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9MM VS 40 SW Caliber

25K views 112 replies 72 participants last post by  oscar1 
#1 ·
Which between a 9MM and 40 SW Caliber,do you personally prefer?What are the advantages of each over the other?How about as defense load,which between the 9MM and 40 SW,would you choose?.And why?Also,is it true that the 40 SW is not as reliable?
Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Here we go, our weekly caliber debate thread :rolleyes::tongue:

The search button and some quality reading will give a lot of knowledge on this, but what the heck - :deadhorse:.

After going on two years of carrying, and debating and reading these type threads I have gone through -

;who cares, 9mm is cheap, good enough - what I carried and all I had
;well a bigger bullet makes since, bought and carried a .40 and practiced with it just about weekly
;took my .40 and other 9mm handguns to the range and really was just better/faster with the 9mm
;bought a 9mm glock same size as my EDC .40 glock, shot both together/side by side - I just shoot 9mm easier/faster
;now am on the 9mm bandwagon, carry a 9mm and am fine/happy/content with it BUT I don't knock the .40, its a great bullet, not hard to shoot, has lots of potential and is great for those who want it. I will keep at least one or two guns in that caliber and keep some on hand cause it makes since to me and I like it.

Your mileage may vary:wave:.
 
#5 ·
Which between a 9MM and 40 SW Caliber,do you personally prefer?
9mm

What are the advantages of each over the other?
Use the search feature this has been discussed ad nauseam.

How about as defense load,which between the 9MM and 40 SW,would you choose?.
Depends on which caliber the firearm I would be using is chambered for. If the firearm is chambered for 9mm, I'd use 9mm rounds. If the firearm is chambered for 40SW, I'd use 40SW rounds.

See response above.

Also,is it true that the 40 SW is not as reliable?
No.
 
#6 ·
When i'd see one of these threads i'd be like, "oh noo..here we go again!"

Now I look forward to it just because i cant wait to see who the first, "use the search FUNCTION!", hero is.

Here is my logical well thought out bullet points regarding your question:

-.40 sucks
-9mm doesnt suck
-Use 9mm (or something that isnt .40. maybe .45)

Trust me. I'm ex special forces, certified, trained, have (insert #) years police service, am a member of the NRA, have owned every gun in every caliber by every manufacturer ever made, I serve as expert witness in trials, i read wikipedia a lot, i've seen every Hickock45 video ever made, I've accessed and analyzed every statistical report ever generated by Massad Ayoob, my favorite guns are flawless, and they dont use CLIPS! And the number one, 100% guaranteed reason that my opinion is more valuable than anybody who disagrees with my assessment.....IT's THE INTERNET, SO I CANT BE WRONG!

As a follow up: either choice will be incorrect because some codger will tell you to get a "wheel gun son".


good luck.
 
#7 ·
...As a follow up: either choice will be incorrect because some codger will tell you to get a "wheel gun son"...
All handguns suck. For personal defense, get a rifle. :hand5:
 
#9 ·
9mm = better.

Why? Cheaper, and I hit better with 9mms, and they are as effective as 40s. Better, if you take into account that most people hit better with them. They also last longer. Ie they dont have the wear on them that 40s will for the same amount of rounds thru them.
 
#10 ·
I am a died in the wool .40S&W guy.

my wife carries/shoots 9mm so I reached the conclusion I wanted our defensive guns to be easy for her to carry and shoot well.

Basically I give up the ballistic edge from the .40 to know that my wife can competently defend herself no matter what gun she grabs.

I still have 40's (and others) but that is why I mainly carry a 9mm.
 
#13 ·
I have carried them all and have settled on the 9mm. Why?

Because its accurate, just as dependable, has quicker follow up sots and is cheaper. Plus my Sig TacOps. Hs 20rd mags and I like carrying more rounds.

My philosophy is to fill the BG with so much lead that he falls over from the extra weight.
 
