9mm vs. 45 ACP

[Bill Steele]

Now that was funny.

Based on that video, I'm going to rethink my choice of caliber, ......(or, i guess, a gang of out-of-work magicians)

[paul0660]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot1.htm

We fired several rounds and saw the following Penetration:

.22 Long Rifle (Wildcats) - 4 boards and bounced off 5th board.

9MM JHP (Federal) - 8 boards, bounced off 9th.

.45ACP (Federal Hydrashocks) - 7 boards, bounced off 8th.

Unless you have a large budget for ammo, talking about your .45 is what you will do. You will actually get to shoot your 9mm.

[Cato]

9mm!

You'll get more capacity and the gun will be easier to shoot: less recoil, flash, and noise. If you are shooting indoors in home defense you don't want to be disoriented by noise of your own gun. Ammo is much cheaper too. There is a very wide variety in 9mm too. Hollow point, FMJ, high pressure, reduced pressure, heavy bullets, light, etc.

There is no difference in stopping power between the two calibers.

The only reason to get a 45 is nostalgia.

[Agent Orange]

Ginger or Mary Ann?

As far as the video I dunno which keeps pushing me towards the dark side more, youtube or forums...

[Katana]

Hell 9mm won't even break the skin of a pack a cards...

The bullet under penetrated because it flattened out. Winchester USA FMJ is target ammo. It's built to be cheap to manufacture, not to penetrate.

By contrast, Winchester 124gr NATO is designed for combat and has a thicker and harder copper jacket. It would have retained its shape and penetrated through the books — and probably through the floor.

[Synergy]

Well since you love a G19

[DaveFJ80]

9mm AND .45 ACP


The 9mm is more 'fun' to shoot. But the .45 is 'easier' to shoot.

[nagorb]

9mm AND .45 ACP


The 9mm is more 'fun' to shoot. But the .45 is 'easier' to shoot.

I don't know about that, I love shooting my .45

[Code7inOaktown]

.45 OBVIOUSLY 9mm be fur dem queermahsexuahls. Hell 9mm won't even break the skin of a pack a cards XD.


Honestly doesn't really matter. Rent a few and choose ur favorite.

Holy smokes. Did this guy really fire a live round inside of his apartment building? What kind of seriously irresponsible gun owner is this?

And I have to agree. 9mm ball ammo is legendary for overpenetration (with very little damage to the person you shot too). A 124 grain NATO round would have likely gone through all of this. Think of body armor. It takes Threat Level IIIA to stop hot 9mm rounds but 45 cals are stopped by most forms of body armor. The 9mm round is actually great at defeating body armor -- but like all ball ammo, it's pretty piss poor at stopping anyone.

[nagorb]

Holy smokes. Did this guy really fire a live round inside of his apartment building? What kind of seriously irresponsible gun owner is this?

And I have to agree. 9mm ball ammo is legendary for overpenetration (with very little damage to the person you shot too). A 124 grain NATO round would have likely gone through all of this. Think of body armor. It takes Threat Level IIIA to stop hot 9mm rounds but 45 cals are stopped by most forms of body armor. The 9mm round is actually great at defeating body armor -- but like all ball ammo, it's pretty piss poor at stopping anyone.

What makes you say this was in an apartment? According to the guy in the vid hes out in the sticks with no one around for 20 miles

[cesarv]

FWIW, here's my $0.02. I have both. I have a Kimber Custom Target II, in .45 ACP and a Sig P226 Navy, chambered in 9mm. I love shooting them both. The recoil on the 1911 is apparently less, but that could be because that pistol is heavier. I am also much more accurate with the 1911 than I am with the Sig. The trigger is awesome on the Kimber and it is very fun to shoot. Whenever I go to the range, though, I always end up shooting the Sig a lot more because 9mm ammo is cheaper than .45 ACP. As far a for home defense, I trust both to do their job.

[safewaysecurity]

Holy smokes. Did this guy really fire a live round inside of his apartment building? What kind of seriously irresponsible gun owner is this?

And I have to agree. 9mm ball ammo is legendary for overpenetration (with very little damage to the person you shot too). A 124 grain NATO round would have likely gone through all of this. Think of body armor. It takes Threat Level IIIA to stop hot 9mm rounds but 45 cals are stopped by most forms of body armor. The 9mm round is actually great at defeating body armor -- but like all ball ammo, it's pretty piss poor at stopping anyone.

It's not an apartment he lives in a remote area with not many neighbors. And yea he's crazy.Just to show how crazy he is his cousin is cokeman2423 on youtube if you know who that is. But yeh I posted the video as a joke it shouldn't be taken seriously but 9mm is a great for defense especially as a hollowpoint you can keep the penetration to a minimum.

