9mm vs. .40, is my logic sound?

[Joe Williams]

Most police and etc, carry a .40 or larger for stopping power. A 9mm is .035" so the difference is there but not huge, that's why I carry a 45, to each there own I say. It is true a 9mm on more than one occasion didn't get the job done.

Same with .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and even 00 Buck.

 

[latham17]

.40 s&w 180gr

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Same with .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and even 00 Buck.

^this^

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Most police and etc, carry a .40 or larger for stopping power. A 9mm is .035" so the difference is there but not huge, that's why I carry a 45, to each there own I say. It is true a 9mm on more than one occasion didn't get the job done.

Same with .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and even 00 Buck.

Heck even 12ga slugs. I think it was on this forum but I can't find it, of a report where a bad guy was shot in the chest with a 12ga slug and not only lived, he ran away and didn't go to the hospital until the next day and it wasn't a glancing wound it was close to upper center torso and through and though. How it didn't hit anything vital I'm not sure. I've heard of people surviving .50 bmg shots. As is stated below. It's a combination of a whole lot of different things.

its like this ...Anyone who tells you this caliber or that caliber has no stopping power or wont do nothing ...Invite them to stand in front of you and prove it .....

I've read of people getting killed with bb/air guns, and saw videos of hogs being killed with them, would you want to trust to them for self defense?

There are many many different factors that contribute to a cartridges effectiveness. Anyone who says its ALL about energy, or even ALL about shot placement is being very short sighted.

It's not ALL about kinetic energy - only so much can be controlled, and even less is actually absorbed by the body.

It's not ALL about bullet diameter - most quality HP designs will open up to aprox .7" regardless of original diameter.

It's not ALL about shot placement either - a perfectly placed shot with an inadequate weapon is still inadequate. A .22 may do the job against a guy in a T-shirt, but what if it hits bone? What if you need to penetrate light cover? What if the target is quartering or at an angle - do you even know how this effects your shot? IF so, will the bullet reach vitals? Sometimes. Bottom line is you NEED adequate levels in the other categories to make even a well placed shot count.

Caliber comes into play, but it's not everything. Diameter comes into play, but it's not everything. Energy comes into play, but it's not everything. Shot placement comes into play, but its not everything. IF this were not true, we wouldn't be having these debates. Each person needs to weight the various facets of these issues themselves.

This simplifies a great many scenarios. There are very few "What ifs" that a 40 wont perform. Achems razor.

+1 except I think you meant Occam's razor and a few of the "what ifs" that have been mentioned in this thread regarding the .40, recoil and cost to practice with. I agree with you on most of the above.

But there are instances of people being killed with bb guns. I wouldn't want to trust to one for self defense unless I had no better options though, but that is me. If that is all one can afford, is comfortable shooting and/or is able to shoot it's probably better than nothing, heck if it doesn't stop them you have at least a club.

Bottom line, carry what you are comfortable with, own, can practice with and be accurate with in the largest caliber with the most rounds that is applicable determined by your surroundings ie I don't care how comfortable/accurate you are with shooting a .50 bmg, it is probably not the best thing to have for home defense if you live in a crowded trailer park but that is just my opinion yours may vary. For myself it's currently a 9mm for edc but that may change in the future.

 

[GLOCK1982]

I carry a .40 on me all the time, but your arguement is valid. My .40 is not my plinking gun because of price to shoot. Recoil is not the big issue. If I had a 9mm I would be more likely to target/shoot for fun more often. Right now I just shoot the .40 enough to stay proficeint and thats it.. So good call, stay with the 9mm/

 

[Mike_Indy]

I carry a 45 almost exclusively. I bought a 9mm to use for practice and an option for carry as well. I have M&Ps and all have had the same trigger job done. My goal was to make the 9MM as close as possible to the 45s I carry. The 9mm is slightly easier on trigger pull, but it is only about 1/2lb different.

Lately I'm not doing too bad getting both 9mm and 45 practice ammo. I'm fairly well stocked on defense ammo so I've not been keeping up with it as of late.

Then there is the reloading. Just getting started there.

Your logic seems good. Keep practicing.

 

[dmorrow23]

I am a firm believer that you should practice shooting your intended carry gun, or when you need to use it you will be out of practice, ammo is a small price to pay considering the alternative. Hell a .22 is the cheapest ammo, but do you really want to carry that, I think not. Guns are a hobby, and hobby = expensive.

 

[sti38super]

Shot placement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DoubleJJ]

Your reasoning is sound. Follow up with your best judgement.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Necro bump. It's official, Carmel PD will be making the switch from .40 to 9mm, in the next few months. Looks like I'm buying another Glock.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Necro bump. It's official, Carmel PD will be making the switch from .40 to 9mm, in the next few months. Looks like I'm buying another Glock.

You say that like its a bad thing?

 

[Kutnupe14]

You say that like its a bad thing?

Most certainly not. I LOVE buying my duty weapons at bargain basement prices. I imagine most of our guys won't buy them, but other officers tend to scoop those up.

 

[Dean C.]

Well this thread isn't dead after 6 years, obviously this indicates it was only shoot with a .40 which is why it is still alive after all this time.

 

[RMC]

I prefer something in between the 9mm and 40 S&W............... 357 Sig. A 40 caliber case with a 9mm projectile, what's not to love.

 

[in625shooter]

These folks that resurrect a thread all these years later remind me of that Wife that is quiet and comes out of the blue with some dumb thing she was mad at you about 6 years ago (you married fellas can relate)

 

[Kutnupe14]

These folks that resurrect a thread all these years later remind me of that Wife that is quiet and comes out of the blue with some dumb thing she was mad at you about 6 years ago (you married fellas can relate)

Was I wrong to resurrect the thread? Rather than start a new thread, I used the search function, and added some info which seemed relevant.

 

[hopper68]

Was I wrong to resurrect the thread? Rather than start a new thread, I used the search function, and added some info which seemed relevant.

Sometimes I think a few INGOers are your exes, everything you do is wrong. Had you started a new thread there would have been links to related threads with comments about rehashing an old topic,

 

[in625shooter]

Was I wrong to resurrect the thread? Rather than start a new thread, I used the search function, and added some info which seemed relevant.

Just making a joke. Some here do have short attention spans. And yes some stuff changes just like the big difference in performance on the 9mm today compared to 26 years ago. But some are still against the 9mm for antiquated reasons. 40, or 9 they all work fine. Personal preference is all.

 

[2A_Tom]

.45 ACP

 

[2A_Tom]

.45 ACP