mm because their wrists get more abuse from that caliber vs a 9mm.

I particularly feel for me, that 9mm is the max caliber i ever want to shoot, just because i like fast rapid shots vs 1 shot with a lot of recoil. most of that i will have to do serious training to do effectively well, but im willing to invest that time to make my shots fast and accurate.

another mention is with today's modern hollow point ammo, which i hear a lot of people suggesting makes the difference between a 9mm and a .40 very slim.

i personally don't even bother with the +P as the standard 124gr. federal HST is plenty enough kick for the gun. :)

to each their own :)
 
Note, as an addendum to my last post, I don't mean to imply that supermoto couldn't do what I claimed, only that I'd like to see it done.

Nothing more meant.
 
Lamina said:
Right. So, you're about to tell me that shooting equal ammo (9mm+p/.40+p) you are equally as efficient in putting rds on target? You're about to tell me your split times are unaffected?

And for the record, I wagered what most shooters will do. I see it every day. Most shooters have not taken the time out to learn to apply an appropriate grip and stance and the .40 they went out and bought because their buddies told em the caliber had to start in "4" is flopping around in their hands like a fish out of water.

But back to the internet pissing match... are you sincerely going to make the claim that things like your split times are unaffected between calibers?
Click to expand...
Stay in your lane dude.
 
Lamina said:
Note, as an addendum to my last post, I don't mean to imply that supermoto couldn't do what I claimed, only that I'd like to see it done.

Nothing more meant.
Click to expand...

No problem,
The key is to let the gun do its thing, recoil is over before you can reset the trigger. If you try to muscle the gun, it will only make everything take longer.
We'll meet at the range one day and I show you what I mean
 
derek said:
Stay in your lane dude.
Click to expand...

Where am I out of my lane? I asked a question, to which he stated his answer. I haven't called bullshit, and just relayed what I see day in and day out.

I'm sincerely impressed if his split times remain unchanged going from a 9mm to a .45 There's nothing out of my lane in stating so.

That being said, if split times remain unchanged from .22 to .45, how far up the "caliber food chain" does a shooter at his level have to travel before some degradation of effectiveness crops up?
 
Lamina said:
Where am I out of my lane? I asked a question, to which he stated his answer. I haven't called bullshit, and just relayed what I see day in and day out.

I'm sincerely impressed if his split times remain unchanged going from a 9mm to a .45 There's nothing out of my lane in stating so.

That being said, if split times remain unchanged from .22 to .45, how far up the "caliber food chain" does a shooter at his level have to travel before some degradation of effectiveness crops up?
Click to expand...

Any recoil that will make my elbows bend or pushes me back and I will no longer get a consistent reset
 

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