9mm vs.... **Resolved by article from SCMA-1**

[Sam]

If you are not as confident and more of a "Hope and Prayer" type (no religious hate) then a .45 would be beneficial.

To note- I'm not a 100% kill shot, and I have never been tested in combat, or high stress situation. Beretta 92fs is easy as hell to shoot, where my HK is a little jumpy (no double tap).

You make it sound like those guys who use the .45 rounds are just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best when they use it.

I use the .45 ACP round just because I'm a 1911 fan boy.

[Rob Roy]

always a trade off, l prefer 9mm for handgun requirements for all the above stated reasons. One can look at history for some answers, look at the LA riots
etc.

I recently read a survivalist essay by a fellow that has been in Argentina for the last 25 years and he has been through what we all think about. He said the number one valuable item in an urban social / economic meltdown that led to all kinds of unsavory social relations is a handgun. A very dependable handgun capable of delivering lots of rounds before reloading. He was in a few unexpected urban firefights and his experience was not having to reload
at the wrong time makes a difference. Actually his highest recommendation was a high capacity mag select fire machine pistol. After a machine pistol something like sig, CZ, Beretta or HK in 9mm with many high cap mags and mucho ammo. If there is any resemblance of an economy/ society left you need concealabilty and you will be carrying it all the time. He did mention that in his situation rifles were not that useful as they were still trying to carry on a civilization so stepping into an elevator to get to work with your M1A Scout just isn't practical. Considering all home the invasions and express kidnappings he did say carbines and shotguns were great for around the home and of course in the car. Another point he drove home was that after the economy collapsed a quality handgun was very, very valuable for sale or barter. Then on the other hand I have spoken with veterans from Afganistan that did not like the 9mm at all as with 9mm fmj it has way too many failures but the .45 230 gr fmj works much better.

No advantage to 9mm in RPK, cause we are limited to 10 rounds

[phamkl]

I think I'd go with a double stacked .45 ball. Maybe the double tap is tougher but rapid fire (with one second between shots) is perfectly doable in a 1911 for me.

If SHTF though I think, above any specific caliber, I'd like to have people I can count on.

[BunnySlayer]

Being a died in the wool 45 guy I would choose the 45 ACP if for no other reason than it's what I practice with and train with the most. Additionaly if all I could find was ball ammo I have more faith in 45 ball than 9mm ball. Now having said that, given good hollow point ammo there's not much difference between the two. I certainly would not feel underarmed with a 9 and own several. Far more important is the individual behind the gun. I'd far rather face some untrained street urchin with a machine gun than someone like Jeff Cooper with a .22. In the end only the Coroner would be able to tell the difference I think.

[phamkl]

If there is anarchy that bad, you'll either be dealing with the mags you have on hand, or taking them off of non-CA 'residents' or pre-ban full-cap mag owners or LEO.

[JTROKS]

If it was just me I'd pick a 45acp or 40, but my wife stays in the house more than me so I'm tailoring my HD guns with the greatest consideration for my wife, so we got 143 rounds of 9mm on tap in case someone tries to invade and threaten the safety of our home.

[vandal]

You can't separate the caliber from the platform. So 9mm all the way. To get decent capacity in a .45 you have to go with a really big gun, and that's not very versatile.

[SCMA-1]

...45acp. Which is better in a tactical situation? Why? Not concerned with model of pistol....just the round. Just so you know I like a lot of pistols; Sig, HK, Kimber, but my faith in the Glock is unshakeable. So say the SHTF....which round would you put your faith in?

Doesn't really matter.........pistol is a backup weapon or for concealed carry only because it's too difficult to conceal/carry an M4. If the "SHTF", I would have an appropropriate rifle/carbine (NOT a de-nutted, bullet buttoned, fixed 10rd mag mall Ninja toy) as my primary and a pistol is just a backup weapon.

SCMA-1

[HowardW56]

I'd use whatever gun is on my person.

Caliber arguments are silly.

A well placed 22 will do more than a poorly placed 45...

[J-cat]

With modern hollowpoint ammo there is really no difference between a 9mm or .45. 9mm is cheaper which leads to more training and all things considered equal, the 9mm handgun will recoil less allowing faster follow-up shots to the target.

Not true.

There is an 80% difference in frontal area between the 9mm and the 45 (in expanded bullets). Yes, some 9mm expands larger that some 45, but if you match apples to apples (like SXT to SXT or HST to HST), the 45 always wins.

[thefurball]

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement.

A hit between the eyes with a .22LR will do for more damage than a miss with a 50BMG.

[GP3]

45 = most damage per single bullet.
9 = most shots fired per magazine.

[Tillers_Rule]

SHTF, 9mm because I can carry much more ammo for the same weight and it will be more common if I run out and need to find more.

I think this goes along the same lines of thinking as our military. The .223 is round is much smaller that both it's predecessors (.308, .30-06), enabling more to be carried, as well as cheaper prices.

I'd agree as well, if I were limited to one gun and an equal weight of ammo, I'd got with the 9mm.

[Vin496]

I always find the argument "9mm because you can find it everywhere" funny.

This is America where .45 is the king and has been for almost 100 years. If we where in the jungles of some African Country, then yes a 9mm, but in the good old USA.

45 is everywhere, has been for a long time and will be.

[Untamed1972]

I'd agree as well, if I were limited to one gun and an equal weight of ammo, I'd got with the 9mm.

Yep. If you're a good shot with either and could take down multiple targets with a single shot with either caliber.....which would you prefer, 10rds of .45 or 15+ of 9mm?

Yeah you get into other issues if there is body armor involved. But most modern body armor will stop pistol rds. up to .45 anyway at which point you're gonna hafta go for head shots regardless of caliber. And a 9mm JHP will do the required amount of brain damage to get the job done.