What's the real reason 9mm is so popular?

[calwoodbutcher]

You can put a lot of those little buggers in a magazine. Oh yeah, this is Kalifornia................... You can put a lot of those little buggers in a PRE BAN magazine.

[BamBam-31]

I reload, and shooting 9mm is STILL cheaper than shooting most of the other common pistol calibers. That, and the 9mm round, for whatever reason, is exceptionally accurate and easy to shoot. It also doesn't hurt that there are more great and affordable 9mm platforms out there than you can shake a stick at.

[tbhracing]

Why is 9mm popular?

Available
Cheap
Low recoil
Availability, variety, and reasonable prices for handguns in this caliber.

9mm in handguns is like 4-cylinder engines in cars: affordable, easily available, economical, low maintenance, wide variety, etc.

I agree with everything typed above. I too am happy with my penis size and do not need to compensate for anything.

As for knock down power, dont ask a cop, ask a Firefighter/EMT/Paramedic. We see and work on more people who have been shot than anyone else. And I am here to tell you, the 9mm round is deadly.

As fort he 40 and 45 hype, I am guessing that has also been done by the companies looking to sell more product. 9mm has been killing people since WW1 and long after. Its a proven round and I like have a magazine with lots of fire power.

[ZombieTactics]

Please cite your references. Thanks.

I base my opinion upon interviews/conversations with several ME or and/or coroners ... most notably a former president of the California State Coroner's association and board member of the National Association of Medical Examiners.

His opinion was that any ME stating that he could determine whether a wound was caused by 9mm, .40S&W or .45ACP was probably incompetent, as there is no scientific way to do so based upon the wound profile. There are simply too many variables and too many overlaps of ballistic potential. 9mm wounds look just like .45ACP wounds, as do .40S&W wounds. Even .380 and .38 wounds can "fool you" in some cases if they penetrate fully. A recovered round is the only way to make a determination of caliber in this range.

[M. D. Van Norman]

History.

A number of factors came together in the A.D.favors

[Rebellious]

...price

[drunktank]

When I bought my first handgun, it was due to cost of ammo. Nowadays I can roll my own ammo but stick with 9mm to consolidate calibers. That and I prefer to buy platforms that I own prelims for.

[tbhracing]

Seriously- Way too much hype with the "knock down power" theory. What is a 9mm in caliber- .380 or .38. So its .02 smaller than a .40. If you cant take down someone with a 9mm, you are a bad shot.

But thats ok, I dont want every one on my bandwagon. Get your 45s so you can be cool.

[ZombieTactics]

Just adding to the discussion:

I think it's likely that a lot of caliber preference also has something to do with choice of handgun.

.45ACP gets a lot of loyalty simply because of its association with the classic 1911. 9mm wins fans because of its association with the excellent Glock 17.

[tonelar]

I cant link from my ipod right now, but there IS a bigger difference if you're limited to ball ammo between 9 and 40. That difference shrinks once modern defensive ammo is tested.

However, the OP is constantly restating how "everyone knows 40 outperforms 9" yet (by and large) the opposite of that statement is true in regards to posters to this thread.

The 9mm is well over a hundred years old and refuses to go away. It gets more rounds on target faster, with greater ease and affords its owner greater firepower. All facts that can't be disputed.

Si Vis Pacem Parabellum

[InGrAM]

Oh god, not another "this caliber is better than that caliber" thread........

The reason why people like bigger handgun calibers like .357 . 40 and .45 is because before hot 9mm ammo was invented calibers like .357 and .45 performed better. Now that 9mm is hot, it is a different story. Hot 9mm is just as good as bigger calibers for use on people. But some 9mm handguns cannot handle hot 9mm ammo so that is something to worry about.

Back to OP. I would say that the reason why 9mm ammo is so popular is because its cheap and has a long history. The Europeans have been using it for 100 + years.

[bussda]

the "one shot kill" handgun ethos is an urban myth that most likely carried over from hollywood but could just as easily been influenced by long gun hunting

i'm an eleven year veteran of responding to handgun shootings in san francisco. if a vic has only one or two holes in their torso (regardless of caliber) they are almost guaranteed to survive. the ones that didn't make it had 3 or more holes in the kill zone. my two exceptions are headshots (shotgun blast to the head and a handgun suicide).

...

It is "one shot stop". Not based on Hollywood but on a real study. What I remember is 95-97% for a .357 magnum 125gr. And about 62% for .32ACP 60gr. Silvertip and .45ACP 230gr. FMJ. I do not remember the other calibers.

I am trying to minimize your experience, but your data set is limited. I was a juror on a murder retrial. Victim shot three times with an AMT .380. First across lower lip and out right cheek. Second in and out right upper arm, then into chest across lungs and heart lodging under skin on left side torso. Third in and out right calf, reentered right thigh and stopped right side below the armpit. Yes, it is an exception to your experience, but sometimes it only takes one in the critical area.

[DannyZRC]

the marshall and sanow studies are a bad, bad joke, and so is the "one shot stop percentage" statistic associated with them.

[Sam]

I am trying to minimize your experience, but your data set is limited. I was a juror on a murder retrial. Victim shot three times with an AMT .380. First across lower lip and out right cheek. Second in and out right upper arm, then into chest across lungs and heart lodging under skin on left side torso. Third in and out right calf, reentered right thigh and stopped right side below the armpit. Yes, it is an exception to your experience, but sometimes it only takes one in the critical area.

You say his data set is limited but go on to cite only one example?

Further, is 97% a real one shot stop? Are you sure you want to rely on 97% when you or your family is on the line?

[sdjetpilot]

1. if shtf, there's plenty to go around
2. 5000 rounds = $1000