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#15 ·
Choose whichever you like or can shoot better.
.40 S&W is only unreliable in guns that were designed on a 9mm platform, and later converted to .40 by the manufacturer by changing the spring, barrel, and mag. These guns were not designed for the shock load of a .40, and thus can fatigue more quickly. .40 is an over-pressure load by default, which is why it's not offered in +P. As for expansion and penetration, they are enarly identical, and in the scheme of things, the difference is negligible. The advantage is 9mm is magazine capacity. Typically you get one more round per mag in 9mm vs .40 in the same gun chambered in both calibers. Personally, I use 9mm Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P, and Federal HST 147gr. I'm not as accurate with the .40 due to it being more snappy from the overpressure loads and ehavier rounds, and I like the increased capacity of a 9. That's just me.
 
#16 ·
Man o man you are stepping all over my toes!

I LOVE my 40 S&W, wish I had a camera to show the close holes on the target. I shoot this gun pretty darn good (the guys at the range were bragging on me, still gleaming over that) and have never had any trouble with recoil or it shooting (I'm a small framed female). It holds plenty of bullets and is easy to drop first mag and reload the second mag.
 
#20 ·
I do have to admit, I'm really wanting a 1911 chambered in .460 Roland.
 
#22 ·
To sum it up, modern 9mm and .40 have similar enough terminal ballistics to make it not really worth choosing one for terminal ballistics alone.

The 9mm is easier/faster to shoot, and holds a couple more. The .40 has better barrier penetration. Therefore I typically would say 9mm better serves civilans more often, and .40 better serves LEO more often. But either one can choose either one and still be doing just fine.
 
#82 ·
To sum it up, modern 9mm and .40 have similar enough terminal ballistics to make it not really worth choosing one for terminal ballistics alone.
best answer i can give you: if you shoot it well, you enjoy shooting the round, and you'll carry it with you, then it's the best round for you. doesn't matter if it's .22, .380, .38, 9mm, .40, etc... Shoot the biggest round you can control comfortably and shoot well. That being said, .40 rocks.
The terminal performance of the 9 and 40 just isn't that much different when using modern defensive ammunition. The 40 is slightly better but not so much better that it is likely to matter. All handguns are subpar man stoppers and that holds true for both of these. The answer is to continue punching holes in the bad guy until it works.
Neither round is really better than the other. Both are effective as handgun rounds go, and both are ineffective compared to most rifles and shotguns. It's Coke vs Pepsi. There's my $0.02.
2. Advantages of one caliber over another are subjective and argumentative. Popular calibers for self defense are all compromises in one form or another compared to rifles and shotguns.
Carry whatever you can shoot the best.
It's not about the size of the hole you put in the bad guy, it is where you put the hole in the bad guy.
Seems like quite a few people are saying more or less the same thing. Go to a range and shoot as many different guns in as many different calibers as possibly can. The combination of gun and caliber that allows YOU to most accurately and quickly put rounds on target, is the best round/gun for YOU regardless of whether that winds up being a .380, 9mm, .357, .40, or .45.

For what it's worth (nothing) I carry an HK P30 in .40. But I'm planning to buy a little .380 ACP pocket gun for summer time carry.
 
#27 ·
The 40 is a compromise between the big 45 and the small 9mm. Like any compromise you get some of the bad along with the good. I've personally decided that the compromise didn't work and have moved just about everything to 9mm and 45 (I still own the Glock 23 though- probably always will). I'll outline my decision:

The terminal performance of the 9 and 40 just isn't that much different when using modern defensive ammunition. The 40 is slightly better but not so much better that it is likely to matter. All handguns are subpar man stoppers and that holds true for both of these. The answer is to continue punching holes in the bad guy until it works. With the lighter felt recoil of the 9mm I can deliver more holes more quickly from the 9mm platform and I get more rounds before having to reload. There are a bunch of arguments you can make for your pet caliber- but the above is what I looked at and is why I now carry a 9mm.
 
#29 ·
Just to keep the pot stirred.....I prefer the .357 Sig and .45 ACP. Why? Who cares, it's my choice. I also grab a .357 Mag sometimes just for old times sake. Especially during the summer here in MS, I usually carry a Kahr CW9 because I can deep conceal it better when at work. I'm also looking to pickup another .40.

