Compact Handgun 9MM or .40

[Noah3683]

The hardware: S&W M&P compact. .40 or 9mm?

[l8apex]

MPc 9.

[BamBam-31]

9mm. Cheaper and easier to shoot.

[Lead-Thrower]

9mm for price, and less recoil. .40 in a compact handgun is a wrist-breaker.

[golfrj]

Depends on whether you reload or not, 40S&W is much more versatile if you do.. 9mm is much cheaper if you don't.. I reload so 40S&W gets my vote as you can load them soft or Heavy...

[JosephP]

If it is compact small gun, you need something you can control.
.40 is good and powerful than 9mm but more recoil.
It doesn't matter if you can't hit the right spot.
If I were you I will stick with 9mm and practice with it alot.

[flatovercrest]

If it is compact small gun, you need something you can control.
.40 is good and powerful than 9mm but more recoil.
It doesn't matter if you can't hit the right spot.
If I were you I will stick with 9mm and practice with it alot.

+1.

[sholling]

I own a M&P9c and a M&P40c and I say whichever you prefer. I think for most people the 9 is fine if you buy premium self defense ammo. As for recoil the difference is noticeable but shouldn't be a problem for most people shooting a compact M&P. Now if we were talking Kahr PM9 vs PM40 I'd say by the 9 because my PM40 is just brutal.

[advocatusdiaboli]

My favorite pistol caliber is .40 (best modern balance of power, control-ability, and cost) but not for a sub-compact. I'd go with 9mm for control and getting follow-up shots. My P229R is classified as a compact and it's in .40 and I don't have a problem at all. But it's alloy framed not poly. That .40 does no good if you miss. Accuracy matters more than punch--a smaller punch that hits is better than a bigger punch that misses.

[Noah3683]

I own a M&P9c and a M&P40c and I say whichever you prefer. I think for most people the 9 is fine if you buy premium self defense ammo. As for recoil the difference is noticeable but shouldn't be a problem for most people shooting a compact M&P. Now if we were talking Kahr PM9 vs PM40 I'd say by the 9 because my PM40 is just brutal.

The kind of insight I was looking for. I got to shoot the m&p9c yesterday, and I would venture to say it was a tad softer than my XD9 service model. the m&p40 we have is just a tad sharper than the xd9. anyone have a comparison to the m&p40 and the m&p40c?

[forgiven]

Thought I would never say go with a smaller caliber but with the advances in defense ammo I just don't see that much of a difference.

[citystar]

Some of you anti .40 dudes act like shooting a .40 has the recoil of a deagle or something.

[advocatusdiaboli]

anyone have a comparison to the m&p40 and the m&p40c?

I buy quality firearms for my pistols: Sig, H&K, Glock, Beretta in Semi-sutos. So I cannot comment on the cheap stuff. And I think .40 S&W is the best for most applications. Someone has tried the other stuff--they have a market for it. I'll bow out at this point since it's clear price is your prime criterion not value and quality.

[gorenut]

Some of you anti .40 dudes act like shooting a .40 has the recoil of a deagle or something.

I definitely think some people overstate the recoil of a .40, but I'd still have to agree for a poly compact, I'd go with 9. Cheaper, more rounds (sometimes, CA law makes it less of a point), still easier to control.

Now if you were gonna go with a "compact" and went with a P229, without a doubt go with .40. Its not that much more expensive and its plentiful. Recoil feels like a 9.

[advocatusdiaboli]

I definitely think some people overstate the recoil of a .40, but I'd still have to agree for a poly compact, I'd go with 9. Cheaper, more rounds (sometimes, CA law makes it less of a point), still easier to control.

Now if you were gonna go with a "compact" and went with a P229, without a doubt go with .40. Its not that much more expensive and its plentiful. Recoil feels like a 9.

^^^ This.

My P229 shoots like my full-size H&K USP 40 used too. The heft of alloy helps a lot.