Glock 9mm or .40?

[JAYjohnson]

So I'm deciding on my first gun, had my heart set on a Glock 19, then my uncle who is a L.E.O said to get nothing smaller than a .40 Like I said its my first gun and I want to use it for recreation and home defense. And I want to shoot heavy (147gr or 180gr) On average isn't the velocity about the same fps? Is the bigger bullet and more muzzle energy of the .40 worth it?

[sk8804]

i am going 40. More knockdown than a 9 and funner to shoot while still being cheaper to shoot than 45.

[XDRoX]

I like 9mm better.
-New high tech rounds are almost just as good as a 40
-It's cheaper so you can practice more, and practice is the most important thing if you ever have to use it in a SD situation
-It's more plentiful in a SHTF scenario
-Higher capacity (I realize this probably doesn't apply to you since it'll be your first gun)
-Less recoil, therefore more fun to shoot and easier follow up shots
-The G19 is chambered in 9mm and it's the best gun ever built

The last reason is debatable
My advice is get a 9 and then eventually get a 45. Best of both worlds.

[Josh3239]

I'd go with the 19. I went with a Glock 23 .40 and spend more time on the .22LR and 9mm barrels. In fact, I would have more confidence in my 9mm conversion barrel just because it is less snappy and easier to make accurate follow up shots. If you want you can always get a .40 conversion barrel for around $110.

Shot placement is the key, ignore the "stopping power" crowd. 9mm is still the most used by LE, still being used by the US military, and is still loved by American gun owners. It worked good enough for the Germans and the Brits, especially during WW2. 9mm AR15s, Sterlings, Stens, MP40s, MP5s, Uzis, Glock 17s, and M9s were all extremely successfull firearms, just to name a few. Also, the 9mm is everywhere and it is cheap. It is plenty powerful, I have yet to meet any naysayers who would stand in front of the "weak" round.

[SLYoteBoy]

Also went .40. I already had ammo for it. Glock because of the GSSF discount.

Shot an HK USP .40 and a SW99 .40. The recoil seems managable to me. I figured more capacity than a .45 and more power than the 9mm. That is why I went with .40.

[Rigma]

I just recently bought a G19 in 9mm. Already burned through nearly 500 hundred rounds.

My thinking was get something with cheap ammo, and as my skill increases I will buy a nicer .40, and then reward myself with a even more expensive .45 once I have taken a few training courses using each and my skills have increased.

End result is 3 quality guns of common handgun caliber, and an incentive to become more proficient.

Just my little plan...you really have to choose what will "fit" you.

[RangemasterP226]

Go with 9mm. Much more pleasant to shoot than 40, not to mention cheaper. Also, the modern 9mm HD rounds are much improved over the 80s when the 9mm got a bad rep.

[XDRoX]

If you want you can always get a .40 conversion barrel for around $110.

Are you sure you can get a 40 conversion barrel for a 9mm pistol? I don't believe this will work.

[Josh3239]

Doh, I think your right. You would have to change out the entire slide, right?

[XDRoX]

Doh, I think your right. You would have to change out the entire slide, right?

I don't think the frame of a 9mm is built to handle the power of the 40, so I'm not sure the slide swap would work either. But I honestly don't know about that. I do know that you can put a 9mm barrel in a glock 40 to shoot 9mm, just not the other way around. In fact this is one reason that the OP may want to get the 40.

[Sheepdog1968]

Pistols are inferior compared to long arms. I suspect u will eventually get a long arm for home defense with the pistol as back up. As such, go w the 9 mm as cheaper to shoot. If you really don't plan on getting anymore firearms and this is it then I'd go w the 40 cal. I suspect this won't be the case.

[nn3453]

9mm as your first gun. You can shoot 147gr out of your 9mm. Focus on practicing. Then worry about which caliber has more knock down power. Knock down power counts if you can manage to hit your target.

[dirtykoala]

i have a .40 and love it. 9mm makes me giggle. pew pew! i also have a .45, i vote for .40 or .45, your uncle is right, dont go with anything less than .40.

its true that with newer 9mm rounds you get some good energy out of them, and its also true that shot placement is the key. but why would you want to worry about shot placement or if a round might be good enough at 3am?

[nrvnqsrxk]

Don't let other people sway you with what they think. It's all about shot placement

I would go with the 9mm because it's cheaper to feed in the long run.

[ih8ca]

Niether go with a 10mm