So, have I covered all the bases? :)
 
#30 ·
Just to keep the pot stirred.....I prefer the .357 Sig and .45 ACP. Why? Who cares, it's my choice. I also grab a .357 Mag sometimes just for old times sake. Especially during the summer here in MS, I usually carry a Kahr CW9 because I can deep conceal it better when at work. I'm also looking to pickup another .40.
So, have I covered all the bases? :)
StormRyder has a .40 for sale, seriously! Least he did last week.
 
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#71 ·
This ^ is part of my reply.

Terminal effect:
The difference may be slight, but all things equal a 40 starts bigger than a 9mm and typically expands to a larger diameter as well.
The 9mm may be adequate for SD, but logically can't be 100% equivalent to a larger hole in the same spot given same make bullet and optimum weight / performance (Ranger T 127 gr. +P+ 9mm vs Ranger T 165 gr. 40).

Control:
40 does produce more recoil than 9mm, whether this is a problem or not depends on the shooter, pistol, ammo...
If I pick a lighter recoil 40 load (180 gr. HS) my average 2nd shot time is only .01 slower with a Glock 23 vs a Glock 19 loaded with a hot +P (they exhibit equivalent accuracy with that slight (hundredth of a second) time difference). Note that the ammo is not equal, a softer kicking 40 versus a hotter 9mm.

My wife doesn't shoot much, she would not want any more recoil than what is produced when shooting a Kahr P9 or Glock 26, so for her the 9mm is better.

In a really small pistol like the Kahr PM9 or Beretta Nano, I would not want any more recoil than a 9mm +P

Capacity:
11 rounds in a Glock 26 vs 10 rounds in a Glock 27 (1 shot difference, no big deal to me in exchange for larger bullets)
16 rounds in a Glock 19 vs 14 rounds in a Glock 23 (2 rounds difference, no big deal to me in exchange for larger bullets)


So, based on my reply we can deduct that I carry the Glock 23 instead of the 19?
I would, except...
I've been carrying the Glock 32 (357 Sig) :redface:
 
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#35 ·
C'mon, folks, it's a legitimate question, even if it has been covered. Let's not jump too hard on the OP.

For what it's worth, here's my take on it: there is very little difference in likely effectiveness between the two, IF they expand when the hollowpoint enters the bad guy. If they don't, 9mm is known to have poor effectiveness, while the .40 is PROBABLY more effective. Modern 9mm defensive ammunition apparently is reliable in expansion, but if you can shoot a .40 as well as a 9mm, then IMHO the advantage goes to .40 for this reason.

The smaller and lighter the gun, the less likely it is that one can shoot the .40 as well as the 9mm, due to greater recoil. That's where the advantage of 9mm lies for concealed carry. The extra one or two rounds that most 9mm weapons carry in their magazine, compared to the same model in .40, is of marginal benefit.

Neither round is really better than the other. Both are effective as handgun rounds go, and both are ineffective compared to most rifles and shotguns. It's Coke vs Pepsi. There's my $0.02.
 
#36 ·
Does anyone practice being armed inside their home all the time??

What color hair does the lawyer attached to each of your bullets have??

If someone is being murdered in front of you do you call 911 and be a good witness or do you help the victim???

Is a 38 snub enough gun for anything you may meet up with?


Gee this is fun!!!:danceban::tongue:
 
#40 ·
Is a 38 snub enough gun for anything you may meet up with?


Gee this is fun!!!:danceban::tongue:

Nope, a .38 special snubbie is not enough for ANYTHING I meet up with. I expect its plenty for two legged things, but for some with 4, that live in the Mtns where I camp, its apt not to be enough, lol. I remember taking a 9mm with me last time, and saw the biggest black bear I had ever seen near the tent. I thought....man I should have brought a bigger gun.

Of course I didnt need any gun for that bear, but when they get to rubbing against your tent, and growling, it makes you consider such things.
 
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