[Rob454]

Easy way to decide

Shoot yourself with a 45 and a 9mm see which one incapacitates you more. that's the one to buy. I'm just kidding

Seriously In my lifetime I've had 10mm 9mm 40 357 38 44 and 45 handguns. I highly doubt that if I would shoot anyone with any of those guns they would just act like nothing is wrong. I sold all my handguns. All i kept was a 357 and a 9mm. although all I really need is that 9mm for HD, my nightly go to is a 9mm. 45s are nice and its a very manly impressive round. but I seriously doubt a burglar will sit there and try to figure out if he is gonna get shot by a 9mm 45 or a 22.
IMO using the correct ammunition for the situation and shot placement is gonna make more of a difference than the caliber you are shooting.

[thrasherfox]

Instead of trying to make you feel like an idiot by telling you to use the search button, I will try and provide my own personal insight. Right or wrong. this is my perspective. And since I am new to the board even if you did a search it would not come up with my specific perspective.

So with that said.


I have a Desert Eagle 9mm (baby eagle)
I also have a S&W CS45 (Chief Special 45acp)


In my world, with my tools, the following are my specific thoughts on the subject.


9mm PROS:

Normally can hold more rounds than a 45
Faster round
For me, my 9mm compare to my 45 is more accurate at a greater
distance, but I think this is more due to the short size of the 45


CONS:

Being a faster and smaller projectile means more of a chance
of passing entirely through the person. This creates two
problems. 1) Less kinetic energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy being absorbed by the subject. 2) if the round passes through the subject you now have a round that can cause collateral damage


45 PROS:

Larger caliber and slower than a 9mm. better chance of the round doing more damage and staying inside of the subjects body. Since the round has a better chance of remaining in the body, better chance of the body absorbing the full kinetic energy of the round


Concealment - for me, my 45 is way smaller than my 9mm. I am not going to try to pretend I know a shid load about all the differant guns out there. but it seems that whenever I see a 9mm, there usually about the same size. they are concealable. but I have seen 45acp's, .380 in a smaller frame that is easier for concealment.


Cons:

For the most part I really don't consider this a con. but it is the best I can come up with. .45 will not hold as many rounds as a 9mm. however in my limited knowledge, most people who I have spoken with (my ccw instructors, LEO's etc. say normally if a person has to pull a gun out for protection it is usually for more than 2 or 3 rounds to be fired. so if this is true then it really doesn't matter if the gun holds 6 rounds or 10 rounds. And in either case I have magazine pouches for both that hold 2 extra magazines. So if I do have to fire more than a full magazine I will probably be taking cover somewhere crapping my pants and I should have time to drop and reload if needed


Oh yeah, to add. in either case, I feel the ammunition you use is critical. I used to use Glaser Safety Slugs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaser_Safety_Slug
I feel a round like this helps the 9mm since you have a better chance if all the pieces staying in the subject. and if you miss then a better chance of it going through walls or hitting other people by accident.

I "had" both my 9mm and my 45 loaded with these rounds. but I have used those forever and they have been around a long time. Recent research of ammo (since I am starting to reload) I came across Hornady critical defense ammo. from everything I have read about those I decided to purchase a few boxes of each and have started keeping my carry's with those rounds.

but there are alot of differant rounds out there that can help whatever firearm you use to performs a specific function.

Another thing. If you are planning on carrying.. small and light. I bought a Desert Eagle 44, converted it to a 50AE. Pretty cool looking and very powerful gun. However I realized I am not even going to try and put it on a CCW application. way to much over kill. too much possibility of collateral damage. way to big AND way to stinking heavy.


This is a very extreme example, but I like carrying my CS45 .45 acp because it is very small, compact and light and easy to carry. the 9mm is a little bigger, but also heavier.


Hope this helps.

So I'm finally 21 now and want to get a handgun. I've had experience shooting both 9 and 45 and I'm be on the paper with both. I've shot SIGs, 1911s, Kimbers, and Glocks. I'm not a fan of trigger safety's but am leaning toward a Glock because they are cheap and reliable.

My question to you all is which would be a better caliber to get and the choices being 9mm or 45 ACP. This gun would be an all around gun for messing around at the range, ranch, and home defense. I was leaning towards a 9mm at the beginning because its a small round thats easy to find and my gf could use it if needed. But at Thanksgiving dinner last night I was swayed more towards the 45 now because my uncle (fire fighter out of Los Gatos) said that 45 would be a better choice because it's a big heavy piece of lead that will stop a lot of things and they won't go through walls like a 9mm would.

Help?

[eccvets]

if your worried about penetration, why not buy some lube so you can take it up th @$$ and not worry about it?